PROV 25:18 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

25:18–20

In Hebrew, each of these three proverbs is a metaphor. In each proverb, the illustration is in the first line. The topic is in the second line. The BSB follows the Hebrew line order, but it translates each metaphor as a simile.

25:18

This proverb is about a person who tells lies when he testifies in court against his neighbor (18b). A person who does this is compared to three weapons that can wound or kill people (18a).

^18aLike a club or sword or sharp arrow

^18bis a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.

The false witness and the weapons are similar because they both can cause harm, injury, or death. See the General Comment on 25:18a–b after the note on 25:18b for a way to reorder these two lines.

25:18a

Like a club or sword or sharp arrow

¶ What harms or kills people like a club, a dagger, or a sharp arrow?
¶ Clubs, swords, and arrows all cause injury or death.

Like a club or sword or sharp arrow: In some languages, it may be helpful to make the similarity between the illustration and the topic explicit in this line. For example:

What causes injury or death like clubs, daggers or sharp arrows?

In some languages, it may be more natural or vivid to make explicit the way that a fighter uses these weapons. For example:

Like a fighter who strikes with a club or slashes with a sword or shoots a sharp arrow

club: This word refers to a weapon that people use in hand-to-hand combat to strike their enemies. Some clubs were made from a sturdy stick with a knob at the end. Others had a wooden handle with a stone or metal head attached to the end. Some clubs had a blunt head like a sledgehammer. Others were like an ax.

Some other ways to translate this weapon are:

war club (NRSV)

ax (NLT)

heavy stick

sword: This word refers to a weapon with a short handle and a sharp blade. The Hebrew word can also refer to a dagger. Some swords had a straight blade. Others had a curved blade. They were used to stab or slash an enemy. If there is no word for sword or “dagger” in your language, you may:

Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
long knife
Use a cultural substitute. For example:
machete/bolo
bush knife

sharp arrow: People used a bow to shoot an arrow from a distance. Another way to translate sharp arrow is:

piercing arrow (NJB)

In some languages, it may be more natural to leave the word sharp implied. Otherwise, it may imply that the sword is not sharp.

25:18a–b

(combined/reordered)

¶ A person who testifies falsely about his fellow man is like an ax/club or a sword or a sharp arrow.
¶ If you^(sing) lie to the judge about your neighbor, you are like a person who attacks your neighbor with a big stick or stabs him with a dagger or shoots him with an arrow.

25:18b

is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.

It is a person who lies about his neighbor/friend when he testifies in court.
So does a witness who tells lies about/against his companion in court.

is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor: This line refers to a person who says what is not true when he testifies in court.Some English versions do not specify that the person tells lies in a legal context. They simply have a general expression such as “telling lies.” However, the Hebrew text uses two different expressions similar to the NET (quoted in the Notes): “testify against” and “a witness of falsehood.” The commentaries consulted all understood these expressions to refer to testimony in court. Line 25:18a implies that his false witness will result in harm or death to the accused person.

neighbor: See the note in 25:17a, where this word has the same meaning.

Some other ways to translate this line are:

such is anyone who bears false witness against a companion (NJB)

so is the one who testifies against his neighbor as a false witness (NET)

General Comment on 25:18a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of these two lines. For example:

False testimony against a neighbor is as harmful/deadly as a war club, a sword, or an arrow.

See also 25:18a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

מֵפִ֣יץ וְ֭⁠חֶרֶב וְ⁠חֵ֣ץ שָׁנ֑וּן אִ֥ישׁ עֹנֶ֥ה בְ֝⁠רֵעֵ֗⁠הוּ עֵ֣ד שָֽׁקֶר

club and,a_sword and,an_arrow sharp (a)_man bears against,neighbor_of,his witness_of false

If it would be helpful in your language, you could reverse the order of these clauses. Alternate translation: “A man who answers a testimony of falsehood against his neighbor is a hammer and a sword and a sharp arrow”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מֵפִ֣יץ וְ֭⁠חֶרֶב וְ⁠חֵ֣ץ שָׁנ֑וּן

club and,a_sword and,an_arrow sharp

In this verse, Solomon speaks of a man who answers a testimony of falsehood against his neighbor being deadly as if he were A hammer and a sword and a sharp arrow. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or use a simile. Alternate translation: “Very deadly” or “Like a hammer and a sword and a sharp arrow”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

אִ֥ישׁ עֹנֶ֥ה בְ֝⁠רֵעֵ֗⁠הוּ

(a)_man bears against,neighbor_of,his

Although the terms man and his are masculine, Solomon is using these words in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use phrases that make this clear. Alternate translation: “is a person who answers … against that person’s neighbor”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

עֹנֶ֥ה בְ֝⁠רֵעֵ֗⁠הוּ עֵ֣ד שָֽׁקֶר

bears against,neighbor_of,his witness_of false

In the original language, the words translated as answers and against mean “testifies against.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “who testifies against his neighbor with a testimony of falsehood”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

עֵ֣ד שָֽׁקֶר

witness_of false

Here Solomon is using the possessive form to describe a testimony that is characterized by falsehood. If your language would not use the possessive form for this, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: “a false testimony”

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 25:18

Hebrew word order