PROV 21:18 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

21:18

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^18a The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,

^18band the faithless for the upright.

There is an ellipsis in 21:18b. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the missing phrase from 21:18a. For example:

^18band the faithless become a ransom for the upright.

The overall meaning is that wicked/faithless people suffer the punishment that they intended righteous/upright people to suffer.

21:18a–b

(combined/reordered)

Evil people who cannot be trusted undergo the punishment that they intended people who are righteous and good to suffer.

The wicked…the faithless: These parallel terms refer to the same group of people. The Hebrew word translated by the BSB as faithless describes someone who acts treacherously or breaks an agreement. See the note on 2:22a–b, where the same parallel terms occur.

the righteous…the upright: These parallel terms have almost the same meaning. Both refer to people who consistently obey the LORD and who do what is right. In this volume of Proverbs, the term upright first occurs in 11:3a. See the note there.

21:18a

The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,

Evil people are punished instead of those who do what is right.
The hardship/trouble that wicked people experience is the same hardship that they intended to cause righteous people.

become a ransom: A literal ransom is a payment that someone makes to free another person from a difficult situation.Fox (page 687), Ross (page 1055). The word was used in that sense in 13:8a. Scholars agree that the word is not used in the sense of a literal payment here.

The probable context of this proverb is that wicked people try to get righteous people into trouble. It may be a situation where the righteous person will be punished if he is wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit. But the LORD makes sure that the wicked person is punished instead. That person suffers in place of the righteous person.Cohen (page 141) suggests the context of a person who would have been unjustly convicted of a crime. The concept of the wicked person suffering as a figurative “ransom” or “substitute” to pay for his intended punishment of the righteous person is also supported by Waltke, Ross, Hubbard, and Scott. See Waltke (page 182) for more details. An alternate interpretation is that when the LORD punishes a community, he sees to it that the wicked are punished and the righteous are spared. Thus, the wicked serve as a “ransom” or “substitute” for the righteous. This view is held by Fox and Murphy, but Toy finds it to be overly crude (page 405). He concludes that the idea of ransom may be a poetic way of saying that the wicked suffer and not the righteous. Another way to translate 21:18a is:

Wicked people will suffer instead of good people (NCV)

The wicked are punished in place of the godly (NLT)

Be careful not to imply that righteous people have done something to deserve punishment.

General Comment on 21:18a–b

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

The wicked bring on themselves the suffering they try to cause good people. (GNT)

21:18b

and the faithless for the upright.

People who are not trustworthy suffer in place of those who are good and honest.
Yes, people who obey Yahweh are spared from punishment when treacherous people are correctly/justly punished instead.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

כֹּ֣פֶר לַ⁠צַּדִּ֣יק רָשָׁ֑ע

ransom for,[person] wicked

Here Solomon refers to a wicked one who is punished instead of the righteous one as if a wicked one were a ransom that is paid on behalf of the righteous one. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “A wicked one is punished instead of a righteous one”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

לַ⁠צַּדִּ֣יק רָשָׁ֑ע

for,[person] wicked

See how you translated the righteous one in [10:3](../10/03.md) and a wicked one in [9:7](../09/07.md).

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וְ⁠תַ֖חַת יְשָׁרִ֣ים בּוֹגֵֽד

and,in_place_of upright faithless

Solomon is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence 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: “and instead of upright ones, one who acts treacherously is a ransom” or “and instead of upright ones, one who acts treacherously is punished”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

בּוֹגֵֽד

faithless

Here, one who acts treacherously represents this type of people in general, not one particular person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a more natural expression. Alternate translation: “any person who acts treacherously”

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 21:18