PROV 22:13 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

22:13

This verse gives the lazy person’s ridiculous excuse for not going to work.

^13aThe slacker says, “There is a lion outside!

^13bI will be slain in the streets!”

22:13a–b

The slacker says, “There is a lion outside! I will be slain in the streets!”

A lazy person says, “I am afraid to go to work. A lion might kill me if I leave the house and go outside.”
A lazy person makes excuses for not working. He says, “A lion might be outside my house. It may kill me on the road!”

There is a textual issue here:

The Masoretic Text has one excuse. The lazy person is afraid of being killed by a lion outside in the streets. For example:
^13aThe lazy person says, “There is a lion outside! ^13bI shall be killed in the streets!” (NRSV) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GW, KJV, NAB, NASB, NCV, NET, NJB, NJPS, NLT, NRSV, REB, GNT)
The LXX has two excuses.The LXX is literally “The sluggard makes excuses, and says, There is a lion in the ways, and murderers in the streets.” (BibleWorks, LXE—English translation of the Septuagint) The lazy person is either afraid of a lion or he is afraid of murderers outside in the streets. For example:
^13aThe sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!” ^13bor, “I will be murdered in the streets!” (NIV) (NIV)

It is recommended that you follow option (1) along with most versions and scholars.

The slacker says, “There is a lion outside! I will be slain in the streets!”: The parallel terms outside and in the streets refer to the same location. The lazy person says that he is afraid to go outside into the streets lest he be slain there by a lion. In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder or combine these terms. For example:

The lazy man says, “There’s a lion in the street; I shall be killed if I step outside.” (NJPS)

The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion out there! If I go outside, I might be killed!” (NLT)

It is implied that the words of the lazy person are simply an excuse for not wanting to work. In some languages, it may be helpful to make this explicit. For example:

Don’t be so lazy that you say, “If I go to work, a lion will eat me!” (CEV)

Lazy people stay at home; they say a lion might get them if they go outside. (GNT)

Notice that the GNT has used an indirect quote instead of a direct quote. Use whichever is more natural in your language.

Notice also that the CEV has left the phrases outside and in the streets implied. This may be a good option in some languages.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

עָ֭צֵל

sluggard

See how you translated this phrase in [13:4](../13/04.md).

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations

אָמַ֣ר & אֲרִ֣י בַ⁠ח֑וּץ בְּ⁠ת֥וֹךְ רְ֝חֹב֗וֹת אֵֽרָצֵֽחַ

he/it_had_said & lion [is]_in,street in_the=middle streets killed

If it would be more natural in your language, you could express this as an indirect quotation. Alternate translation: “says that a lion is outside and he will be killed in the midst of the open areas”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

אָמַ֣ר

he/it_had_said

In this verse, Solomon implies that what the lazy one says is not true. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “says falsely”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

אֵֽרָצֵֽחַ

killed

If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “The lion will kill me”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

אֵֽרָצֵֽחַ

killed

Here, the lazy one implies that he will be killed if he goes outside. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “If I go outside, then I will be killed”

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 22:13

Hebrew word order

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

22:13

22:13a–b

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