PROV 26:27 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

26:27–28

These verses summarize what happens when people deceive others with their words. They cause destruction not only to others but to themselves as well. The Notes will mark each of these verses as separate paragraphs.

26:27

This proverb uses two examples to illustrate the same point. The underlined parallel parts describe two different actions. It is implied that the person does these things to harm someone else. The parts in bold print describe the result: he will experience the same harm.

^27a He who digs a pit will fall into it,

^27band he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.

26:27a

He who digs a pit will fall into it,

¶ If you^(sing) dig a pit/hole to trap another person, you will fall into it yourself.
¶ People who set traps to catch someone else will get caught themselves.

He who digs a pit will fall into it: This line describes a pit that a person digs in order to trap another person or perhaps another person’s livestock.McKane (page 605) mentions the possibility of livestock. Most scholars simply mention another person. In this context, the word pit probably describes a deep hole that a person digs in the ground and then covers with leafy branches to hide it. See the note on 22:14a. A Hebrew word with a similar meaning is used there. Some other ways to translate this line are:

Whoever digs a pit for others will fall into it (NCV)

If you dig a pit, you will fall in (CEV)

In areas where people do not dig pits to catch other people, you may use more general terms. For example:

People who set traps for others get caught themselves. (GNT)

26:27b

and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.

If you^(sing) roll a large stone to injure another person, it will roll back and injure you instead.
People who start landslides get crushed. (GNT)

he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him: In this context, this line clearly implied that the stone is a large, heavy boulder. It is also implied that the man starts to roll it with the intention of hurting someone else. In Hebrew and in the BSB, the first clause does not say whether the man rolls a stone uphill or downhill. It is possible that he starts to roll it uphill, intending to then push it down on a person who walks underneath.

and a stone will come back on the one who starts it rolling (NRSV)

if he rolls a stone, it will roll back upon him (REB)

Whoever tries to roll a boulder down on others will be crushed by it. (NCV)

If the idea of a stone rolling back on someone is not clear, another option is to use the idea of a landslide. For example:

People who start landslides get crushed. (GNT)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

כֹּֽרֶה־שַּׁ֭חַת בָּ֣⁠הּ יִפֹּ֑ל

digs pit in,it fall

Here Solomon uses One who digs a pit to refer to anyone who tries to harm another person, and he uses fall into it to refer to that person being harmed as a result. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or use a simile. Alternate translation: “One who tries to harm someone will be harmed instead” or “One who tries to harm someone is like one who digs a pit and falls into it”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

כֹּֽרֶה־שַּׁ֭חַת בָּ֣⁠הּ יִפֹּ֑ל

digs pit in,it fall

Here Solomon implies that the person digs a pit in order to trap someone in it, but then ends up falling into that pit himself. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “One who digs a pit to trap someone will fall into that pit”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

כֹּֽרֶה־שַּׁ֭חַת & וְ⁠גֹ֥לֵ֥ל אֶ֝בֶן אֵלָ֥י⁠ו

digs pit & and,[one_who]_rolls stone to=him/it

One who digs a pit, one who rolls a stone, and him refer to types of people in general, not specific people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “Any person who digs a pit … and any person who rolls a stone … to that person”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

וְ⁠גֹ֥לֵ֥ל אֶ֝בֶן אֵלָ֥י⁠ו תָּשֽׁוּב

and,[one_who]_rolls stone to=him/it you(ms)_will_return

Here Solomon uses one who rolls a stone to refer to anyone who tries to harm another person. Solomon uses come back to him to refer to that person being harmed as a result. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning carefully or use a simile. Alternate translation: “and one who tries to harm someone will be harmed instead” or “One who tries to harm someone is like one who rolls a stone, and the stone comes back to him”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וְ⁠גֹ֥לֵ֥ל אֶ֝בֶן

and,[one_who]_rolls stone

Here Solomon implies that the person pushed a large stone up a hill so that it would roll down and crush someone. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “and one who rolls a stone up a hill so that it will roll down and crush someone”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

אֵלָ֥י⁠ו תָּשֽׁוּב

to=him/it you(ms)_will_return

Here Solomon implies that the person himself will be crushed by the stone that he rolled up a hill to crush someone else. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “it will roll down and crush him”

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.