PROV 14:8 Interlinear View

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

14:8

This proverb describes the contrasting results of “wisdom” and “folly.” Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

^8a The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way,

^8bbut the folly of fools deceives them.

The underlined parallel parts in each line contrast exactly. The parallel parts in bold print do not contrast exactly.

14:8a

The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way,

The wisdom of sensible/clever people enables them to understand/know what they will do,
Shrewd people are wise, so they think carefully about the right path/conduct to follow.

The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way: This line means that people who are prudent use their wisdom to consider their conduct carefully. They are able to distinguish between right and wrong ways of life.

the prudent: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as prudent refers here to people who are shrewd and clever. They are able to make good plans to achieve their goals. See prudence in the Glossary for more information.

his way: This phrase is a metaphor. It is similar to the walk/path/ways metaphors that occur elsewhere in Proverbs. See the General Comment on 14:2a–b. See also 10:9b.

There are two main ways to interpret this phrase:

The phrase his way refers to one’s future conduct. It means that one thinks carefully about what one will do. For example:
It is the wisdom of the clever to understand where they go (NRSV) (CEV, GW, NCV, NLT, NRSV, REB, GNT)
Some versions do not specify whether the phrase his way refers to past or future conduct. For example:
The wisdom of the shrewd person is to discern his way (NET) (BSB, KJV, NAB, NASB, NET, NIV, NJB)

The meaning lines in the Display will follow interpretation (1).Scholars who support the interpretation of future conduct include UBS, Whybray, and Murphy. No versions specify past conduct. However, if you can translate in a way that allows either past or future conduct, you may do so.Waltke, Fox, and Delitzsch interpret this line to refer to the evaluation of current or past conduct and its future consequences. The comments in Toy and NET footnote (b) are ambiguous or refer to both current and future conduct.

Some other ways to translate interpretation (1) are:

The wisdom of a sensible person guides his way of life (GW)

A wise person will understand what to do (NCV)

Some other ways to translate interpretation (2) are:

The shrewd man’s wisdom gives him knowledge of his way (NAB)

A sensible/clever person is wise, so he carefully evaluates the consequences of his conduct.

14:8b

but the folly of fools deceives them.

but fools are misled/deceived by their own stupidity.
Fools are unable to think clearly, so they deceive themselves.

but the folly of fools deceives them: This line means that the foolishness of a fool results in deception.

the folly of fools: The word folly refers to moral foolishness. For more information on the word folly, see folly (Hebrew: ʾiwwelet) in the Glossary. The word for fools refers to a person who does what is stupid and wrong because he is mentally lazy and is satisfied with himself. For the word fools (Hebrew: kǝsilim), see fool 2 in the Glossary.

deceives them: There are two main ways to interpret the words deceives them:

The words refer to self-deception. It means that fools deceive themselves because of their own foolishness. For example:
but the stupidity of fools misleads them (GW) (BSB, CEV, GW, GNT, NJB, NLT, REB, GNT)
Some versions do not specify whether the word refers to self-deception or deception of others. For example:
but the folly of fools misleads (NRSV) (ESV, NAB, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJPS, NRSV)

The meaning lines in the Display will follow interpretation (1), along with most scholars.Scholars who support the interpretation of self-deception include Whybray, Garrett, Cohen, McKane, Longman, Kidner, and UBS. Although the words deceives them usually refers to deceiving others, the parallel with 14:8a suggests that the word should refer here to deceiving oneself. However, if you can translate in a way that allows either or both interpretations, you may do so.Waltke (p. 589), Murphy (p. 104), and Cook (p. 43) suggest that both kinds of deception may be in view. It is a frequent theme in Proverbs that one who tries to trap others often traps himself.

Some other ways to translate interpretation (1) are:

but the folly of fools leads them astray (NJB)

Why is a stupid person foolish? Because he only thinks he knows. (GNT)

Some other ways to translate interpretation (2) are:

but a foolish person is dishonest (NCV)

but fools refuse to do what is right, so they deceive both themselves and others

General Comment on 14:8a–b

In some languages, it may be awkward or redundant to speak of the “wisdom of the prudent” or the “folly of fools.” If that is true in your language, it may be better to simplify these phrases, as some English versions have done. For example:

The prudent understand where they are going, but fools deceive themselves. (NLT)

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

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.