PROV 1:12 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:8–19: First lesson: Avoid evil companions

This first lesson may be summarized as follows:

Introduction: Pay attention to your parents’ advice, because it will improve your character (1:8–9).
Lesson: If robbers try to persuade you to do evil (1:10–14), refuse to join them (1:15), because they will destroy their own lives (1:16–18).
Conclusion: People who are greedy and try to obtain wealth illegally will die (1:19).This outline is based on “The Design of Lecture 1” in Fox (page 92).

Some other headings for this section are:

Warnings against Bad Friends (CEV)

Advice to a young man to not be tempted by evil people

Paragraph 1:10–14

In this paragraph, the quote that starts in 1:11a and ends in 1:14b gives the words that the “sinners” use to “entice” the young man. The concluding exhortation of 1:10b is parallel to the concluding exhortations of 1:15a–b.

1:12

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^12alet us swallow them alive like Sheol,

^12band whole like those descending into the Pit.

There is an ellipsis in 1:12b. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the missing words. For example:

^12band let us swallow them whole like those descending into the Pit

1:12a–b

(combined/reordered)

They will no longer be alive and strong/healthy, because we^(incl) will end their lives suddenly. It will be as if the grave has swallowed them.
They are healthy now, but they will soon be dead, because we will be like the grave that opens its mouth to swallow people.
Even though they are strong and healthy now, we will make sure that they are soon in the place of the dead.

let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit: This verse contains two parallel similes. In the similes, the criminals compare themselves to Sheol, which some English versions translate as “the grave.” The criminals are similar to the grave, because they will kill unsuspecting, healthy people just as certainly and quickly as the grave opens its mouth to swallow its victims.Ross (page 908).

alive…and whole: The word whole refers to people who are “healthy.” Together, the words alive and whole refer to people who are in good health and do not expect to die soon. Some versions combine and/or reorder these parallel parts. For example:

They may be alive and well… (GNT)

In some languages, it may be redundant to say that a healthy person is alive. In that case, it may be better to leave alive implicit or to use another term that refers to good health. For example:

even if they are strong and healthy

like Sheol…the Pit: In translating these similes, be careful not to imply that people are buried in their graves while they are still alive. In some languages, a literal translation of these similes may be difficult to understand. Some other ways to express the meaning are:

Make explicit the way in which the sinners are like the grave and the pit. For example:
Let’s kill them so fast that it will seem like the place of the dead had swallowed them alive.
Translate the meaning without the figures of speech. For example:
They may be alive and well when we find them, but they’ll be dead when we’re through with them! (GNT)

Notice that both of these options combine the parallel words Sheol and Pit into one expression. Express the meaning in a way that is clear and natural in your language.

1:12a

let us swallow them alive like Sheol,

We^(incl) will kill these people who are not expecting to die, just like the grave swallows those who have died.

let us swallow them alive like Sheol: The word that the BSB translates as Sheol refers to death or the grave or the place of the dead. Sheol is described here as a hungry monster that swallows people alive. In other words, they are alive at the time when he swallows them.Fox (page 87).

1:12b

and whole like those descending into the Pit.

Even though they are now in good health, we^(incl) will soon cause them to descend to the place of the dead.

like those descending into the Pit: The word that the BSB translates as Pit normally means a hole that is dug in the ground or rock to hold water. But here it is a figurative synonym for the place of the dead.

descending: According to Jewish thinking, the place where the dead lived was deep under the surface of the earth. (Other verses with this same idea are 2:18a–b and 9:18b.) In some languages, it may not be natural to use a specific verb such as “descend.” If that is true in your language, you may be able to use a more general word. For example:

go into the pit (GW)

go to the place of the dead

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

נִ֭בְלָעֵ⁠ם

let,us_engulf_them

By us, the sinners are referring to themselves but not other people, so use the exclusive form of that word in your translation if your language marks that distinction.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

נִ֭בְלָעֵ⁠ם

let,us_engulf_them

The sinners speak of murdering people as if they were swallowing them. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Let us destroy them”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

כִּ⁠שְׁא֣וֹל חַיִּ֑ים וּ֝⁠תְמִימִ֗ים כְּ⁠י֣וֹרְדֵי בֽוֹר

like,Sheol life(pl) and,complete like,[those_who]_go_down_of pit

These two phrases mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could connect the phrases with a word other than and in order to show that the second phrase is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. Alternate translation: “the living ones, like Sheol, yes, the whole ones, like those going down to a pit”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

כִּ⁠שְׁא֣וֹל

like,Sheol

The sinners are leaving out some of the words that in many languages a clause would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from earlier in the sentence if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “like Sheol swallows people”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

כִּ⁠שְׁא֣וֹל

like,Sheol

Here, Sheol is spoken of as if it were a living thing that could swallow someone. The idea of Sheol swallowing someone refers to how people are completely gone after they die and are buried. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “like Sheol completely covers people”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וּ֝⁠תְמִימִ֗ים

and,complete

The sinners are leaving out some of the words that a clause would need in many languages to be complete. If it would be helpful in your language, you could supply these words from the beginning of the verse. Alternate translation: “and let us swallow the whole ones”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וּ֝⁠תְמִימִ֗ים

and,complete

Here, whole refers to being completely healthy. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and the healthy ones”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

כְּ⁠י֣וֹרְדֵי בֽוֹר

like,[those_who]_go_down_of pit

The sinners are leaving out some of the words that in many languages a clause would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from the context if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “like those going down to a pit are swallowed”

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

כְּ⁠י֣וֹרְדֵי בֽוֹר

like,[those_who]_go_down_of pit

The Israelites referred to dying as going down to Sheol or a pit. Here the sinners are saying that their victims are like those going down to a pit because those people will die. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: “like those who die”

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 1:12