PROV 15:16 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

15:16

This proverb compares the living situation of two people. The situation of the person in 15:16a is better than the situation of the person in 15:16b. Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

^16aBetter a little with the fear of the LORD

^16bthan great treasure with turmoil.

The first line describes a poor person who fears the LORD. This person’s situation in life is better than the situation of a very rich person who is worried.

This is another four-part “better than” proverb. This proverb has the following pattern:

It is better to have A (bad/undesirable situation) + B (very good/desirable situation)

than to have C (good/desirable situation) + D (very bad/undesirable situation)

For 15:16, the four parts are:

A: a poor person (undesirable)

B: fears the LORD (very desirable)

C: a very rich person (desirable)

D: worry (very undesirable)

See the note on 12:9 for more details on this kind of proverb. For other ways to translate this verse, see the General Comment on 15:16a–b after the note on 15:16b.

15:16a

Better a little with the fear of the LORD

It is better for a person to have only a few possessions and at the same time to respect and obey Yahweh
The situation of a poor person who fears and respects Yahweh is better

Better a little with the fear of the LORD: The phrase translated as a little contrasts with “great treasure,” so it refers here to “little wealth” or “few possessions.” In other words, it refers to a poor person.

For fear of the LORD, see the note on 10:27a.

15:16b

than great treasure with turmoil.

than it is to be wealthy and have a lot to worry about.
than the situation of a very rich person who has many reasons to worry.

than great treasure with turmoil: The word that the BSB translates as turmoil refers to inward turmoil, anxiety or worry.

General Comment on 15:16a–b

Some other ways to translate this verse are:

^16aBetter to have little and with it fear of Yahweh ^16bthan immense wealth and with it anxiety. (NJB)

^16aIt is better to be poor and respect the LORD ^16bthan to be rich and have many worries.

In some languages, it may be difficult to express a complex comparison in one sentence. Another way to translate it is to divide this verse into two sentences. You may need to change the order of the parallel parts. For example:

^16aThe situation of a person who respects and obeys the LORD is very good, even though he is poor.

^16bAs for a rich person with much to worry about, his situation is not good.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

מְ֭עַט & מֵ⁠אוֹצָ֥ר רָ֝֗ב

a_little & more,than_treasure great

Solomon is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from the context if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “is having a little … than having much treasure”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj

מְ֭עַט

a_little

Here Solomon is using the adjective little as a noun to refer to a small amount of something. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “is having a small amount”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

בְּ⁠יִרְאַ֣ת יְהוָ֑ה

with,the_fear_of YHWH

Here Solomon refers to fearing Yahweh as if that fear were an object that someone could have with even a little of whatever they have. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “while having fear of Yahweh” or “and fearing Yahweh”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

בְּ⁠יִרְאַ֣ת יְהוָ֑ה

with,the_fear_of YHWH

See how you translated the fear of Yahweh in [1:7](../01/07.md).

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וּ⁠מְה֥וּמָה בֽ⁠וֹ

and,turmoil in=him/it

Here Solomon refers to feeling anxiety as if that anxiety were an object that someone could have with much treasure. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and having anxiety” or “and having anxiety”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

וּ⁠מְה֥וּמָה

and,turmoil

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of anxiety, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “and being anxious”

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.