PROV 6:22 Interlinear View

6:22 OSHB note: We read one or more accents in L differently from BHQ.

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.

6:22

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^22a When you walk, they will guide you;

^22b when you lie down, they will watch over you;

^22c when you awake, they will speak to you.

In this verse, the parents’ teachings are personified as a constant guide, guardian, and adviser for the young man.The subject of all three verbs is actually feminine singular “she” in Hebrew. This has led some scholars (Toy, page 133; Delitzsch, page 109) to propose that the subject is Wisdom. However, most scholars reject this view, since Wisdom is not mentioned in this context, and understand the subject as the parental instruction of 6:20 referred to as a singular unit. Most English versions in TW have “they” as the subject.

6:22a

When you walk, they will guide you;

As you^(sing) do your daily tasks, these commands will direct/lead you.
If you do this, they will be like a guide who shows you the right path to take during the day.

When you walk: In this context, the clause When you walk means to go about from place to place while doing one’s daily tasks. It does not mean “walk” in contrast to some other way of moving, nor is the meaning limited to “when you travel” (GNT). The meaning is better expressed by:

while you are active (NJB)

during the day

they will guide you: The parents’ instruction is described as a guide who walks ahead of the young man to show him the right path to take.

6:22b

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

At night they will guard/keep you^(sing) safe,
They will also be like a guard who protects you from danger during the night.

when you lie down: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates literally as lie down means to lie down in order to go to sleep. The GNT uses neither of these verbs. It expresses the same meaning by focusing on the time when most people sleep. It has:

at night

they will watch over you: Parental teaching is personified as a night watchman or guard who protects people from harm or danger.

6:22c

when you awake, they will speak to you.

and during the day, they will advise you^(sing).
And when you wake up again in the morning, their words will still be in your mind, like a constant companion who offers you good advice.

when you awake, they will speak to you: The phrase speak to you refers to advice, not to mere conversation. When the young man wakes up in the morning, the lessons he has learned from his parents will be with him like a companion to advise him.

General Comment on 6:22a–c

You are encouraged to use personification if possible, but if it is not natural in your language, here are some other options:

Use similes. For example:
As you go about your daily activities, your parents’ teaching will be like a guide who shows you the right path to take. At night their teaching will be like a guard who protects you from danger. And when you wake up again in the morning, their words will still be in your mind, like a constant companion who offers you good advice.
If figurative language is not possible, translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:
If you do this, you will have a good basis for making decisions as you go from place to place during the day. Following their instruction will also protect you from things that might harm you as you sleep. And when you wake up again, their words will still be there in your mind as a source of good advice.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

בְּ⁠הִתְהַלֶּכְ⁠ךָ֨ ׀ תַּנְחֶ֬ה אֹתָ֗⁠ךְ בְּֽ֭⁠שָׁכְבְּ⁠ךָ תִּשְׁמֹ֣ר עָלֶ֑י⁠ךָ וַ֝⁠הֲקִיצ֗וֹתָ הִ֣יא תְשִׂיחֶֽ⁠ךָ

when,you,walk_about guide ,you when,you,lie_down watch over,you and,you_will_awake she/it it,will_speak_to_you

In this verse, Solomon speaks of the lessons he called “the command” and “the teaching” in [6:20](../06/20.md) as if they were a person who could guide, preserve, and converse with a person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or use similes. Alternate translation: “When you walk about, it will enable you to know what to do; when you lie down, it will enable you to be safe; and you will wake up, it will be advice for you” or “When you walk about, it will be like a guide for you; when you lie down, it will be like someone who preserves you; and you will wake up, it will be like someone who converses with you”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

בְּ⁠הִתְהַלֶּכְ⁠ךָ֨

when,you,walk_about

Here, walk about refers to doing one’s daily activities. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “When you do your daily activities”

Note 3 topic: writing-pronouns

תַּנְחֶ֬ה

guide

The pronoun it in this verse refers to everything that the parents have taught the son, which can be summarized in the word “wisdom.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could use that word here, or you could use a plural pronoun to refer to the parents' teachings, as in the UST. Alternate translation: [this wisdom will guide you]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

בְּֽ֭⁠שָׁכְבְּ⁠ךָ

when,you,lie_down

See how you translated the same use of lie down in [3:24](../03/24.md).

Note 5 topic: writing-pronouns

הִ֣יא תְשִׂיחֶֽ⁠ךָ

she/it it,will_speak_to_you

For emphasis, Solomon is stating the pronoun it, whose meaning is already included in the verb translated as converse. If your language can state implied pronouns explicitly for emphasis, you may want to use that construction in your translation. Other languages may have other ways of bringing out this emphasis. The ULT does so by using the intensive pronoun itself. Alternate translation: [it will be the one that converses with you]

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

6:22 OSHB note: We read one or more accents in L differently from BHQ.

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 6:22

Hebrew word order