PROV 31:9 Interlinear View

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. פְּתַח
2. 398529
3. Open
4. -
6. V-Vqv2ms
7. open
8. S
9. Y-700
10. 278188
2. 398530
3. -
4. -
6. -x-maqqef
8. -
9. -
10. 278189
1. פִּי,ךָ
2. 398531,398532
3. mouth of your
4. your mouth
5. 6310
6. O-Ncmsc,Sp2ms
7. mouth_of,your
8. -
9. Y-700
10. 278190
1. שְׁפָט
2. 398533
3. judge
4. -
5. 8199
6. V-Vqv2ms
7. judge
8. -
9. Y-700
10. 278191
2. 398534
3. -
4. -
6. -x-maqqef
8. -
9. -
10. 278192
1. צֶדֶק
2. 398535
3. righteousness
4. -
5. 6664
6. O-Ncmsa
7. righteousness
8. -
9. Y-700
10. 278193
1. וְ,דִין
2. 398536,398537
3. and plead the cause of
4. defend
5. 1777
6. SV-C,Vqv2ms
7. and,plead_the_cause_of
8. -
9. Y-700
10. 278194
1. עָנִי
2. 398538
3. +the poor
4. -
5. 6041
6. O-Aamsa
7. [the]_poor
8. -
9. Y-700
10. 278195
1. וְ,אֶבְיוֹן
2. 398539,398540
3. and +the needy
4. needy
5. 34
6. O-C,Aamsa
7. and_[the],needy
8. -
9. Y-700
10. 278196
2. 398541
3. -
4. -
6. -x-sof-pasuq
8. -
9. -
10. 278197
2. 398542
3. -
4. -
6. -x-pe
8. S
9. -
10. 278198

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 31:8–9

In this paragraph, Lemuel’s mother advises him to defend the rights of people who are poor and cannot defend themselves in court.

31:9

(combined/reordered)

¶ If poor and helpless people are accused/sued in court, you^(sing) must judge them fairly. You must be their spokesman and defend their rights, because they are not able to defend themselves.

This verse is similar to 31:8. Both verses advise the king to defend the rights of people who are poor and unable to defend themselves. Verse 31:9 adds the information that the king is judging the case. The second line specifies the people whom the king is judging.

^9aOpen your mouth, judge righteously,

^9band defend the cause of the poor and needy.

31:9a

Open your mouth, judge righteously,

When you^(sing) speak in court, be careful that your decision/verdict is fair/just.
Yes, you must make known your thinking. Be righteous/fair when you judge a case

Open your mouth: See the notes on the identical phrase in 31:8a.

judge righteously: This phrase is literally “judge righteousness.” It advises the king to give a just/righteous verdict when he judges a court case. Some other ways to translate this command are:

be a righteous judge (GNT)

judge fairly (NIV)

give a just/fair verdict

31:9b

and defend the cause of the poor and needy.

It is your^(sing) duty to protect/defend the rights of poor people who have low status.
and make sure that people who are poor and oppressed receive the justice that they deserve.

defend the cause: The phrase defend the cause is a verb form of the noun “cause” in 31:8b.

the poor: For the word poor, see the note on “oppressed” in 31:5b. This word has the same meaning. See the footnote on “the poor” in 14:21b for a list of other verses where this word occurs.

needy: In Hebrew, the word needy emphasizes people who have material needs. They need things like food, clothing, or protection from people who oppress them. See the footnote on “the needy” in 14:31b for a list of other verses where this word occurs.

Another way to translate this line is:

and defend the rights of oppressed and needy people (GW)

General Comment on 31:8–9

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in these two verses. See the meaning lines for 31:8–9 (combined/reordered) in the Display for an example.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

פְּתַח־פִּ֥י⁠ךָ שְׁפָט־צֶ֑דֶק

open mouth_of,your judge righteously

Lemuel’s mother is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a clause would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from the second clause if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “Open your mouth for the afflicted one and poor one and judge them with righteousness”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

פְּתַח־פִּ֥י⁠ךָ

open mouth_of,your

See how you translated this phrase in the previous verse.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

צֶ֑דֶק

righteously

See how you translated the abstract noun righteousness in [1:3](../01/03.md).

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

וְ֝⁠דִ֗ין עָנִ֥י וְ⁠אֶבְיֽוֹן

and,plead_the_cause_of poor and_[the],needy

Here, the legal case, the afflicted one, and poor one refer to legal cases and types of people in general. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “and plead any legal case of any afflicted person and any poor person”

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 31:9