PROV 6:21 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 6:20–35: Ninth lesson: If you commit adultery, you will be severely punished

This lesson may be summarized as follows: The son should heed his parents’ teaching, because it will keep him from the dangers of adultery (6:20–24). He should strictly avoid being tempted by another man’s wife. An affair with such a woman will have inevitable and disastrous consequences (6:25–33), resulting from the jealous fury of the husband (6:34–35).

Some other headings for this section are:

Warning Against Adultery (NIV)

Avoid adultery

More Advice About Avoiding Adultery (GW)

The terrible consequences of committing adultery

Paragraph 6:20–35

In these notes, this section forms a single paragraph (as in the NRSV). If a long paragraph like this is not natural in your language, you may want to make paragraph breaks as in the section summary above. Some other ways to divide the paragraphs are:

6:20–26, 27–35 (GNT)
6:20–22, 23–29, 30–35 (CEV)
6:20–29, 30–35 (NIV)

Divide the paragraphs in a way that fits the natural patterns of your language.

6:21

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^21a Bind them always upon your heart;

^21b tie them around your neck.

6:21a–b

(combined/reordered)

Keep their words always in your^(sing) mind, as though you had them tied firmly like a pendant around your neck, hanging close to your heart.

Bind them always upon your heart; tie them around your neck: These two lines function as a single metaphor. The metaphor compares the parents’ teaching to a pendant that the son should tie securely on a chain around his neck so that it hangs over his heart. A pendant can be worn continually around the neck and over the heart. Similarly, the son should always keep his parents’ commands firmly in his mind/heart in order to obey them.

Similar metaphors are used in 1:9, 3:3 and 3:22, but in 1:9 and 3:22, the point of similarity is quite different.

your heart…your neck: The heart was considered the center of the thoughts, emotions, and will. The figurative meaning of fastening something such as teaching around one’s neck is to keep the teaching in one’s thoughts.

6:21a

Bind them always upon your heart;

Never forget their commands/advice. Instead, store them in your^(sing) heart/mind.

always: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as always means “constantly.” For example:

forever (NIV)

General Comment on 6:21a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel lines, as several English versions have done. The NCV has retained the figure of something tied around the neck:

Keep their words in mind forever as though you had them tied around your neck. (NCV)

The GNT changes the image to “locked in your heart,” which to some audiences may better convey the idea of always being with a person. It has:

Keep their words with you always, locked in your heart. (GNT)

The CEV has not used the figure of speech but has tried to maintain the emphasis by using positive and negative synonyms:

always keep it in mind and never forget it (CEV)

It is suggested that you use figurative language if possible in order not to lose the poetic emphasis.

6:21b

tie them around your neck.

Cling to them as if they were tied around your^(sing) neck.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

קָשְׁרֵ֣⁠ם עַל־לִבְּ⁠ךָ֣ תָמִ֑יד עָ֝נְדֵ֗⁠ם עַל־גַּרְגְּרֹתֶֽ⁠ךָ

bind,them on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in heart_of,your always tie,them on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in neck(s)_of,your

These two phrases mean similar things. Solomon is using repetition to emphasize the idea that the phrases express. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could combine the phrases and express the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: “Keep them very close to you at all times”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

קָשְׁרֵ֣⁠ם עַל־לִבְּ⁠ךָ֣

bind,them on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in heart_of,your

Here Solomon is speaking of remembering his commands as if they were objects that people could bind on their hearts. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Remember them”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

עָ֝נְדֵ֗⁠ם עַל־גַּרְגְּרֹתֶֽ⁠ךָ

tie,them on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in neck(s)_of,your

Here Solomon is speaking of remembering his commands as if they were objects that people could tie around their necks. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “remember them” or “keep them close to you”

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 6:21

Hebrew word order