PROV 9:17 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 9:1–18: Wisdom and Folly each urge people to follow them

This section summarizes the main themes of chapters 1–8. It contains parallel appeals by Wisdom (9:1–6) and Folly (9:13–18), both personified as women. Both Wisdom and Folly appeal to the same audience, inviting them to come and eat in their homes. Between these two appeals is a summary of two opposite ways to respond to Wisdom (9:7–12). In the center of this paragraph, 9:10 contains a restatement of the first line of 1:7. These key verses mark chapters 1 and 9 as the beginning and end of the first major division of the book.

Some other headings for this section are:

Invitations of Wisdom and of Folly (NIV)

Wisdom and Foolishness each give a feast

Being Wise or Foolish (NCV)

Paragraph 9:13–18

This paragraph contains an invitation from Woman Folly that is obviously parallel to Wisdom’s invitation in 9:1–6. Folly’s character and the location from which she gives her invitation are described in 9:13–15. Her invitation is found in 9:16–17. In 9:18, the author concludes the paragraph by describing the consequences of accepting Folly’s invitation.

When you translate this paragraph, pay careful attention to the wording that you used in 9:1–6 so that the parallels between Wisdom’s invitation and Folly’s invitation will be clear.

9:17

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^17a“Stolen water is sweet,

^17band bread eaten in secret is tasty!”

9:17a

“Stolen water is sweet,

“Water that you^(plur) steal is sweet/sweeter,
come and eat, because water that you steal from another person’s well tastes better,

9:17a–b

Stolen water…bread eaten in secret: Both of these phrases are figurative expressions that refer primarily to forbidden sexual relations (see 5:15–19 and 30:20). If this is not clear to your readers, it is suggested that you add a footnote that says something similar to the preceding sentence.

This verse should be understood as a continuation of Folly’s invitation in 9:16. She is inviting people to come into her house and eat, just as Wisdom did in 9:5. If this is not clear, you may need to make it explicit. For example:

Join in my feast, because stolen water….”

Stolen water: In an OT context, it is probable that Stolen water was stolen from another person’s private well or cistern. In some languages, it may be necessary to make explicit the source of the stolen water. For example:

Water that is stolen from the wells of others is more tasty.

sweet…tasty: In Hebrew, both of these terms can mean “sweet,” “pleasant,” or “delightful.” Use natural terms in your language to describe water and food that tastes good/delicious. These lines imply that stolen water tastes better than regular water, and food eaten in secret is more delicious than other food. A number of versions use comparative or superlative forms to make this implied information explicit. For example:

Stolen water is sweeter, and food eaten in secret tastes better. (NCV)

Stolen water tastes best, and the food you eat in secret tastes best of all. (CEV)

9:17b

and bread eaten in secret is tasty!”

and food that you^(plur) eat without others knowing tastes more delicious.” This is what the woman Foolishness said.

bread eaten in secret: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “bread of secrecies.” There are two ways to interpret this phrase:

This phrase refers to bread/food that is eaten secretly/stealthily. It is eaten in a quiet or secret way to avoid the notice of others. For example:
bread eaten in secret (NRSV) (BSB, ESV, NASB, NIV, RSV, REB, NJB, NJPS, NCV, GW, NLT, CEV)
This phrase refers to bread/food that is obtained secretly. For example:
Stolen bread (GNT) (GNT, NET)

There is little practical difference between these interpretations, since food that is eaten secretly may have been stolen. But it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because it adds a new element of meaning to the first line. Illicit sexual intercourse is pleasurable because it is prohibited (stolen). It is also pleasurable because it has to be enjoyed in secret. This makes it more enticing.

This verse is the end of Folly’s spoken words, so this may need to be made explicit in languages that use a concluding quote formula.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

מַֽיִם־גְּנוּבִ֥ים יִמְתָּ֑קוּ

water stolen sweet

The stupid woman implies that what she says in this verse is the reason why the “naive” should “turn aside” to her. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “Turn aside here because stolen waters are sweet”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מַֽיִם־גְּנוּבִ֥ים יִמְתָּ֑קוּ וְ⁠לֶ֖חֶם סְתָרִ֣ים יִנְעָֽם

water stolen sweet and,bread_of secret pleasant

In this verse, the foolish woman refers to the pleasure of having sex with someone to whom one is not married as if it were as sweet as stolen waters or as pleasant as bread of secrecies. Water and food are also used as euphemisms for sexual activity in [5:15–19](../05/15.md) and [30:20](../30/20.md). If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or use a simile: “Having sex with me is truly enjoyable” or “Having sex with me is as enjoyable as drinking stolen waters or eating bread of secrecies”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

וְ⁠לֶ֖חֶם סְתָרִ֣ים

and,bread_of secret

The phrase bread of secrecies could refer to: (1) bread that a person secretly eats by himself. Alternate translation: “and bread that is eaten in secrecy” (2) bread that one obtains through secret deeds, which implies stealing the bread. Alternate translation: “and bread obtained secretly” or “and stolen bread”

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 9:17