PROV 18:11 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

18:11

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^11a A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city;

^11b it is like a high wall in his imagination.

Due to the parallelism, the phrase “in his imagination” is also implied in 18:11a. One way to make this explicit is:

^11aThe rich think that their wealth is their fortified city;

^11bthey imagine it an unscalable wall.

18:11a

A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city;

By contrast, a rich person thinks that his money is like a city with strong walls.
However, if people are rich, they think they can use their wealth to protect themselves.

A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city: A fortified city is a city surrounded by high walls. These walls protect the inhabitants from outside dangers. Similarly, a rich person relies on his wealth to protect him from difficulties. This metaphor is identical to 10:15a. See the notes there for translation advice.

However, the implied information is different. The connection with the following line and with the preceding verse is also different. Evaluate these differences carefully before you translate this line.

18:11a–b

(combined/reordered)

Rich people, however, imagine that their wealth protects them like high, strong walls around a city. (GNT)

18:11b

it is like a high wall in his imagination.

In his opinion, it protects him like a high wall that no one can climb over.
They consider it to be like a high wall around a city.

it is like a high wall in his imagination: In Hebrew, the word high is a slightly different form of the word “set on high.” The BSB translated that word as “safe” in 18:10b. Some English versions translate this word in 18:11b as “unscalable” (NIV), because the implied purpose of a high wall is to prevent enemies from climbing over it.

This clause means that rich people think or imagine that their wealth will protect them. They think it will be like a high wall that protects the residents inside a city. Some other ways to translate this line are:

a high wall, as the rich supposes (NJB)

in his fancy, it is a protective wall (NJPS)

they imagine it to be a high wall of safety (NLT)

General Comment on 18:11a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts. See the GNT, quoted in 18:11a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ה֣וֹן עָ֭שִׁיר קִרְיַ֣ת עֻזּ֑⁠וֹ

wealth rich city_of his_strength_of,his

See how you translated the same clause in [10:15](../10/15.md).

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

וּ⁠כְ⁠חוֹמָ֥ה נִ֝שְׂגָּבָ֗ה

and,like,a_wall high

Solomon is saying that the wealth of a rich one is like a wall set on high because the rich one thinks that his wealth will protect him from enemies, as a high wall protects. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: “and it will protect him like a wall set on high”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

בְּ⁠מַשְׂכִּיתֽ⁠וֹ

in,his_own_of,imagination

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of imagination, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “according to what he imagines”

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 18:11