PROV 6:5 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 6:1–19: Here are several practical admonitions and warnings

This section contains practical warnings about four specific and unrelated areas of behavior. The first warning is about the danger of cosigning a loan for another person (6:1–5). The second paragraph speaks highly of the diligence of the ant and warns against laziness (6:6–11). The third paragraph briefly describes the behavior of a worthless scoundrel (6:12–15). The last paragraph is in the form of a numerical proverb and lists seven sins that the LORD hates (6:16–19).

Some other headings for this section are:

More Warnings (GNT)

Dangers of Being Foolish (NCV)

Warnings Against Folly (NIV)

Paragraph 6:1–5

In the first two verses of this paragraph, the father describes a possible circumstance or situation that his son may face. The last three verses advise the son what he should do if he is in that situation.

6:5

This verse contains parallel similes:

^5aFree yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

^5b like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

The efforts of the hearer to free himself from his promise are compared to the desperate struggles of a gazelle to escape from a hunter’s trap. They are also compared to the efforts of a bird to escape from a bird hunter’s snare. Just as these animals struggle desperately to escape from a trap, so the hearer must try very hard to get himself released from the financial agreement that he has promised to fulfill.The MT “from a hand” in the first line has resulted in numerous suggestions for a different original text, such as “from the hand of the hunter,” “from the hunter,” and “from the snare.” All of these, however, carry the basic meaning of a gazelle that has been caught in a hunter’s trap. According to Delitzsch (page 100), the effort of a gazelle or bird to disentangle itself requires all its strength and skill. Fox (page 214) says that a trapped animal may injure itself in its desperate thrashing to escape. In the same way, a guarantor’s escape from his commitment may be painful, but is necessary.

6:5a

Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

Try^(sing) to escape like a deer that is caught in a hunter’s trap
Do everything possible to free/save yourself^(sing), like a deer that a hunter has trapped

gazelle: The animal referred to here is probably a gazelle. A number of modern versions translate this word with the more general term “deer.”

6:5a–b

(combined/reordered)

Put^(sing) forth every effort to escape, just like a deer or a bird that has been caught in a trap.

6:5b

like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

or like a bird that is caught in a snare.

from the snare of the fowler: In Hebrew, the phrase snare of the fowler is literally “hand of the fowler” (NRSV). “Hand” is a figure of speech (metonymy) that here represents a “snare” or “trap.” In some languages, it may be more natural to leave part of the figure of speech implied. For example:

from a hunter (GNT)

from a trapper (NCV)

from a net (NLT)

fowler: The word fowler refers to a person who traps birds. In some languages, it may be preferable to use a general term such as “hunter” or “trapper,” as in the GNT and NCV (quoted above).

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

הִ֭נָּצֵל כִּ⁠צְבִ֣י מִ⁠יָּ֑ד וּ֝⁠כְ⁠צִפּ֗וֹר מִ⁠יַּ֥ד יָקֽוּשׁ

save like,a_gazelle from,a_hand and,like,a_bird from_[the],hand_of fowler

Solomon 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: “Rescue yourself like a gazelle would rescue itself from a hand, and rescue yourself like a bird would rescue itself from the hand of the trapper”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

הִ֭נָּצֵל כִּ⁠צְבִ֣י מִ⁠יָּ֑ד וּ֝⁠כְ⁠צִפּ֗וֹר מִ⁠יַּ֥ד יָקֽוּשׁ

save like,a_gazelle from,a_hand and,like,a_bird from_[the],hand_of fowler

These two clauses mean basically the same thing. The second clause emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could connect the clauses with a word other than and that shows that the second clause is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. Alternate translation: “Rescue yourself like a gazelle from a hand, yes, rescue yourself like a bird from the hand of the trapper”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

כִּ⁠צְבִ֣י & וּ֝⁠כְ⁠צִפּ֗וֹר

like,a_gazelle & and,like,a_bird

Solomon is saying that the person should act like a gazelle and a bird because both of those animals are quick enough to escape from hunters. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: “quickly, like a gazelle … and quickly, like a bird”

Note 4 topic: translate-unknown

כִּ⁠צְבִ֣י

like,a_gazelle

A gazelle is a land animal that is known for running quickly and gracefully. If your readers would not be familiar with this type of animal, you could use the name of something similar in your area, or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: “like an animal that runs swiftly”

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 6:5