PROV 2:22 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:1–22: Second lesson: Wisdom will spare you from the dangers of crime and adultery

Here is a summary of the advice in this section: If you accept what I teach and seek to become wise (2:1–4), you will indeed become wise, and because of your wisdom, you will know how to revere the LORD and how to do what is right. You will also be protected (2:5–11). Wisdom will protect you from wicked men (2:12–15) and from adulterous women (2:16–19). Consequently, you will follow a righteous lifestyle and enjoy a long life in your own land, but the wicked will be forced to leave their land (2:20–22).

Some other headings for this section are:

The Benefits of Wisdom (NLT)

The Rewards of Wisdom (GNT)

The rewards/benefits that wisdom gives to people

Paragraph 2:20–22

This paragraph concludes the second lesson by giving the result (2:20) of being protected by wisdom (2:11ff). The final two verses (2:21–22) connect primarily with the chapter as a whole rather than with 2:20. They summarize the differing consequences of good and bad conduct.

2:22

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^22abut the wicked will be cut off from the land,

^22band the unfaithful will be uprooted.

2:22a–b

(combined/reordered)

But those who do evil and act treacherously will be suddenly/forcibly removed.
But as for those who do what is evil, those whom people cannot trust, Yahweh will force them to leave.

the wicked…the unfaithful: The phrases the wicked and the unfaithful both refer to the same group of people. In some languages, it may be clearer to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in these lines to avoid the impression that two groups of people are being referred to. For example:

if you do wrong and can never be trusted, you will be rooted out (CEV)

See 2:22a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display for other ways to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts.

In Hebrew, the term unfaithful describes someone who acts treacherously or breaks an agreement. It can apply to a marriage relationship, property rights, a treaty, or general conduct.Toy (page 53); BDB (#898). Also TWOT (#198). Other ways to translate this term are:

the treacherous (RSV)

can never be trusted (CEV)

will be cut off from the land…will be uprooted: In this context, the phrase cut off probably implies that the wicked will be removed from their country either by death or by being forced to leave.

According to several lexicons, the parallel verb will be uprooted means “to pull, tear away.” In this context, it indicates that treacherous people will be forcibly removed from the land. The NCV expresses this as:

will be thrown out of it (NCV)

This Hebrew verb does not refer to uprooting plants in the OT.TWOT (#1374): “to pull or tear away.” NIDOTTE (H5815): “tear away (people in judgment)…Proverbs 2:22.” In the OT the verb is used of tearing a wicked man from his tent (Ps 52:5), destroying a proud person’s house (Proverbs 15:25), tearing people from the promised land (Deuteronomy 28:63), and uprooting treacherous people from the earth (Proverbs 2:22). However, several English versions (BSB, RSV, REB, NJB, CEV) translate it as “uproot” or “root out.” For example:

will be rooted out (CEV)

The GNT makes the plant simile explicit. It has:

pull sinners out of it like plants from the ground

If this simile is an effective comparison in your language, you may use it. Otherwise, a more general expression may be preferable. For example:

will be forcibly removed from it

The verbs will be cut off and will be uprooted are passive. In some languages, it may be necessary to translate them as active and to indicate who will do these actions. If that is true in your language, you should indicate that the LORD will perform these actions. You should not specify how he will do this. For example:

^22aBut the LORD will force wicked people to leave the land.

^22bHe will remove those who are untrustworthy.

2:22a

but the wicked will be cut off from the land,

But evil people will be forced to leave the land.
But Yahweh will not allow wicked people to live here in the land.

2:22b

and the unfaithful will be uprooted.

Those people who cannot be trusted will be removed.
He will suddenly remove those who are treacherous just as people uproot weeds.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

וּ֭⁠רְשָׁעִים

and,wicked_[people]

Here, but indicates a strong contrast between the wicked and treacherous people in this verse and the “upright” and “blameless” people, who were mentioned in the previous verse. See how you translated a similar strong contrast in [1:33](../01/33.md).

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

וּ֭⁠רְשָׁעִים מֵ⁠אֶ֣רֶץ יִכָּרֵ֑תוּ וּ֝⁠בוֹגְדִ֗ים יִסְּח֥וּ מִמֶּֽ⁠נָּה

and,wicked_[people] from_[the],land cut_off and,[those_who]_act_treacherously uprooted from,it

These two phrases mean similar things. The author is using repetition to emphasize the idea that the phrases express. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could connect the clauses with a word that shows that the second clause is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. Alternate translation: “but wicked ones will be cut off from the land, yes, all the treacherous ones will be torn away from it.”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

יִכָּרֵ֑תוּ & יִסְּח֥וּ

cut_off & uprooted

If your language does not use these passive forms, you could express the ideas in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. The context indicates that Yahweh will do the action. Alternate translation: “Yahweh will cut off … Yahweh will tear away”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

יִכָּרֵ֑תוּ & יִסְּח֥וּ

cut_off & uprooted

Solomon speaks of Yahweh removing people from the land as if he were cutting those people off, like a person cuts a branch from a tree, or as if he were tearing those people away, like a person violently pulls someone off of something. Solomon does not state if these people are removed by being killed or by being forced to leave the land, so it is best to use general expressions for these phrases. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “will be removed … will be taken away”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

מֵ⁠אֶ֣רֶץ & מִמֶּֽ⁠נָּה

from_[the],land & from,it

See how you translated the land and it in the previous verse.

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 2:22