PROV 10:29 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Staying on Yahweh’s paths is security for the godly,
⇔ ^ but ruin for those who do evil.

Key: khaki:verbs, green:YHWH.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Ὀχύρωμα ὁσίου φόβος Κυρίου, συντριβὴ δὲ τοῖς ἐργαζομένοις κακά.
(Oⱪurōma hosiou fobos Kuriou, suntribaʸ de tois ergazomenois kaka. )

BrTr The fear of the Lord is a strong hold of the saints: but ruin comes to them that work wickedness.

ULT A stronghold for the one with integrity is the way of Yahweh,
⇔ but ruin for doers of iniquity.

UST Yahweh protects honest people like a fortress because they live the way that he directs people to live,
⇔ but not living that way destroys people who act sinfully.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the upright,
⇔ but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET The way of the Lord is like a stronghold for the upright,
⇔ but it is destruction to evildoers.

LSV The way of YHWH [is] strength to the perfect,
And ruin to workers of iniquity.

FBV The way of the Lord protects those who do right, but he destroys those who do evil.

T4T ⇔ Yahweh protects [MET] those who live righteously,
⇔ but he destroys those who do what is evil.

LEB • A stronghold for the upright is the way of Yahweh, but ruin belongs to evildoers .[fn]

10:? Literally “them who do evil”

BBE The way of the Lord is a strong tower for the upright man, but destruction to the workers of evil.

Moff For the upright the Eternal is a fortress,
⇔ but he is the ruin of evil-doers.

JPS The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the upright, but ruin to the workers of iniquity.

ASV The way of Jehovah is a stronghold to the upright;
⇔ But it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.

DRA The strength of the upright is the way of the Lord: and fear to them that work evil.

YLT The way of Jehovah [is] strength to the perfect, And ruin to workers of iniquity.

Drby The way of Jehovah is strength to the perfect [man], but destruction to the workers of iniquity.

RV The way of the LORD is a strong hold to the upright; but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.
(The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the upright; but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity. )

SLT The way of Jehovah is a fortress to the upright one: and destruction to those doing iniquity.

Wbstr The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

KJB-1769 The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

KJB-1611 The way of the LORD is strength to the vpright: but destruction shall bee to the workers of iniquitie.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation))

Bshps The way of the Lord geueth courage vnto the godly: but it is a feare for wicked doers.
(The way of the Lord giveth/gives courage unto the godly: but it is a fear for wicked doers.)

Gnva The way of the Lord is strength to the vpright man: but feare shall be for the workers of iniquitie.
(The way of the Lord is strength to the upright man: but fear shall be for the workers of iniquity. )

Cvdl The waye of the LORDE geueth a corage vnto ye godly, but it is a feare for wicked doers.
(The way of the LORD giveth/gives a courage unto ye/you_all godly, but it is a fear for wicked doers.)

Wycl The strengthe of a symple man is the weie of the Lord; and drede to hem that worchen yuel.
(The strength of a simple man is the way of the Lord; and dread to hem that working evil.)

Luth Der Weg des HErr’s ist des Frommen Trotz; aber die Übeltäter sind blöde.
(The way/path/road the LORD’s is the pious/devout_(one) defiance; but the evil-doer are stupid.)

ClVg Fortitudo simplicis via Domini, et pavor his qui operantur malum.[fn]
(Fortitudo simplicis way/road Master, and terror/fear his who/which they_work evil. )

10.29 Fortitudo simplicis via ejus, et pavor. Si obscura Scripturarum, etc., usque ad operari contemnunt.

10.29 Fortitudo simplicis way/road his, and terror/fear. When/But_if dark Scripturarum, etc., until to to_work they_despise.

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

This section is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs. It has a very different structure from the longer poetic lectures of chapters 1–9. It consists mostly of individual couplets (two-line poems) that are each one verse in length. With the exception of the title (10:1a), paragraph breaks will not be indicated in the Notes or Display. You may of course choose to start each proverb as a separate paragraph in your translation.

In chapters 10–15, most of these one-verse couplets express a contrast between the two lines. One of the more common contrasts is between the righteous/wise and the wicked/foolish and the different consequences of their conduct.

In chapters 16:1–22:16, more topics are discussed. There is more emphasis on the role of the king and other leaders. In these chapters, there are few proverbs with contrasting lines. Some of the parallel lines are similar in meaning. More frequently, the second line adds to what the first line says or gives an example. Most of the verses have no obvious connection with the previous or following proverbs.UBS (page 214), Fox (page 509), McKane (page 413). Many scholars, including McKane, point out that there are some topical groupings as well as poetic connections. These include the repetition of certain words or sounds. This observation does not deny the individual nature of most of the proverbs in this Section.

Two of the types of proverbs in this section are not found in chapters 1–9. One type contains logical reasoning from the lesser to the greater. See 11:31 for a list of these proverbs. There are also several varieties of complex “better than” proverbs. The most common have a contrasting situation in each line (see 12:9). For other varieties, see 16:16, 19:1, and 21:9.

Many of the proverbs in this section refer to categories of people who share a common trait. For example, they refer to the righteous, the wise, the poor, and the lazy. In Hebrew, some verses use singular forms to refer to these groups of people. Other verses use plural forms. Still others use a combination of singular and plural. See the note on 10:30a–b for one example. For most of these verses, the Notes will not comment on the difference between singular and plural forms. Use a natural way in your language to refer to one or more people who are in the same category.

