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OET (OET-LV) one_who_removes a_garment in/on_day coldness vinegar on soda and_one_who_sings (with)_songs to a_heart_of sad.
OET (OET-RV) Taking off your coat on a cold day,
⇔ is like pouring vinegar on baking soda
⇔ or singing songs to someone who’s feeling sad.
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
20aLike one who removes a garment on a cold day
20bor vinegar poured on a wound
20cis one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
The topic of this proverb is a person who sings happy songs to someone who is sad (20c). Doing that is compared to a person who removes an outer garment on a cold day (20a) or a person who pours vinegar on a wound (20b). These actions are similar because:
They are inappropriate.
They cause pain or irritation.
They do not accomplish a useful purpose.
They only make the situation worse.
Like one who removes a garment on a cold day
¶ If you(sing) take off a person’s coat when it is cold weather
¶ A person who takes away someone’s cloak/blanket when he is cold only makes his situation worse.
Like one who removes a garment on a cold day: There is a textual issue here:
Most versions include this line. They connect it with 25:20b–c. These versions include: (BSB, ESV, GW, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJPS, NLT, RSV, GNT)
The NJB includes this line but connects it with the preceding proverb (25:19a–b).
Some versions omit this line. These versions include: (CEV, NRSV, REB)
It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most versions and commentaries.The Hebrew consonants for this line are almost identical to the consonants of 25:19b. Some scholars think that scribes may have mistakenly copied the consonants and added different vowels, resulting in a different meaning. The HOTTP recommends (with considerable doubt) that this line be omitted (UBS, page 551). Longman (page 448) and Ross (page 1084) reject the idea that this line was mistakenly copied by dittography. Most commentaries include the line but do not specifically discuss this issue.
In Hebrew, this line is literally “[one who] removes a garment…” The Hebrew text does not specify whose garment is removed. There are different ways to interpret the meaning of this line:Many of the English versions are like the Hebrew text in that they have “a garment/coat.” The Notes have listed versions such as the NIV (“take away a garment”) with interpretation (1), because according to normal English usage, taking away one’s own garment wrongly implies taking it to a different location. Versions such as the ESV (“take off a garment”) have been listed with interpretation (2), because in normal English usage, taking off a garment implies one’s own garment unless a different referent is specified.
This line refers to a person who removes someone else’s garment. For example:
like taking someone’s coat in cold weather (NLT) (NCV, NIV, NLT, GNT)
This line refers to a person who removes his own garment. For example:
like one who takes off a garment on a cold day (ESV) (ESV, GW, NASB, NET, NJB, NJPS, RSV)
You may follow either interpretation. Both actions are inappropriate and make a person feel colder, whether oneself or someone else. The BSB translation is a literal translation of the Hebrew and allows for either interpretation. The Display will follow interpretation (1). It provides a better parallel to the topic of the comparison—singing songs to someone else (25:20c).
garment: In Hebrew, this word can refer to any kind of clothing. In the context of cold weather, it probably refers to an outer garment, such as a robe, cloak, or coat.
(combined/reordered)
¶ If you(sing) sing to a person who is discouraged/depressed, it is as irritating/bad as if you took away his coat/garment on a cold day or rubbed salt on a/his wound.
or vinegar poured on a wound
or you(sing) pour vinegar into a wound, what is the result?
A person who treats someone’s wound with vinegar increases his pain.
or vinegar poured on a wound: There is a textual issue here:
The LXX has “vinegar on a wound.” For example:
pouring vinegar on a wound (NJB) (BSB, CEV, NIV11, NJB, NLT, NRSV, REB, GNT)
The MT, Vulgate, and Targum have “vinegar on soda.” For example:
vinegar poured on soda (NIV) (ESV, GW, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJPS)
It is recommended that you follow option (1). The irritating effect of vinegar on a wound is easy to understand and fits well with 25:20a. Many language groups do not have a word for “soda” (sodium carbonate) and are not familiar with its uses. Moreover, scholars do not agree on the effect of vinegar on soda.Scholars who support option (1) include Waltke, McKane, UBS, Toy, and Murphy. Some of the differing opinions in support of option (2) are that vinegar “spoils” soda (Cook, page 70), makes soda bubble and is “perturbing” (Hubbard, page 414), neutralizes soda, so it would be “counterproductive” (Ross, page 1084), causes a “violent” reaction (Longman, page 456), and makes it “sizzle, as if the acid and base were in conflict” (Fox, page 786).
