Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Prov C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28 C29 C30 C31
Prov 21 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V30 V31
OET (OET-LV) a_person He_makes_firm wicked with_face_of_his and_an_upright_person he he_considers[fn] way_of_his[fn].
OET (OET-RV) The wicked person makes their face look stern,
⇔ ^ but godly people carefully consider their ways.
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
This proverbs contrasts the behavior of a wicked person with the behavior of an upright person.
29a A wicked man hardens his face,
29bbut the upright man makes his way sure.
The contrast is not exact. The parallel lines imply that a wicked person does not think about his actions. They also imply that an upright person does not deceive others by acting in an over-confident way.
A wicked man hardens his face,
People who are wicked show their confidence in their faces. They pretend that they are right/good.
The wicked boldly try to convince/deceive others that they are right/good.
A wicked man hardens his face: The figure of speech that the BSB translates as hardens his face is literally “makes strong with his face.”BART interlinear. This figure of speech indicates that:
The true character of the wicked is hidden behind false pretenses.
Wicked people boldly pretend that everything they do is good. But the truth is that they are wicked in character.Whybray (page 316), Hubbard (page 342).
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
A wicked person shows boldness with his face (NET)
Wicked people bluff their way (CEV)
but the upright man makes his way sure.
But people who are good and honest think carefully about what they will do.
But as for people who consistently do what is right, they think before they act.
but the upright man makes his way sure: There is a textual issue here with the verb that the BSB translates as makes…sure. There are two options in the Masoretic Text:
The first option is the verb makes…sure or “considers.” With this option, the line means that the upright person carefully thinks about his conduct. He considers what he is doing now and what he plans to do in the future. For example:
but as for the upright, he discerns his ways (NET) (BSB, CEV, ESV, NAB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJPS, NLT, NRSV, REB)
The second option is the verb “makes firm.” With this option, the line means that the upright person is certain about his conduct. He is confident that what he does and what he will do in the future are right.Waltke (page 190) says that this textual option “means that the upright unswervingly follows righteousness.” Cook (page 61) speaks of the “confidence of integrity.” For example:
but as for the upright, he makes his way sure (NASB) (GW, KJV, NASB, NJB, GNT)
It is recommended that you follow option (1).The reading/pronunciation recommended by the Masoretes (Qere) is yabin, option (1). It is supported by the LXX and by Waltke, Fox, Garrett, Toy, and Murphy. The form that is written in the MT (Kethib) is yakin, option (2). It is supported by the Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate, and by Hubbard, Longman, Kidner, McKane, Cook, and Scott. See Soulen (page 100) for more information on Qere/Kethib issues. The meaning of this option is very similar to 14:8a.
Some other ways to translate this line are:
but good people think carefully about what they do (NCV)
but the virtuous think before they act (NLT)
the upright man: The word upright was last used in 21:18b. Also see the note in 11:3a.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun
הֵעֵ֬ז אִ֣ישׁ רָשָׁ֣ע בְּפָנָ֑יו וְ֝יָשָׁ֗ר ה֤וּא ׀ יָבִ֬ין דרכיו
strong (a)_man wicked with,face_of,his and,an_upright_[person] he/it (Some words not found in UHB: strong (a)_man wicked with,face_of,his and,an_upright_[person] he/it gives_thought way_of,his )
A wicked man, his, an upright one, and he refer to types of people in general, not to specific people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. See how you translated A wicked man in [11:7](../11/07.md). Alternate translation: “Any wicked person strengthens that person’s own face, but any upright person considers that person’s own ways”
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
הֵעֵ֬ז & בְּפָנָ֑יו
strong & with,face_of,his
Here, strengthens his face means that the man has a facial expression that showed how stubborn and obstinate he is. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a similar expression from your language or express the meaning plainly. See how you translated the similar expression “strengthens her face” in [7:13](../07/13.md). Alternate translation: “has a brazen face” or “has a stubborn expression on her face”
Note 3 topic: translate-textvariants
יָבִ֬ין דרכיו
(Some words not found in UHB: strong (a)_man wicked with,face_of,his and,an_upright_[person] he/it gives_thought way_of,his )
Many ancient manuscripts read he considers his ways, as in the ULT. Other ancient manuscripts read “he establishes his way.” If a translation of the Bible exists in your region, you may wish to use the reading that it uses. If a translation of the Bible does not exist in your region, you may wish to use the reading of the ULT.
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
דרכיו
way_of,his
See how you translated the same use of ways in [3:6](../03/06.md).
OET (OET-LV) a_person He_makes_firm wicked with_face_of_his and_an_upright_person he he_considers[fn] way_of_his[fn].
OET (OET-RV) The wicked person makes their face look stern,
⇔ ^ but godly people carefully consider their ways.
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.