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Prov 31 V1 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31

OET interlinear PROV 31:2

◄ ← PROV 31:2 ↓ → ║ ©

Hebrew word order

    1. Hebrew word
    2. Hebrew lemma
    3. OET-LV words
    4. OET-RV words
    5. Strongs
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. Gloss
    8. CAPS codes
    9. OET tags
    10. OET word #
    1. מַה
    2. 398426
    3. What
    4. -
    5. 4100
    6. O-Ti
    7. what?
    8. S
    9. Y-700
    10. 278110
    2. 398427
    3. -
    4. -
    6. -x-maqqef
    8. -
    9. -
    10. 278111
    1. בְּרִ,י
    2. 398428,398429
    3. my son of my
    4. -
    5. 1248
    6. S-Ncmsc,Sp1cs
    7. my_son_of,my
    8. -
    9. Y-700
    10. 278112
    1. וּ,מַֽה
    2. 398430,398431
    3. and what
    4. -
    5. 4100
    6. SO-C,Ti
    7. and,what?
    8. -
    9. Y-700
    10. 278113
    2. 398432
    3. -
    4. -
    6. -x-maqqef
    8. -
    9. -
    10. 278114
    1. בַּר
    2. 398433
    3. Oh son of
    4. -
    5. 1248
    6. S-Ncmsc
    7. O_son_of
    8. -
    9. Y-700
    10. 278115
    2. 398434
    3. -
    4. -
    6. -x-maqqef
    8. -
    9. -
    10. 278116
    1. בִּטְנִ,י
    2. 398435,398436
    3. my womb of my
    4. -
    5. 990
    6. S-Ncfsc,Sp1cs
    7. my_womb_of,my
    8. -
    9. Y-700
    10. 278117
    1. וּ,מֶה
    2. 398437,398438
    3. and what
    4. -
    5. 4100
    6. SO-C,Ti
    7. and,what?
    8. -
    9. Y-700
    10. 278118
    1. בַּר
    2. 398439
    3. Oh son of
    4. -
    5. 1248
    6. S-Ncmsc
    7. O_son_of
    8. -
    9. Y-700
    10. 278119
    2. 398440
    3. -
    4. -
    6. -x-maqqef
    8. -
    9. -
    10. 278120
    1. נְדָרָ,י
    2. 398441,398442
    3. my vows of my
    4. -
    5. 5088
    6. S-Ncmpc,Sp1cs
    7. my_vows_of,my
    8. -
    9. Y-700
    10. 278121
    2. 398443
    3. -
    4. -
    6. -x-sof-pasuq
    8. -
    9. -
    10. 278122

OET (OET-LV) What my_son_of_my and_what Oh_son_of my_womb_of_my and_what Oh_son_of my_vows_of_my.

OET (OET-RV) Now what my son? My son that I gave birth to.
 ⇔ ≈ The son from my marriage.

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 31:1–9: Here are the sayings of King Lemuel

The verses in this section were written or collected by King Lemuel. They contain advice that his mother gave him regarding the way that a good king should rule his people. Her advice focuses on a king’s relationships with women (v. 3), the use of intoxicating drink (vv. 4–7) and justice for the poor (vv. 8–9). English versions divide the paragraphs in this section in several ways. The paragraphs in the Notes will be divided according to these three topics. The title (v. 1) and introduction (v. 2) will each form a separate paragraph.

Some other headings for this section are:

What King Lemuel’s Mother Taught Him (CEV)

Advice to a King (GNT)

Wise Words of King Lemuel (NCV)

Paragraph 31:2

In this verse, the mother uses three phrases to address her son. This repetition emphasizes what she will say. The three phrases have different emphases, but together, they express or imply the mother’s strong love for her son and her desire that he will listen to her good advice.

31:2

What shall I say, O my son? What, O son of my womb? What, O son of my vows?

What shall I say, O my son? What, O son of my womb? What, O son of my vows?: There are two main ways to interpret these three phrases/questions:Versions that can be interpreted in more than one way have not been listed under either interpretation. These include versions that have an incomplete phrase/question (BSB, GW, KJV, NAB, NASB, NJB, and RSV) as well as versions that have a complete phrase/question (NCV, NET, NIV, and NLT).

  1. They are worded in a positive way. They express or imply the mother’s desire that her son will listen to the advice that she will give him. For example:

    What shall I say to you, my son?… (REB)

    Listen, my son!… (NIV11) (CEV, NIV11, REB, GNT)

  2. They are worded in a negative way. They express or imply the mother’s dismay that her son has not been acting wisely. She rebukes him for not living according to the advice that she will give him. For example:

    No, my son!… (NRSV) (ESV, NJPS, NRSV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and scholars.See Waltke (pages, 503–504, 506) for arguments in favor of the first interpretation. See Fox (page 884) for support of interpretation (2). Most scholars do not give a clear conclusion one way or the other. Garret, McKane, and Toy seem to favor interpretation (1).

