PROV 14:21 Interlinear View

14:21 OSHB variant note: עניים: (x-qere) ’עֲנָוִ֣ים’: lemma_6035 morph_HAampa id_20GDR עֲנָוִ֣ים

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

This section is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs. It has a very different structure from the longer poetic lectures of chapters 1–9. It consists mostly of individual couplets (two-line poems) that are each one verse in length. With the exception of the title (10:1a), paragraph breaks will not be indicated in the Notes or Display. You may of course choose to start each proverb as a separate paragraph in your translation.

In chapters 10–15, most of these one-verse couplets express a contrast between the two lines. One of the more common contrasts is between the righteous/wise and the wicked/foolish and the different consequences of their conduct.

In chapters 16:1–22:16, more topics are discussed. There is more emphasis on the role of the king and other leaders. In these chapters, there are few proverbs with contrasting lines. Some of the parallel lines are similar in meaning. More frequently, the second line adds to what the first line says or gives an example. Most of the verses have no obvious connection with the previous or following proverbs.UBS (page 214), Fox (page 509), McKane (page 413). Many scholars, including McKane, point out that there are some topical groupings as well as poetic connections. These include the repetition of certain words or sounds. This observation does not deny the individual nature of most of the proverbs in this Section.

Two of the types of proverbs in this section are not found in chapters 1–9. One type contains logical reasoning from the lesser to the greater. See 11:31 for a list of these proverbs. There are also several varieties of complex “better than” proverbs. The most common have a contrasting situation in each line (see 12:9). For other varieties, see 16:16, 19:1, and 21:9.

Many of the proverbs in this section refer to categories of people who share a common trait. For example, they refer to the righteous, the wise, the poor, and the lazy. In Hebrew, some verses use singular forms to refer to these groups of people. Other verses use plural forms. Still others use a combination of singular and plural. See the note on 10:30a–b for one example. For most of these verses, the Notes will not comment on the difference between singular and plural forms. Use a natural way in your language to refer to one or more people who are in the same category.

Many of the proverbs in this section express a general principle in abstract terms. They are not addressed specifically to the readers. For example, 10:2a–b says:

Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,

but righteousness delivers from death.

However, the author intended his readers to understand these proverbs as advice that they should follow. In some languages, authors or speakers give advice more directly, using pronouns such as you^(sing), you^(plur), we^(dual), or we^(incl). See the note on 10:2 for translation suggestions.

Some other headings for this section are:

Proverbs of Solomon (NIV)

The Wise Words of Solomon (NCV)

Here are many wise things that Solomon said

14:21

This verse contrasts a person who despises his neighbor with a person who accepts him and treats him with kindness and generosity.

^21a He who despises his neighbor sins,

^21bbut blessed is he who shows kindness to the poor.

The parallelism with 14:21b implies that the neighbor is clearly someone who is poor or needy. The close connection with the topic of 14:20 also makes it likely that the word “neighbor” has the same meaning as in that verse.

The BSB reorders the parts of 14:21b so that the parallel parts sins and blessed occur in the opposite order. The NLT reorders the parts of 14:21a. It has:

^21a It is sin to despise one’s neighbors

The NET follows the Hebrew order for both lines. It has:

^21a The one who despises his neighbor sins,

^21bbut whoever is kind to the needy is blessed.

You should arrange the parts in whatever order expresses the contrast effectively in your language.

14:21a

He who despises his neighbor sins,

A person sins if he considers/counts his neighbor as worthless,
We^(incl) sin if we look down on our neighbor,

despises: The word that the BSB translates here as despises means to look down on or consider of little value. See the note on 11:12a, where the BSB translates the term as “shows contempt.”

14:21a–b

(combined/reordered)

If you^(sing) despise a neighbor who is poor, you are committing a sin, but if you show him kindness, that will make you happy.

14:21b

but blessed is he who shows kindness to the poor.

but someone who is kind to a poor person will be happy.
but if we^(incl) show kindness/compassion to the poor, we will be happy.

blessed: The word that the BSB translates here as blessed probably means “happy.” For example:

happy is he who is kind to the poor (RSV)

If you want to be happy, be kind to the poor (GNT)

This word is not the same word that is used in other verses about God blessing people. See the notes on 3:13a and 8:32b, where this word is used and the BSB translates it as “blessed.”

the poor: The word that the BSB translates here as poor refers to people who are needy. It emphasizes that they suffer some kind of distress or disability. Because such people have low status in society, their lives are difficult. Others often oppress them.The Hebrew word that occurs here is ʿani. BDB (#6041), TWOT (#1652d), and NIDOTTE (H6714) gloss this word as “poor,” “afflicted,” “humble.” NIDOTTE adds the gloss “needy.” The verses where this word occurs are: 3:34b, 14:21b, 15:15a, 16:19a, 22:22b, 30:14c, 31:9a, 31:20a. The noun form ʿoni (same meaning) occurs in 31:5b.

The BSB translates the same Hebrew word as “humble” in 16:19a. See the footnote there.There is a textual issue with the Hebrew word ʿani that occurs here in 14:21b. The same issue occurs in 3:34b and 16:19a. In these three verses, the word that was written in the MT (Kethib) is ʿani. The reading/pronunciation recommended by the Masoretes (Qere) is ʿanaw. For the word ʿanaw, see NIDOTTE (H6705). According to Waltke (pp. 580, 599), this textual issue has “little importance.” Whether or not these forms represent two words or are “variants of a single word is…of little significance in Proverbs.” Toy (p. 295) says that these two words/forms are “identical in meaning throughout OT.” None of the versions used in preparing these Notes identifies the textual issue. There is also considerable overlap in meaning between the two forms. So the Notes have not presented this as a textual issue. Many English versions, including the BSB, use the general term “poor” here. Another way to translate this word is:

needy (NIV)

See the note on 10:4a and the footnote there that provides information on the other words for “poor” in Proverbs.

General Comment on 14:21a–b

The GNT (quoted above) uses the pronoun “you.” The ESV uses “his/he” In some languages, it may also be appropriate to use “we^(incl)” or “we^(dual).” Use whatever pronoun is natural in your language for a proverb that gives advice.

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts that are similar in meaning. See 14:21a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

14:21 OSHB variant note: עניים: (x-qere) ’עֲנָוִ֣ים’: lemma_6035 morph_HAampa id_20GDR עֲנָוִ֣ים

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.

OET interlinear PROV 14:21