PROV 16:1 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

16:1

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

^1a The plans of the heart belong to man,

^1bbut the reply of the tongue is from the LORD.

This proverb contrasts the human and divine roles in planning and giving a good answer. People plan what to say, but God is the one who directs the answer that the person actually gives.

16:1a

The plans of the heart belong to man,

People plan what they are going to answer,
People carefully organize their thoughts,

The plans of the heart belong to man: This line means that people arrange their thoughts or plan in their minds what they are going to say in response to a situation. The words in brackets are implied from the parallel “reply” in 16:1b. In some languages, it may make the contrast with 16:1b clearer if some of this information is made explicit. For example:

A person may plan in his mind/heart what he intends to say

In some languages, it may be redundant to specify that people plan “in their minds” or “in their hearts.” If that is true in your language, you may leave this information implied. For example:

We humans make plans (CEV)

We can make our own plans (NLT)

16:1b

but the reply of the tongue is from the LORD.

but Yahweh is the one who directs what they actually say.
but Yahweh is the source of the words that they say/express.

but the reply of the tongue is from the LORD: The phrase the reply of the tongue refers to the reply made by the person who makes the plans in 16:1a. There are two ways to interpret this line:

This line has a specific meaning. It means that the LORD directs or inspires the answer that a person gives to others. For example:
but the Lord inspires the words his tongue utters (REB) (BSB, ESV, GW, KJV, NAB, NASB, NET, NIV, NLT, REB, RSV)
This line has a more general meaning. It means that the LORD determines the outcome of any plan that a person makes. For example:
but the Lord has the final word (CEV) (CEV, NCV, NJB, NLT96, GNT) Most of the versions listed here have an expression that uses “word” or “answer.” But they occur in figurative expressions that usually refer to determining the final outcome. They do not necessarily refer to a verbal answer.

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and scholars. In Proverbs, the tongue occurs many times as a figure of speech. It represents either words/speech or a person who speaks the words. There is no need to assign an unusual and more general meaning to the word here.

the reply of the tongue: This phrase is used here as a figure of speech. It represents the person who replies. In some languages, it is more natural to speak of a person who replies rather than a tongue that replies. For example:

but the LORD gives him the right answer

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

לְ⁠אָדָ֥ם מַֽעַרְכֵי־לֵ֑ב וּ֝⁠מֵ⁠יְהוָ֗ה מַעֲנֵ֥ה לָשֽׁוֹן

to/for=ʼĀdām/humankind plans_of heart and_[is],from,Yahweh answer_of tongue

Here, the heart, a man’s, the answer, and the tongue refer to these things and people in general, not a specific thing or person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “The arrangements of the hearts are those people’s, but the answers of the tongues are from Yahweh”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

מַֽעַרְכֵי־לֵ֑ב & מַעֲנֵ֥ה לָשֽׁוֹן

plans_of heart & answer_of tongue

If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas of arrangements and answer, you could express the same ideas in other ways. See how you translated answer in [15:1](../15/01.md). Alternate translation: “Things that the heart arranges … what the tongue answers”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

מַֽעַרְכֵי־לֵ֑ב

plans_of heart

The arrangements of the heart here could mean: (1) arrangements about what to say, which is suggested by the phrase the answer of the tongue in the next clause. Alternate translation: “The arrangements of the heart regarding what to say” (2) human arrangements in general. Alternate translation: “The arrangements of the heart about something”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

לֵ֑ב

heart

See how you translated the same use of heart in [2:2](../02/02.md).

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

לְ⁠אָדָ֥ם

to/for=ʼĀdām/humankind

Here Solomon is using the possessive form to describe arrangements that are determined by the person who makes them. If your language would not use the possessive form for this, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: “are determined by a man” or “are determined by those who make them”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

מַעֲנֵ֥ה לָשֽׁוֹן

answer_of tongue

Here, the answer of the tongue refers to the answer that someone speaks by using the tongue. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. See how you translated the same use of tongue in [6:17](../06/17.md). Alternate translation: “what one says in reply” or “the spoken answer”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

מַעֲנֵ֥ה לָשֽׁוֹן

answer_of tongue

Here, the answer of the tongue could refer to: (1) an answer related to the arrangements in the previous clause. Alternate translation: “the answer of the tongue about those arrangements” (2) an answer in general. Alternate translation: “any answer of the tongue”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וּ֝⁠מֵ⁠יְהוָ֗ה

and_[is],from,Yahweh

Here, the phrase is from Yahweh indicates that Yahweh is who determines the answer of the tongue. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “is determined by Yahweh”

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.

OET interlinear PROV 16:1

Hebrew word order

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

16:1

16:1a

16:1b

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