PROV 24:24 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 24:23–34: Here are more sayings of wise people

The first verse (24:23a) indicates that this section is an additional list of sayings of wise people. This list has been added to the preceding section (22:17–24:22). The sayings range from one to five verses. Each saying will be marked as a separate paragraph in the Notes. As in the English versions, the sayings in this section will not be numbered.

Three of the sayings (24:23b–25, 24:26, and 24:30–34) are general principles. They are not addressed specifically to the readers. See the notes on 10:2 for ways to translate this kind of proverb.

In the other two sayings (24:27 and 24:28–29), the author uses second person commands and pronouns (you^(sing)). Unlike the preceding section, he does not use the phrase “my son” explicitly in these commands.

Some other headings for this section are:

More Wise Sayings (GNT)

More Sayings of the Wise (ESV)

These Are Further Words of Wise People

Paragraph 24:23b–25

The first line of this saying (24:23b) criticizes any judge who shows favoritism in a court case. The next two verses indicate that the case involves someone who is guilty. Verse 24:24 describes the reactions of people to a judge who declares the guilty person to be innocent. Verse 24:25 describes the contrasting situation of a judge who does what is right and declares that the guilty person is guilty.

See the General Comment on 24:23b–25 after the note on 24:25 for a way to translate this saying as direct advice. Also see the third meaning line in the Display for each verse part in this saying.

24:24

Notice the parallel parts in the second line that are similar in meaning:

^24aWhoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—

^24b peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;

The second line describes the reaction of many people to the judge’s verdict in the first line. It is implied from the preceding context (24:23b) that the judge showed partiality when he declared the guilty person to be innocent.

24:24a

Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—

Any judge who says to a guilty person, “You^(sing) are not guilty,”
When such a judge declares that a person who has committed a crime can be set free,
Do not tell^(sing) a guilty person that he is innocent.

Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”: In Hebrew, the words guilty and innocent are often translated as “wicked” and “righteous.” Here, in the context of a court case, the first word refers to someone who has committed a crime. The judge announces that this wicked person is innocent. In other words, the judge gives a verdict of “not guilty.”

In Hebrew and in the BSB, the judge’s words to the guilty person are in the form of a direct quote. In some languages, it may be more natural to use an indirect quote. For example:

A judge who pronounces the guilty innocent (REB)

Another option is to describe the judge’s action without referring explicitly to his words. For example:

When a judge acquits a person who has committed a crime

If you let the guilty go free (CEV)

24:24b

peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;

will be cursed by the people in his community. Even the people in other countries will strongly criticize him.
people in all places/countries will say that he has done something that is very bad/disgraceful.
If you^(sing) do that, people everywhere will become angry and criticize you harshly.

peoples…nations: In Hebrew, these parallel words both refer to large groups of people. Either word can refer to the people of communities, tribes, or nations. They can also refer to the general public.UBS (page 532), Waltke (page 291). Together these words emphasize groups of people all over the world.Whybray (page 354). Here is another way to translate this:

many people…the nations (NLT)

You may use any terms in your language that refer to similar groups of people.

will curse him…will denounce him: In this context, these parallel verb phrases refer to the same response. People will express intense anger when a judge acquits a guilty person.

curse: In Hebrew, this word usually refers to a formal pronouncement that something bad will happen to someone.Nine of the thirteen occurrences of this word in the OT are found in Numbers, where they refer to a formal curse. For example, in Numbers 23:7–8, Balaam was asked to invoke a curse upon the Israelites. In that passage, the verb “denounce” (zaʿam) is also used as a poetic parallel to “curse” (qabab). Here, it probably indicates that people will say bad things about the judge. It probably also implies that they expect the LORD to punish him.Murphy (page 185). See how you translated this word in 11:26, where it has a similar meaning.

denounce: In Hebrew, this word refers both to extreme anger and to the way that God or people express that anger. Here it probably indicates that people will express their anger or indignation with words.The ESV, NRSV, and NASB have “abhorred” or “abhor” here. The GNT and NCV have “hated” and “hate,” respectively. Many English speakers understand “hatred/abhorrence” primarily as a feeling or attitude. None of the lexicons consulted (BDB, TWOT, NIDOTTE, HALOT) defined this Hebrew verb (zaʿam) as a feeling of hatred or abhorrence. BDB (#2194) identified the meaning in Proverbs 24:24 as “express indignation in speech, denounce, curse.” TWOT (#568) used almost identical terms. It commented that “the basic idea is experiencing or expressing intense anger.” NIDOTTE (H2404) used the glosses “be angry, curse.” HALOT (#2542) had “to curse, scold.” They will openly criticize what the judge has done. Some other ways to translate this word are:

revile (NJB)

say that he has acted disgracefully

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder one or more of the parallel pairs in 24:24b. For example:

people everywhere will make known their anger

people of all nations will criticize you for your disgraceful deed

General Comment on 24:24a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to also reorder the two lines of this verse. For example:

^24bPeople everywhere will make known their anger ^24awhen a judge acquits a person who has committed a crime.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

אֹ֤מֵ֨ר ׀ לְ⁠רָשָׁע֮ & יִקְּבֻ֥⁠הוּ & יִזְעָמ֥וּ⁠הוּ

says to,a_wicked_[person] & they,will_curse_him & they,will_denounce_him

One who says, the wicked one, and him refer to types of people in general, not specific people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “Any person who says to any wicked person … will curse that person … will denounce that person”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations

אֹ֤מֵ֨ר ׀ לְ⁠רָשָׁע֮ צַדִּ֪יק אָ֥תָּה

says to,a_wicked_[person] law-abiding/just you(ms)

If it would be more natural in your language, you could express this as an indirect quotation. Alternate translation: “One who says to the wicked one that he is righteous”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

לְ⁠רָשָׁע֮ צַדִּ֪יק

to,a_wicked_[person] law-abiding/just

In this verse, wicked refers to being guilty of doing something wicked and righteous refers to being innocent of doing something wicked. See how you translated the same use of wicked and righteous in [17:15](../17/15.md).

Note 4 topic: grammar-collectivenouns

עַמִּ֑ים

peoples

See how you translated the same use of peoples in [14:34](../14/34.md).

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

לְאֻמִּֽים

nations

Here, nations refers to the people who live in those nations. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “people of nations”

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 24:24