Some other ways to translate the first phrase are:

My son (NCV)

You are my own dear son (GNT)

O son of my womb: This phrase expresses the mother’s close relationship to her son from the time when she got pregnant to the time when she gave birth to him. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

I gave birth to you (NCV)

the son that was in my womb

O son of my vows: There are two ways to interpret this phrase:

  1. It means that the mother vowed or promised to dedicate her son to the LORD. She probably made this vow before she got pregnant. For example:

    You are the son whom I vowed to dedicate to the LORD. (BSB, ESV, NAB, NASB, NET, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NLT, NRSV)

  2. It means that the mother asked the LORD to give her a son, and the LORD answered her prayers. For example:

    You are the son I prayed for. (NCV) (CEV, GW, NCV, NIV11, REB, GNT)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and commentaries. The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as vows refers to solemn promises to sacrifice or dedicate something to the LORD or to do something for him. A person may make a vow to do something if his prayers are answered,For example, Hannah vowed that if God answered her prayer for a child, she would dedicate that child to him (1 Samuel 1:11). but a vow is not the same thing as an answer to prayer.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / quotemarks

מַה־בְּ֭רִ⁠י

what? my_son_of,my

[32:2](../32/02.md)–[31](../31/31.md) is a long quotation of what Lemuel’s mother told him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could indicate this with quotation marks or with whatever other punctuation or convention your language uses to indicate a quotation.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

מַה־בְּ֭רִ⁠י וּ⁠מַֽה־בַּר־בִּטְנִ֑⁠י וּ֝⁠מֶה בַּר־נְדָרָֽ⁠י

what? my_son_of,my and,what? son_of my_womb_of,my and,what? son_of my_vows_of,my

Lemuel’s mother is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from the context if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “What should I say to you, my son? And what should I say to you, son of my womb? And what should I say to you, son of my vows?”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

מַה־בְּ֭רִ⁠י וּ⁠מַֽה־בַּר־בִּטְנִ֑⁠י וּ֝⁠מֶה בַּר־נְדָרָֽ⁠י

what? my_son_of,my and,what? son_of my_womb_of,my and,what? son_of my_vows_of,my

These three questions could be: (1) rhetorical questions that Lemuel’s mother asks in order to emphasize that her son should listen to what she is about to say. Alternate translation: “This is what I should tell you, my son! And this is what I should tell you, son of my womb! And this is what I should tell you, son of my vows!” (2) exclamations in which What is not introducing a question. Alternate translation: “O, my son! O, son of my womb! O, son of my vows!”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

בַּר־בִּטְנִ֑⁠י

son_of my_womb_of,my

Here, Lemuel’s mother is using the possessive form to describe a son whom she had carried in her womb. If your language would not use the possessive form for this, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: “son whom I carried in my womb”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

בַּר־נְדָרָֽ⁠י

son_of son_of my_vows_of,my

Here, vows could mean: (1) the promise Lemuel’s mother made to dedicate her son to God if he allowed her to have a child. Alternate translation: “son whom I dedicated to Yahweh” (2) Lemuel is the result of God hearing his mother’s vows, in which case vows would refer to prayers. Alternate translation: “son for whom I prayed”

TSN Tyndale Study Notes:

31:1-9 Lemuel, like Agur, might have been from Massa (see study note on 30:1). Lemuel’s mother’s teaching encourages him to control his lusts (particularly for women and alcohol) so that he might reign justly.
• Apart from this passage, Lemuel is unknown.

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

    1. OET-LV words
    2. OET-RV words
    3. Strongs
    4. Hebrew word
    5. Hebrew lemma
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. Gloss
    8. CAPS codes
    9. OET tags
    10. OET word #
    1. What
    2. -
    3. 4666
    5. 398426
    6. O-Ti
    8. S
    9. Y-700
    10. 278110
    1. my son of my
    2. -
    3. 1136,1978
    5. 398428,398429
    6. S-Ncmsc,Sp1cs
    8. -
    9. Y-700
    10. 278112
    1. and what
    2. -
    3. 1987,4666
    5. 398430,398431
    6. SO-C,Ti
    8. -
    9. Y-700
    10. 278113
    1. Oh son of
    2. -
    3. 1136
    5. 398433
    6. S-Ncmsc
    8. -
    9. Y-700
    10. 278115
    1. my womb of my
    2. -
    3. 1055,1978
    5. 398435,398436
    6. S-Ncfsc,Sp1cs
    8. -
    9. Y-700
    10. 278117
    1. and what
    2. -
    3. 1987,4666
    5. 398437,398438
    6. SO-C,Ti
    8. -
    9. Y-700
    10. 278118
    1. Oh son of
    2. -
    3. 1136
    5. 398439
    6. S-Ncmsc
    8. -
    9. Y-700
    10. 278119
    1. my vows of my
    2. -
    3. 5047,1978
    5. 398441,398442
    6. S-Ncmpc,Sp1cs
    8. -
    9. Y-700
    10. 278121

OET (OET-LV) What my_son_of_my and_what Oh_son_of my_womb_of_my and_what Oh_son_of my_vows_of_my.

OET (OET-RV) Now what my son? My son that I gave birth to.
 ⇔ ≈ The son from my marriage.

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 logo mark

◄ ← PROV 31:2 ↑ → ║ ©