PROV 20:14 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

20:14

This verse refers to cultures where bargaining is the normal way to buy and sell. It describes the bargaining process from the buyer’s point of view. There is a contrast between what the buyer says when he is bargaining (20:14a) and what he says after he has made the purchase (20:14b).Some scholars think that this proverb implies a warning to people who are inexperienced at bargaining. See UBS (page 423), Longman (page 381). Other scholars think that there is implied criticism of the buyer for being deceitful and boastful. For example, see Waltke (page 143), Ross (page 1044). Whybray (page 295) suggests a situation where a traveling merchant may take advantage of a farmer by buying his surplus crops at an overly low price. In other verses, Proverbs condemns unfair business practices. However, in cultures where people normally bargain in the marketplace, the strategies used by a buyer and seller to get a better price (lower or higher) are normally understood by both parties.

^14a“Worthless, worthless!” says the buyer;

^14bbut on the way out, he gloats.

20:14a

“Worthless, worthless!” says the buyer,

When a person is bargaining for something, he says to the seller, “This is bad! It’s not good!”
The customer always complains that the price is too high,

“Worthless, worthless!” says the buyer: In Hebrew, the buyer’s words are literally “Bad, bad,” as in the NJPS. These words may refer either to the low value of the item the buyer wants or to the unacceptably high asking price. The buyer’s purpose in saying this is to persuade the seller to lower the price. You should use an expression in your language that buyers normally use in this situation. Some other ways that English versions translate this line are:

‘A bad bargain!’ says the buyer to the seller (REB)

The buyer haggles over the price, saying, “It’s worthless,” (NLT)

The customer always complains that the price is too high (GNT)

20:14b

but on the way out, he gloats.

But after he has bought it, he goes away, saying, “I got a really good price/bargain!”
but then he goes off and brags about the bargain he got. (GNT)

but on the way out, he gloats: After the buyer has purchased the item and left the seller, he boasts. In Hebrew, what the buyer boasts about is not explicit. Some English versions supply the words “about his purchase” (as in the NIV). It is also possible that the buyer boasts about his skill in bargaining.

gloats: In Hebrew, the form of the verb that is used here usually indicates reflexive action (“praises himself”). In this context, it may indicate either that the buyer congratulates himself or that he speaks highly about himself to others.

Some other ways to translate 20:14b are:

but he goes off congratulating himself (NJB)

but then he goes off and brags about the bargain he got (GNT)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

רַ֣ע רַ֭ע יֹאמַ֣ר הַ⁠קּוֹנֶ֑ה

evil evil says the,buyer

Here, a buyer is criticizing the quality of something that he wants to buy in order to get the seller to decrease its price. Bad refers to bad quality. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “‘These goods are bad quality! Bad quality!’ says the buyer criticizing the seller’s goods”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

רַ֣ע רַ֭ע יֹאמַ֣ר הַ⁠קּוֹנֶ֑ה

evil evil says the,buyer

Solomon is repeating the same word twice for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single phrase. Alternate translation: “‘It is really bad quality!’ says the buyer”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations

רַ֣ע רַ֭ע יֹאמַ֣ר הַ⁠קּוֹנֶ֑ה

evil evil says the,buyer

If it would be more natural in your language, you could express this as an indirect quotation. Alternate translation: “The buyer says that it is very bad”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

הַ⁠קּוֹנֶ֑ה וְ⁠אֹזֵ֥ל ל֝֗⁠וֹ אָ֣ז יִתְהַלָּֽל

the,buyer and,[he_is]_going_away to=him/it then boasts

Here, the buyer, he, his, and himself represent buyers in general, not one particular buyer. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “any buyer, but when that buyer departs on his way, then that buyer praises himself”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וְ⁠אֹזֵ֥ל ל֝֗⁠וֹ אָ֣ז יִתְהַלָּֽל

and,[he_is]_going_away to=him/it then boasts

Here Solomon implies that the buyer bought the item and boasts to his friends about the good price he paid for it. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “but when he departs on his way after buying that thing, he boasts about the bargain he got”

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 20:14

Hebrew word order

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

20:14

20:14a

20:14b

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