PROV 1:20 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:20–33: Wisdom warns people not to reject her advice

In this section, Wisdom is personified as a woman teacher or prophetess who publicly warns people not to reject her advice. After an introduction (1:20–21), Wisdom begins her speech. In her speech, she scolds foolish people for ignoring her teaching (1:22–27). She then describes what will happen to such people (1:28–31). She concludes her speech by contrasting the fate of fools with the happiness of those who obey her (1:32–33).

In the verses that contain Wisdom’s speech, the Notes use a capital letter for Wisdom, except where a quoted version has small letters. The Display provides more than one option. You may use either option in your language, depending on what is appropriate in each context. See the note at Section 8:1–36 for more information about using a capital letter to indicate personification.

Some other headings for this section are:

Wisdom Speaks (NCV)

Warning Against Rejecting Wisdom (NIV)

Wisdom’s invitation to people to listen to her advice

Paragraph 1:20–21

The four lines of these two verses are parallel. The way Wisdom gives her speech is described as: “calls out,” “lifts her voice,” “cries aloud,” and “makes her speech.” All of these phrases refer to the same action.

The four places where Wisdom speaks also overlap, since they are all places where crowds of people would be located. The public square was located inside the entrance to the city gates, and the streets of the city spread out from the gates.

The two verses are also arranged chiastically. In 1:20a–b, Wisdom’s location occurs at the end of each clause. In 1:21a–b, her location occurs at the beginning of each clause.

See the General Comment on 1:20–21 at the end of 1:21a–b for a way to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts of both verses.

1:20

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^20a Wisdom calls out in the street,

^20b she lifts her voice in the square;

1:20a–b

(combined/reordered)

¶ Wisdom is like a woman who calls out to the people in the streets and the marketplaces/plazas.

Wisdom…she: In this section Wisdom is personified as a woman. This may be partly because the word translated “wisdom” here is a feminine noun in Hebrew. Identifying Wisdom as a woman also provides a contrast with the adulterous woman in later chapters.

In some languages, a literal translation of this personification may be difficult to understand. Here are some other ways to translate it:

Change the personification to a simile. For example:
Wisdom is like a woman shouting in the street (NCV)
In some cultures, people might consider it offensive to refer to wisdom as a “woman who calls out in the streets,” because only rude or immoral women do that. In languages with gender-neutral pronouns, it is also impossible to specify the feminine pronoun “she.” In either of these cases, you may be able to refer to wisdom in a general way (not specifically male or female). For example:
The one whose name is Wisdom calls out in the streets. He/She/It speaks in a loud voice… If you choose this solution, make sure that the translation does not refer to an actual person with the name Wisdom.
In some languages, it may be possible to use a capital letter or a proper name marker for Wisdom.
It may also be possible to use a respectful title for a woman. For example:
Mother Wisdom (UBS)

If the personification is still not clear in your language, you may want to add a footnote. A suggested footnote is:

In 1:20–21 wisdom is described as a woman who has something important to say to people. Her speech is in 1:22–33.

See wisdom in the Glossary.

calls out…lifts her voice: These two expressions would be appropriate for an open-air preacher who wants his message to be heard. The term(s) you choose should not indicate shouting, such as the shouting of a drunk or angry person.

in the street…in the square: in the street either refers to the narrow alleys of ancient cities (Fox, page 97) or simply to the outside, as opposed to the inside of the houses (Delitzsch, page 69; Whybray, page 45). Only REB translates “in the open air.” The other versions all have “in the street(s).” The phrase in the street refers to the outdoors, in contrast to inside the house, where the father was instructing his son. The phrase, in the square refers to wide areas inside the gates of a walled city. These areas were used for public gatherings, for buying and selling, and for settling disputes. Other ways to translate this phrase include:

marketplaces (GNT)

public places (REB)

wherever crowds gather (CEV)

The CEV expression is good because it makes explicit the function of a public square in this context.

1:20a

Wisdom calls out in the street,

¶ The one/woman who is called/named Wisdom calls out to the people outside in the streets,

1:20b

she lifts her voice in the square;

she loudly speaks to them in the marketplaces/plazas.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

חָ֭כְמוֹת בַּ⁠ח֣וּץ תָּרֹ֑נָּה בָּ֝⁠רְחֹב֗וֹת תִּתֵּ֥ן קוֹלָֽ⁠הּ

wisdom in,street calls_out in,places raises voice_of,her

These two clauses and the two clauses of the next verse 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 use a word that shows the connection between these two clauses. Alternate translation: “Wisdom calls out outside, indeed, she gives forth her voice in the open places”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

חָ֭כְמוֹת בַּ⁠ח֣וּץ תָּרֹ֑נָּה בָּ֝⁠רְחֹב֗וֹת תִּתֵּ֥ן קוֹלָֽ⁠הּ

wisdom in,street calls_out in,places raises voice_of,her

In [1:20–33](../01/20.md), Solomon speaks of Wisdom as if it were a woman speaking to the people. See the discussion of this in the Introduction for this chapter. By saying that Wisdom calls out or gives her voice, he means that wisdom is available to all people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or use a simile. Alternate translation: “Wisdom is available openly; it is available freely” or “Wisdom is like a woman who calls out outside, like a woman who gives forth her voice in the open” or “It is as if wisdom calls out outside; it is as if wisdom gives forth its voice in the town square”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

חָ֭כְמוֹת

wisdom

See how you translated the abstract noun Wisdom in [1:2](../01/02.md).

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

בַּ⁠ח֣וּץ

in,street

Here, outside refers to the public space outside of one’s house where there would be many people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “in the streets”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

תִּתֵּ֥ן קוֹלָֽ⁠הּ

raises voice_of,her

This is an idiom that means she spoke very loudly. If this phrase does not have that meaning in your language, use an idiom from your language that does have this meaning or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “she lifts her voice” or “she speaks with a loud voice”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

בָּ֝⁠רְחֹב֗וֹת

in,places

Here, open areas refers to large, outdoor public places where there would usually be many people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “in the marketplaces” or “in the plazas”

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 1:20