PROV 16:19 Interlinear View

16:19 OSHB variant note: עניים: (x-qere) ’עֲנָוִ֑ים’: lemma_6035 n_1 morph_HAampa id_20bfm עֲנָוִ֑ים

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

16:19

This proverb compares the living situation of two people. The situation of the person in 16:19a is better than the situation of the person in 16:19b. Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

^19aIt s better to be lowly in spirit among the humble

^19bthan to divide the spoil with the proud.

See the note on 12:9 for more details on this kind of proverb. But notice that the parallel parts in this proverb occur in the opposite order. In 12:9 they do not. If a chiasm does not communicate the meaning effectively in your language, you may reorder the parallel parts in one line or the other. For example, you could reorder 16:19a to say:

^19aBetter to be among the oppressed and be lowly in spirit

With the chiastic word order, this proverb has the following pattern:

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

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

For 16:19, the four parts are:

B: to be humble/lowly (very desirable)

A: to be among poor/oppressed people (undesirable)

C: to share wealth (desirable)

D: to be among arrogant people (very undesirable)

The first line describes a humble person. Unfortunately, he is also poor and suffers hardship. This person’s situation in life is better than a wealthy person who is arrogant and gets his money dishonestly. The reason is that it is far more important to be humble than to be wealthy.

16:19a

It is better to be lowly in spirit among the humble

It is better for a person to have a humble attitude and to suffer from poverty
The situation of a person who is poor but who is also humble is better

among the humble: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates here as humble refers to people who are poor. 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. Some other ways to translate this word here are:

the poor (ESV)

those who suffer (NCV)

See the note on 14:21b for more information on this word, including its textual variants.

16:19b

than to divide the spoil with the proud.

than to be counted/associated with people who are proud/arrogant who have stolen their wealth from others.
than the situation of arrogant people who have become wealthy through oppressing others.

than to divide the spoil with the proud: The phrase divide the spoil is often used literally in a military context. There it refers to victorious soldiers. They share with each other the valuable things that they took from their defeated enemies.

Here it has a figurative meaning. It may simply mean to be rich, to be counted among people who share in having wealth. But this expression probably implies that the wealth has been gained by oppressing others. Another way to translate this line is:

than to share stolen goods with arrogant people (GW)

This line means that someone, along with other arrogant people, owns stolen goods. It does not mean that someone generously shares with other arrogant people the things that he has stolen. The GNT avoids the wrong meaning by saying:

than to be one of the arrogant and get a share of their loot (GNT)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

שְׁפַל־ר֭וּחַ

lowly spirit

Here Solomon refers to a person being humble as if humility were being lowly of spirit. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “to be humble” or “is being humble”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

מֵֽ⁠חַלֵּ֥ק שָׁ֝לָ֗ל אֶת־גֵּאִֽים

more,than_to_divide spoil DOM proud

Here Solomon uses share to imply that the one who is sharing a portion of spoil is also one of the proud ones. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “than to be one of the proud ones and share a portion of their spoil”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

שָׁ֝לָ֗ל

spoil

The word spoil refers to things that victorious soldiers take from the enemies they have defeated. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “goods taken in battle” or “loot”

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

16:19 OSHB variant note: עניים: (x-qere) ’עֲנָוִ֑ים’: lemma_6035 n_1 morph_HAampa id_20bfm עֲנָוִ֑ים

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 16:19

Hebrew word order

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

16:19

16:19a

16:19b

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