PROV 25:16 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

Paragraph 25:16–17

These proverbs both teach that people should enjoy good things in moderation. The second line of each proverb warns that over-indulging in something good has bad consequences. The first proverb is about a tasty kind of food. The second proverb is about pleasant social interaction.

25:16

The first line advises the reader to limit the amount of honey that he eats. The second line is a warning not to ignore this advice. The person who eats too much will vomit.

^16aIf you find honey, eat just enough—

^16btoo much of it, and you will vomit.

25:16a

If you find honey, eat just what you need,

¶ If there is honey that you have found, eat only what you^(sing) need.
¶ Did you find some honey that wild bees have made? Then satisfy your hunger.
¶ When you see honey in the bush/forest, limit what you eat.

If you find honey: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “you have found honey.” It implies that the reader has unexpectedly found a bee hive that contains wild honey.

eat just what you need: This clause advises the reader to eat only enough honey to satisfy his hunger. Some other ways to translate 25:16a are:

When you find honey, eat only as much as you need. (GW)

If you find honey, eat what you need and no more (REB)

Have you found honey? Eat only what you need (NASB)

25:16a–b

(combined/reordered)

¶ If you^(sing) find some wild honey to eat, do not eat too much lest you vomit.

25:16b

lest you have too much and vomit it up.

If you^(sing) eat too much, it will make you vomit.
But do not eat until you are too full, or you will vomit.
Otherwise you will vomit it.

lest you have too much and vomit it up: In Hebrew, this line is literally “lest you become full of it and you vomit it.” The word lest introduces the bad consequences of ignoring the advice in the preceding line. Some other ways to translate this line are:

lest you become stuffed with it and vomit it up (NET)

or it will make you throw up (NCV)

Otherwise, you will have too much and vomit. (GW)

General Comment on 25:16a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to make some of the information implicit or to combine it into one statement. For example, the GNT does not make explicit the clause “If you find honey.” It has:

Never eat more honey than you need; too much may make you vomit.

The NCV combines the words “eat just what you need” and “too much” into one statement. It has:

If you find honey, don’t eat too much, or it will make you throw up.

One or more of these options may be appropriate in your language.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

דְּבַ֣שׁ מָ֭צָאתָ

honey find

Here Solomon refers to someone unexpectedly discovering wild honey. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “If you happen to come across honey”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

אֱכֹ֣ל דַּיֶּ֑⁠ךָּ

eat sufficiency_of,your

Here Solomon implies that someone should only eat enough honey and not more than that. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “only eat enough for you”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

תִּ֝שְׂבָּעֶ֗⁠נּוּ

you,should_be_surfeited_with_it

Here, the word translated as satiated refers to someone overeating to the degree that he becomes sick. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “you eat yourself sick with it”

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 25:16

Hebrew word order