Some other ways to translate option (1) are:
Make explicit a point of similarity. For example:
as irritating as pouring vinegar in a wound
Use a cultural substitute. For example:
like rubbing salt in a wound (GNT)
is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
If you(sing) sing songs to a person who feels sad, the result is the same.
Similarly, a person who sings cheerfully to someone who is very discouraged will cause his sorrow to increase.
is one who sings songs to a heavy heart: It is implied here that the person cheerfully sings happy songs. For example:
Singing cheerful songs (NLT)
The phrase a heavy heart is a figure of speech. It represents a person who is discouraged, sad, or depressed. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
a sorrowing heart (NJB)
a person who is depressed (GNT)
someone who is sad (NCV)
In some languages it may be more natural to put the topic of the comparison before the two illustrations. For example:
Singing cheerful songs to a person with a heavy heart is like taking someone’s coat in cold weather or pouring vinegar in a wound. (NLT)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure
מַ֥עֲדֶה בֶּ֨גֶד ׀ בְּי֣וֹם קָ֭רָה חֹ֣מֶץ עַל־נָ֑תֶר וְשָׁ֥ר בַּ֝שִּׁרִ֗ים עַ֣ל לֶב־רָֽע
takes_off garment in/on=day cold vinegar on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in soda and,[one_who]_sings (with,songs on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in heart_of heavy
If it would be helpful in your language, you could change the order of these clauses. Alternate translation: “One who sings with songs to a heart of misery is like one who removes a garment on a cold day, vinegar on natron”
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun
מַ֥עֲדֶה בֶּ֨גֶד & וְשָׁ֥ר & לֶב־רָֽע
takes_off garment & and,[one_who]_sings & heart_of heavy
One who removes a garment, one who sings, and a heart of misery refer to types of people and hearts in general, not specific people or a specific heart. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “Any person who removes a garment … so is any person who sings … any heart of misery”
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
מַ֥עֲדֶה בֶּ֨גֶד
takes_off garment
Here Solomon implies that a garment is removed from someone’s body. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “One who removes a garment from someone’s body”
Note 4 topic: translate-unknown
חֹ֣מֶץ עַל־נָ֑תֶר
vinegar on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in soda
The words vinegar and natron refer to things that cause a violent chemical reaction when they are mixed. Therefore, this clause refers to two things that should not be put together. If your readers would not be familiar with these two materials, you could use the names of similar things in your are, or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: “chemicals that don’t mix well with each other”
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / simile
וְשָׁ֥ר בַּ֝שִּׁרִ֗ים עַ֣ל לֶב־רָֽע
and,[one_who]_sings (with,songs on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in heart_of heavy
Solomon is saying that one who sings with songs to a heart of misery is like One who removes a garment on a cold day and like vinegar on natron, because all of these are inappropriate and unhelpful when put together. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: “so also is one who sings with songs to a heart of misery inappropriate”
Note 6 topic: writing-poetry
וְשָׁ֥ר בַּ֝שִּׁרִ֗ים
and,[one_who]_sings (with,songs
Here, sings with songs is an emphatic construction that uses a verb and its object that come from the same root. You may be able to use the same construction in your language to express the meaning here. Alternatively, your language may have another way of showing the emphasis.
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
לֶב־רָֽע
heart_of heavy
Here Solomon is using the possessive form to describe a heart that is characterized by misery. If your language would not use the possessive form for this, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: “a miserable heart”
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche
לֶב
heart_of
Here, heart refers to the whole person. See how you translated the same use of heart in [14:10](../14/10.md).
OET (OET-LV) one_who_removes a_garment in/on_day coldness vinegar on soda and_one_who_sings (with)_songs to a_heart_of sad.
OET (OET-RV) Taking off your coat on a cold day,
⇔ is like pouring vinegar on baking soda
⇔ or singing songs to someone who’s feeling sad.
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.