PROV 5:11 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:1–23: Eighth lesson: Avoid the temptation to commit adultery

A summary of this lesson is: Stay away from a woman who commits adultery, or you will bitterly regret it (5:1–14). Instead, be delighted with your own wife (5:15–20), because the LORD sees everything you do and will punish wickedness (5:21–23).

Some other headings for this section are:

Advice to stay away from a woman who commits adultery

Warning About Adultery (NCV)

Avoid Adultery (GW)

Be Faithful to Your Wife (CEV)

Paragraph 5:7–14

Verses 5:9–14 tell what will happen to the son if he does not follow the advice given in 5:7–8.

5:11

This verse contains two parallel statements that describe when “you will groan.”

^11a At the end of your life you will groan

^11b when your flesh and your body are spent,

5:11a–b

(combined/reordered)

Then, when your^(sing) end is approaching and you are totally weak and exhausted, you will groan,
When your time to die is near and sickness has completely weakened your body, you will groan,

At the end of your life…when your flesh and your body are spent: In Hebrew, the first of these two parallel time phrases is literally “at your end/afterward.” Some scholars think that this refers to the end of the young man’s relationship with the adulteress, after he has lost his wealth. But almost all versions understand it to refer to the time when a person is about to die.At the end of your life is literally “at/in your end/aftertime.” Several scholars point out that this expression does not necessarily refer to the end of a person’s life, but that it may refer here to the time following the young man’s loss of wealth, the end of the affair (Toy, Murphy, Whybray, Waltke). However, Fox (page 197) points out that the next clause clearly speaks of “wasting away from disease, and 5:23 too speaks of his imminent death.” Most versions also understand this as referring to the time period preceding death. For example:

on your deathbed (GNT)

In the parallel phrase, the person is described as sick and worn out. The Hebrew verb that the BSB translates here as spent indicates that the person’s body is completely wasted away or exhausted, either by disease or labor.Whybray (page 88) describes this as a “state of starvation,” Ross (page 928) as complete exhaustion, but several versions indicate the results of disease (NCV, NLT, GNT). Fox (page 197) says this refers to disease, perhaps venereal disease. According to him, various such diseases were known in the Near East. The symptoms of one included “fever, weariness, slackness of flesh, loss of appetite…” However, Waltke (page 314) says the wasting away was due to hard labor. The phrase your flesh and your body indicates that the person’s whole body is affected.

In some languages, if more than one time phrase is used to describe an event, the time phrases must be listed together. In such languages, the time phrases in these two lines may need to be reordered. For example, the NCV puts both expressions at the end of the verse:

You will groan at the end of your life when your health is gone (NCV)

The NJB puts them both at the beginning:

at your ending, your body and flesh having been consumed, you will groan (NJB)

You should put these time expressions in the position that is most natural in your language.

5:11a

At the end of your life you will groan

You^(sing) will groan when you are close to death,

you will groan: The word groan refers to the sound made by a person who is experiencing severe pain or remorse.

5:11b

when your flesh and your body are spent,

when your^(sing) health is completely gone,

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / euphemism

בְ⁠אַחֲרִיתֶ֑⁠ךָ בִּ⁠כְל֥וֹת בְּ֝שָׂרְ⁠ךָ֗ וּ⁠שְׁאֵרֶֽ⁠ךָ

at,end_of,your (Some words not found in UHB: and,you_will_groan at,end_of,your when,wastes_away flesh_of,your and,body_of,your )

Here Solomon is referring to dying in a polite way by using the word end and the phrase your body and your flesh are finished. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a polite way of referring to death in your language, or you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [at the time of your death, when your flesh and your body die]

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

וְ⁠נָהַמְתָּ֥

(Some words not found in UHB: and,you_will_groan at,end_of,your when,wastes_away flesh_of,your and,body_of,your )

This verse continues the meaning of the word lest in [5:10](../05/10.md). What follows in this verse are more things that will happen to young men if they do not obey the commands in [5:8](../05/08.md). Use a natural form in your language to connect this statement to the previous one. Alternate translation: [and furthermore, if you fail to obey my teaching, you will groan]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

בְּ֝שָׂרְ⁠ךָ֗ וּ⁠שְׁאֵרֶֽ⁠ךָ

(Some words not found in UHB: and,you_will_groan at,end_of,your when,wastes_away flesh_of,your and,body_of,your )

The words flesh and body mean basically the same thing and represent the whole person. Solomon is using the two terms together for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single phrase. Alternate translation: [you yourself]

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 5:11