PROV 25:13 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 25:1–29:27: This is Hezekiah’s collection of Solomon’s proverbs

This section is the second collection of Solomon’s proverbs. These proverbs were organized and copied by men who served King Hezekiah. Most scholars divide this section into two groups. These groups differ in several ways.

The first group (chapters 25–27) has many more comparisons and admonitions. In Hebrew, most of these comparisons are metaphors in which one or more illustrations precede the topic. Some English versions change the order so that the topic precedes the illustration(s). You should follow the order that expresses the meaning naturally and effectively in your language.

In the first group, many proverbs are one verse long. As with the individual proverbs in the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs (Section 10:1–22:16), they are not related to the proverbs around them. Other proverbs in this group are two or more verses long. Still others are one-verse proverbs that are closely related in theme. Proverbs in all three categories will be marked as separate paragraphs.

The second group (chapters 28–29) has more contrastive proverbs. The proverbs in this group are each one verse long. They will not be marked as separate paragraphs.

Some other headings for this section are:

More Proverbs of Solomon (NIV)

Proverbs of Solomon Collected by Hezekiah (NET)

These are also wise things that Solomon said

25:13

In Hebrew and in the BSB, the first line of this comparison is the illustration. The second line is the topic. The third line states the similarity between them.

^13aLike the cold of snow in the time of harvest

^13bis a trustworthy messenger to those who send him;

^13che refreshes the soul of his masters.

In this simile, a trustworthy messenger is compared to “the cold of snow” on a hot day. Snow or snow-cooled water is physically refreshing to a person who is harvesting grain on a hot day. Similarly, a faithful messenger refreshes or encourages the inner being of the person(s) who sent him.

25:13a

Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest

¶ Think^(sing) about cold snow at harvest time. How refreshing it would be!
¶ A cup of cold water refreshes/strengthens a person who works hard during the hot/dry season.

Like the cold of snow: This phrase may refer to:

cold water that was cooled by snow brought from the northern mountainsThis option is favored by Waltke, Garrett, Delitzsch, and Toy. According to Delitzsch (page 372), common people from the Damascus area brought stored-up snow from the mountains to Damascus and the coastal cities during the warm months. During the reigns of David and Solomon, the Damascus area was considered part of the kingdom of Israel. Mt. Hermon was located in the northern part of Dan, extending into Syria.
cool water from a spring that was fed by melted snow from Mt. HermonMcKane (page 585) mentions water from a spring that is “marvelously refrigerated in its underground course.” According to Berrett and Ogden (page 139), the Dan spring, one of the major sources of the Jordan River, “is fed by an aquifer carrying cold water, snow-melt from the heights of Mt. Hermon.”
the thought of snow, such as the snow on the top of Mt. Hermon. Although it did not snow during harvest time, people could easily imagine how refreshing it would feel.Longman, Cohen, Hubbard, and Fox favor this option. Fox (page 783) states, “Snow during the summer harvest in Israel is a meteorological impossibility.”

You may use any of these ideas to translate this phrase. For example:

like cold water (GNT)

Like the coolness of snow (NIV)

like snow (NLT)

in the time of harvest: This phrase refers to the hot season of the year (May-June) in the land of Israel. During this time of year, people harvested the wheat and barley crops.Fox (page 783). Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

in the heat of harvest time (GNT)

in summer (NLT)

in the hot season

25:13a–c

(combined/reordered)

¶ A messenger that can be trusted is a source of encouragement to his boss. He is like cold snow on a hot day in harvest season.
¶ A reliable messenger is like a drink of cold water in the summer. He encourages the one who sends him.

25:13b

is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him;

A faithful messenger is like that for the master who sent him.
A reliable worker has a similar effect when his employer sends him to deliver/tell a message.

is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him: A trustworthy messenger is someone who is reliable. He can be trusted to deliver a message and bring back a response. The phrase those who send him refers to one or more people, such as an employer or master or government official. It refers to the same person or group of people as “his masters” in 25:13c.

This proverb states a general principle. You may use either singular or plural terms to refer to both the messenger and the ones who send him. For example:

faithful messengers to those who send them (NRSV)

A reliable messenger…to the one who sends him (GNT)

25:13c

he refreshes the soul of his masters.

He strengthens/encourages the thoughts of his master.
His faithfulness makes his employer happy again.

he refreshes the soul of his masters: This clause implies that the reliable messenger fulfills his responsibilities by faithfully delivering the message.According to some commentaries, this proverb implies that the messenger returns to his master(s) with a satisfactory report. Ross (page 1082) speaks of the effect of “a mission faithfully accomplished,” Delitzsch (page 372) mentions “the answer” that the faithful messenger brings back to his master, Hubbard (page 397) says that the masters are refreshed “when they receive the news that the correct message got through,” and Fox (page 783) specifies “the arrival of a reliable envoy, or more precisely, his message.” In some languages, it may be helpful to make some of this information explicit. For example:

Because he faithfully does what he is asked to do, he refreshes…

refreshes the soul: The Hebrew verb that the BSB translates as refreshes is literally “restores” or “causes to return.” This phrase may imply that the master(s) feel anxiety about an important message that must be delivered without fail. The master(s) know that they can rely on their messenger to faithfully deliver the message and return with the information they seek. For that reason, they are encouraged, and their good, happy emotions (lit. “spirit”) are restored. Be careful not to translate in a way that implies that the person’s spirit has left the body and then returned.

In English, the word refreshes fits the idea of snow or cold water on a hot day. In some languages, a different word may be more appropriate to describe the effect of a good report on a person’s thoughts or emotions.

Some other ways to translate this verse part are:

he encourages his employer

his report causes his master to be happy again

General Comment on 25:13a–c

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder these three lines. For example:

Trustworthy messengers refresh those who send them, like the coolness of snow in the summertime. (NCV)

A messenger you can trust is just as refreshing as cool water in summer. (CEV)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

כְּ⁠צִנַּת־שֶׁ֨לֶג ׀ בְּ⁠י֬וֹם קָצִ֗יר

[is]_like_[the],cold_of snow in/on=day harvest

Here Solomon compares a faithful envoy to the coolness of snow on the day of harvest because both are refreshing. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly: Alternate translation: “Very refreshing” or “Refreshing like the coolness of snow in the day of harvest”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

בְּ⁠י֬וֹם קָצִ֗יר

in/on=day harvest

Here, day refers to a point in time when something happens. It does not refer to a 24-hour length of time. See how you translated the same use of day in [21:31](../21/31.md).

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

צִ֣יר נֶ֭אֱמָן לְ⁠שֹׁלְחָ֑י⁠ו וְ⁠נֶ֖פֶשׁ אֲדֹנָ֣י⁠ו יָשִֽׁיב

messenger faithful to,[those_of,who]_sent_him and,the_life_of his_masters_of,his refreshes

Here, a faithful envoy, his, and he refer to a type of person in general, not a specific person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “is any faithful envoy for that person’s senders, and that brings brings back the life of that person’s masters”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

וְ⁠נֶ֖פֶשׁ אֲדֹנָ֣י⁠ו יָשִֽׁיב

and,the_life_of his_masters_of,his refreshes

The phrase brings back the life is an idiom that refers to causing a tired person to feel refreshed or strong again. If this phrase does not have that meaning in your language, you could use an idiom from your language that does have this meaning or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and he causes his masters to feel refreshed”

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 25:13

Hebrew word order