PROV 15:22 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

15:22

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

^22a Plans fail for lack of counsel,

^22bbut with many advisers they succeed.

The parallel parts form a chiasm. The parts in 15:22a occur in the opposite order from the parallel parts in 15:22b. If a chiasm is not natural in your language, you may need to reorder the parts in one of the lines. For example, 15:22a could be reordered as follows:

^22a If counsel is lacking, plans fail

15:22a

Plans fail for lack of counsel,

If there is no one to give good advice/counsel our^(incl) plans will fail.
Without wise advice from others/someone, a person’s plans will not be accomplished/fulfilled.
There will be no result to our^(incl) plans if we fail to seek good advice/counsel from others.

15:22b

but with many advisers they succeed.

But when there are many wise people to give advice, our^(incl) plans will succeed.
But these plans will succeed when there are many others to give them sound/wise advice.
However, if there are many wise people to advise us^(incl), the outcome of our plans will be good.

15:22a–b

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed: This proverb gives a general principle. It does not identify the person who makes the plans. In some languages, it will be necessary to make explicit who the planners are. Some ways to do this are:

A person’s plans

Our ^(incl) plans

Your ^(plur) plans

It is implied that the counsel/advice mentioned here is good advice. Some versions make this explicit in the first line. For example:

Plans fail without good advice, but they succeed with the advice of many others. (NCV)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

הָפֵ֣ר מַ֭חֲשָׁבוֹת

fail plans

If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “Plans fail”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

ס֑וֹד

counsel

See how you translated the abstract noun counsel in [1:25](../01/25.md).

Note 3 topic: writing-pronouns

תָּקֽוּם

succeed

The pronoun it refers to the Plans in the previous clause. If this is not clear for your readers, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “those plans will stand”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

תָּקֽוּם

succeed

Here Solomon refers to Plans that are successful as if they were a person who would continue to stand. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “they will be successful”

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.