PROV 24:22 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 22:17–24:22: Here are thirty sayings of wise people

This section follows the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs (10:1–22:16). It differs in significant ways from this preceding section:These differences were summarized from a number of commentaries, including UBS (page 472), Waltke (2004, page 22), and Hubbard (page 351).

The preceding section has mostly two-line proverbs that are one verse in length. This section has proverbs of a different form. They are sayings that range from one to seven verses. Most of the sayings are two or three verses in length. Each saying will be marked as a separate paragraph in the Notes.
Many of the proverbs in the preceding section express a general principle. They are not addressed specifically to the readers. Most of the sayings here contain direct commands. They advise the reader or listener either to follow wise behavior or avoid foolish behavior. Most of the sayings also give a reason or motive for following the command.
As in chapters 1–9, the author addresses his reader or listener as a father who advises his son. He uses second person commands and pronouns (you^(sing)). See the note on 23:15 for a list of verses where the words “my son” occur.

Some other headings for this section are:

Thirty Wise Sayings (CEV)

Words of the Wise (ESV)

Thirty Sayings of the Wise (NIV11)

Verse 22:20 mentions “thirty sayings,” but the Hebrew text itself does not number the sayings. Some versions that use the word “thirty” in the section heading also give a number as a separate heading for each saying. The GNT and CEV start numbering the sayings at 22:22. They have a total of thirty-one paragraphs. In these versions, the first paragraph (22:17–21) serves as an introduction to the thirty sayings (22:22–24:22).Scholars who identify 22:17–21 as the first saying include Hubbard (page 352), Fox (page 707), and Waltke (2004, page 22). Scholars who identify these verses as an introduction to the sayings that follow include Whybray (page 325) and Murphy (page 170). See also the NET footnote (b) on 22:16. Whether these introductory verses form the first saying or simply introduce the following sayings, all scholars agree that they function as an introduction to the whole section. Other versions, such as the NIV, NCV, and NLT, divide the paragraphs in the same way but do not have separate headings for each section. You may use either option in your translation.The NIV11 gives a number as a separate heading for each saying. But it counts the first paragraph as the first saying, and has a total of thirty paragraphs. Other versions have more or fewer paragraphs. For example, the ESV and NRSV have fifteen paragraphs. The NJB has thirty-four. Still other versions, such as the RSV, NET, and NJPS, do not group the verses into sayings or paragraphs.

For the convenience of those who decide to identify the number of each saying in their translation, the Notes will put the number in the paragraph headings, using the same numbering system as the GNT or CEV. These numbers will not be used in the Display.

Paragraph 24:21–22 Saying 30

In this saying, the teacher advises his son to respect and obey both the LORD and the king (24:21). If he opposes them, disaster will be the result (24:22).

24:22

This verse gives parallel reasons to not join people who rebel against the LORD or the king. Notice the parts that are similar in meaning (in the BSB):

^22aFor they will bring sudden destruction.

^22bWho knows what ruin they can bring?

In Hebrew, these two lines are more literally:

^22afor their disaster will arise suddenly,

^22band who knows the ruin of both of them?

By itself, the first line is ambiguous. The pronoun “their” could refer to the LORD and the king (the disaster comes from them). It could also refer to the rebels (the disaster happens to the rebels). But the pronoun “both of them” in the second line is not ambiguous. It clearly refers to the LORD and the king, so the overall meaning of the parallel lines is clear.

24:22a–b

(combined/reordered)

For no one can know/imagine the sudden disaster/punishment that those two will cause to happen to people like that.

sudden destruction…ruin: In Hebrew, both these terms are singular. They refer to the same disaster. The verse does not specify what kind of disaster will happen. From the context, it is clearly a punishment that is caused by the LORD and/or the king. The NLT makes this explicit in 24:22b. It has:

Who knows what punishment will come from the Lord and the king?

24:22a

For they will bring sudden destruction.

For Yahweh and the king will cause such people to experience sudden disaster.
For those two will quickly destroy such people.

For they will bring sudden destruction: As mentioned in the previous note, the pronoun they here refers to the LORD and the king. Some translations clarify who sends the disaster and who experiences it. For example:

for those two will send sudden destruction upon them (NIV)

The Lord and the king will quickly destroy such people. (NCV)

Some versions wait until the second line to clarify the pronoun reference. See the NLT (quoted below). You should use a natural way in your language to make the meaning clear.

24:22b

Who knows what ruin they can bring?

Do you^(sing) realize how terrible/severe that punishment will be?
What happens to them will be too hard to think about!

Who knows what ruin they can bring?: This is a rhetorical question. It emphasizes that no one can know how bad the destruction will be. It implies that the ruin the LORD or the king can bring is very severe. Two ways to translate this emphasis are:

General Comment on 24:22a–b

As a rhetorical question. For example:
Do you realize how terrible the destruction from these two will be?
As a statement. For example:
Those two can cause great disaster! (NCV)

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

Who knows what sudden disaster the Lord or a ruler might bring? (CEV)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

אֵידָ֑⁠ם

calamity_of,their

See how you translated the abstract nouns calamity in [1:26](../01/26.md).

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

יָק֣וּם

come

Here, the writer speaks of calamity occurring as if it were an object that arises. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “will occur”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

וּ⁠פִ֥יד שְׁ֝נֵי⁠הֶ֗ם מִ֣י יוֹדֵֽעַ

and_[the],disaster_of both_of=them who? knows

The writer is using the question form to emphasize how terrible the destruction will be. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: “and no one knows how terrible the destruction of the two of them will be!”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

שְׁ֝נֵי⁠הֶ֗ם

both_of=them

This phrase refers to “Yahweh and the king” mentioned in the previous verse. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “Yahweh and the king”

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 24:22

Hebrew word order