PROV 19:2 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

19:2

The two lines in this verse imply similar advice. Together these lines describe the bad consequences of acting too quickly without thinking. It is not good for a person to do this, because he will go astray.

^2aEven zeal is no good without knowledge,

^2band he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark.

Some versions follow the order of the Hebrew more literally. For example:

^2a Desire without knowledge is not good,

^2band one who moves too hurriedly misses the way. (NRSV)

It is implied by the parallelism that a person who acts hastily does not gain the knowledge that he needs. He acts in response to his zeal or desire without first thinking of a good or sensible way to accomplish his goals.

19:2a

Even zeal is no good without knowledge,

Enthusiasm/Eagerness that is not accompanied by knowledge/thought is not good.
It is useless/dangerous if you^(sing) do not know how to do something properly and you eagerly do it anyway.

Even zeal is no good without knowledge: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as zeal has many meanings.See TWOT (#1395a) and NIDOTTE (H5883) for a more complete discussion of the Hebrew word nepeš. Often it refers to a person’s “soul” or “life.” In this context, there are two main ways to interpret this word:

The word refers to a strong desire or eagerness to do something.“Zeal” is the strong desire to accomplish something, so TN has chosen to treat the English translations “zeal” and “desire” as one interpretation. HALOT (#6283, sense 8a) gives “zeal, passion” for Proverbs 19:2, but it also gives “longing, desire” for the same sense of the word. For example:
Where knowledge is wanting, zeal is not good. (NJB) (BSB, CEV, ESV, NAB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJB, NLT, NRSV, REB, GNT)
The word refers to a person. For example:
It is not good for a man to be without knowledge. (RSV) (GW, KJV, NASB, RSV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and scholars. The idea of “zeal” or “desire” makes a better parallel with the idea of acting hastily in the second line.

Even zeal is no good: This phrase is probably a figure of speech (deliberate understatement) that means “bad” or “dangerous.”Fox (page 648) identifies the figure of speech as a litotes, meaning “bad.” The NET footnote (a) identifies it as tapeinosis “(deliberate understatement to emphasize a worst-case scenario).” Whybray (page 276) says that the result “will lead to disaster.” Ross (page 1030) says that “not good” indicates lack of success and “failure.” For example:

It is dangerous to have zeal (NET)

Some other ways to translate 19:2a are:

Enthusiasm without knowledge is not good (GNT)

If a person strongly desires to do something and acts without thinking, the result will be bad/failure.

19:2b

and he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark.

Indeed, a person who hurries too much will miss the right road/path.
If you^(sing) act too quickly you will make mistakes.

and he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark: In Hebrew, this clause is more literally “and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way” (ESV). This clause is a metaphor. In this metaphor, a person who acts hastily is compared to a person who hurries along a path and misses the right way. Similarly, someone who is in a hurry to do something makes mistakes and wrong decisions.

The phrase “with his feet” is a figure of speech. In this figure of speech, the feet represent the entire person.

misses the mark: The word that the BSB translates as misses the mark is often translated as “sin.” Here in the context of hurrying to do something, it refers to making an error or a wrong choice.

Some ways to translate this metaphor are:

General Comment on 19:2a–b

Keep some of the figurative language. For example:
and he who hurries his footsteps errs (NASB)
If you are too eager, you will miss the road. (CEV)
Translate the meaning without using figures of speech. For example:
A person in a hurry makes mistakes. (GW)
and the one who acts hastily makes poor choices (NET)
impatience will get you into trouble (GNT)

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder some of the parallel parts. For example:

If a person is in a hurry and does not think about the right way to accomplish his desires, the result will be failure.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

נֶ֣פֶשׁ & וְ⁠אָ֖ץ

creature & and,[one_who]_hastens

Here, a life and one who hurries refer to types of people in general, not specific people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “any life … and any person who hurries”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

נֶ֣פֶשׁ

creature

Here, life could refer to: (1) a living person. Alternate translation: “a person” (2) a person’s desire or zeal. Alternate translation: “desire”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

דַ֣עַת

knowledge

See how you translated the abstract noun knowledge in [1:4](../01/04.md).

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / litotes

לֹא־ט֑וֹב

not good

Solomon is using a figure of speech here that expresses a strongly positive meaning by using a negative word, not, together with an expression that is the opposite of the intended meaning. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the positive meaning. Alternate translation: “is extremely bad”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וְ⁠אָ֖ץ בְּ⁠רַגְלַ֣יִם

and,[one_who]_hastens with,feet

Here Solomon speaks of a person doing something too hastily as if he hurries by running with his feet. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and one who acts too quickly”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וְ⁠אָ֖ץ בְּ⁠רַגְלַ֣יִם

and,[one_who]_hastens with,feet

If you translated life in the previous clause as “person,” then this parallel clause would refer to someone who hurries to do something before having the knowledge to act rightly. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “and one who acts too quickly without knowledge”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

חוֹטֵֽא

misses

Here the word translated as sins could refer to: (1) someone making a mistake. Alternate translation: “makes a mistake” or “errs”(2) someone acting sinfully, which is the most frequent meaning for this word. Alternate translation: “acts sinfully”

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.