PROV 26:13 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

Paragraph 26:13–16

This paragraph is about a lazy person or “slacker” (BSB). The first three verses ridicule the lazy person and imply a progression in his laziness. First, he makes a ridiculous excuse for staying at home and not going to work (26:13). Second, he just stays in bed (26:14). Third, he is too lazy to even put food in his mouth (26:15). The conclusion or climax comes in 26:16. In spite of his laziness, he considers himself to be extremely wise.See Fox (page 798) and Waltke (page 355). Both of these scholars analyze this paragraph in a similar way. According to Fox, the first three proverbs ridicule the lazy person. Waltke considers the fourth proverb to be the climax of the paragraph. Fox notes that this last proverb is a “non-ironic observation.”

26:13

This verse gives the lazy person’s ridiculous excuse for not going to work. A lion might be outside the house. It is implied that he is afraid to go into the streets lest the lion kill him.

^13aThe slacker says, “A lion is in the road!

^13b A fierce lion roams the public square!”

This verse is similar to 22:13. See the notes there. The main difference is that the word “lion” is used only once in 22:13. Verse 22:13b also makes explicit the man’s fear that he will be killed.

26:13a–b

The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!”

¶ A lazy person says, “I am afraid to go to work. A lion is on the road outside my house!”
¶ A lazy person makes excuses for not going to work. He says, “A lion might be in the street. In fact, I am sure there is a lion there!”

The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!”: The two lines give almost identical excuses for the sake of poetic variation and emphasis.

lion…fierce lion: In Hebrew, the first word for lion is used only in poetry. The second word is used more generally. The BSB probably translated it as fierce lion for the sake of emphasis. The GW probably translated the first word as “ferocious lion” for the same reason. There is no difference in meaning between the two words in Hebrew.

in the road…roams the public square: These parallel phrases refer to the same location. In Hebrew, the second phrase is more literally “in the open places.” It sometimes refers to an open area in a town, such as a plaza. Here it probably means “streets,” as in most versions.NIDOTTE (H8148). In 22:13b, the NASB and BSB translated the same word as “streets.” Here the BSB has the public square and the NASB has:

in the open square (NASB)

In areas that have town squares or plazas, consider using this option to avoid redundancy.

General Comment on 26:13a–b

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

Don’t be lazy and keep saying, “There’s a lion outside!” (CEV)

The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road! Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!” (NLT)

The general statements in many of the proverbs are intended as implied advice. Notice that the CEV makes the advice explicit. Also notice that the NLT makes the emphasis of the second parallel line explicit by saying, “Yes, I’m sure…” Consider using one or more of these options if they are natural in your language.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

עָ֭צֵל

sluggard

See how you translated this phrase in [13:4](../13/04.md).

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations

אָמַ֣ר & שַׁ֣חַל בַּ⁠דָּ֑רֶךְ אֲ֝רִ֗י בֵּ֣ין הָ⁠רְחֹבֽוֹת

he/it_had_said & lion [is]_in,road lion between the_open,places

If it would be more natural in your language, you could express this as an indirect quotation. See how you translated the similar phrases in [22:13](../22/13.md). Alternate translation: “says that a lion is on the road and a lion is between the open areas”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

אָמַ֣ר

he/it_had_said

In this verse, Solomon implies that what the lazy one says is not true. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “says falsely”

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.