Many of the proverbs in this section express a general principle in abstract terms. They are not addressed specifically to the readers. For example, 10:2a–b says:

Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,

but righteousness delivers from death.

However, the author intended his readers to understand these proverbs as advice that they should follow. In some languages, authors or speakers give advice more directly, using pronouns such as you^(sing), you^(plur), we^(dual), or we^(incl). See the note on 10:2 for translation suggestions.

Some other headings for this section are:

Proverbs of Solomon (NIV)

The Wise Words of Solomon (NCV)

Here are many wise things that Solomon said

10:29

This proverb contrasts the different relationships that the LORD has toward different groups of people. He is a refuge for those who are righteous, but he destroys those who are evil. The REB has been used as the source line, because it follows the recommended interpretations.

^29a The Lord is a refuge for the blameless, (REB)

^29bbut he brings destruction on evildoers. (REB)

10:29a

The way of the LORD is a refuge to the upright,

Yahweh is like a fortress that protects those who are blameless,
Yahweh protects people whom no one can blame for doing evil/wrong,

(REB) The Lord is a refuge for the blameless: This clause has one or more figures of speech. Scholars interpret the structure of this clause and the meaning of these figures of speech in many different ways.One way to understand the structure of this line is from BART: “A refuge for (the) integrity [is] the way of Yahweh.” Another way is: “A refuge for (the) integrity of way [is] Yahweh” (slight adaptation from a suggestion in Murphy (page 71). As for the gloss “integrity” (or “blamelessness”), it is probably a figure of speech in which the noun “integrity/blamelessness” represents a person who has that quality (Murphy, page 71; Delitzsch, page 164). See also BDB (#8535), which glosses the word here as “complete, morally innocent, having integrity.” Here are the two main ways:

The subject of this clause is the Lord. This clause is a metaphor that compares the Lord to a refuge for people who are blameless. The similarity is that the Lord and a refuge both protect people. For example:
The Lord is a stronghold to him whose way is upright (RSV) (CEV, NAB, NCV, NLT96, REB, RSV, GNT)
The subject of this clause is “The way of the LORD.” This phrase is a metonymy that refers either to (a) the conduct or rule of the LORDScholars who support this view include Waltke, Ross, Cook, and NET footnote (a). or (b) the conduct that the LORD requires people to follow. The whole clause is a metaphor that compares “The way of the LORD” to “a refuge” for people who are “blameless.” With this interpretation, either (a) the LORD’s conduct/rule or (b) the conduct that the LORD requires people to follow are a refuge that protects people. For example:
The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless (ESV) (BSB, ESV, GW, NASB, NET, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NLT, NRSV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), which is in the Display. The phrase “the way of the LORD” occurs nowhere else in Proverbs.This phrase does occur in a few other OT books, and it does refer to God’s conduct in Ezekiel 18:25 and 2 Sa 22:31a. In most OT verses that mention “the way of the LORD,” it refers to the conduct that God commands people to follow (e.g., Judges 2:22, 2 Kings 21:22, Psalm 27:11). This phrase is not compared to a refuge in any of these verses. Throughout the OT, it is the LORD himself (not “the way of the LORD”) who is compared to a refuge.TWOT (#1578a), in its article on maʿoz “stronghold, fortress,” etc., comments that “the most common use of this word is the figurative one, designating God as the refuge of his people.” In each of the dozen or more references that it lists, including Proverbs 10:29, it identifies God, rather than his way, as the figurative refuge. Scholars who support “the LORD” as the subject and “the way” as a reference to the conduct of blameless people include UBS, Whybray, Kidner, Toy, McKane, and Scott. Toy (page 217) comments: “…elsewhere in OT, it is always Yahweh himself, and not his ‘way,’ that is called a stronghold.” As Whybray (page 173) says: “there is general agreement that ‘way’ here makes better sense as denoting the behaviour of the righteous.” Other scholars (Longman, Fox, Delitzsch) take “the way of the LORD” to be the subject, but understand it to refer to the path that God directs his people to follow.

(REB) refuge: The word refuge refers to a fortress or “stronghold” (NRSV). It is a place in which a person can take refuge. This word is used figuratively here to describe the LORD’s protection.

(REB) blameless: This word refers to a person who has integrity. People like this live a consistently good life. They do nothing that is worthy of blame. See the note on this word in 2:7b for more translation advice.

Some ways to translate the metaphor in this clause are:

Keep the metaphor. For example:
The Lord is a stronghold to him whose way is upright (RSV)
Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
The LORD is like a place of refuge that protects people who have integrity
Translate the meaning of the metaphor without using a figure of speech. For example:
The Lord protects the upright (NLT96)

10:29b

but destruction awaits those who do evil.

but he destroys those who do evil/wrong.
but as for those who do what is evil/wrong, he causes them to experience ruin/destruction.

(REB) but he brings destruction on evildoers: In Hebrew, this line is more literally “but destruction to evildoers” (RSV). Some other ways to translate this line are:

but he destroys anyone who does wrong (CEV)

but will ruin those who do evil (NCV)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מָע֣וֹז

stronghold

Here Solomon refers to the way of Yahweh protecting people as if it were a stronghold. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Protection”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

לַ֭⁠תֹּם & אָֽוֶן

for,integrity & evil

See how you translated the abstract nouns integrity in [1:3](../01/03.md) and iniquity in [6:12](../06/12.md).

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

דֶּ֣רֶךְ יְהוָ֑ה

road/way_of YHWH

Here, the way of Yahweh refers to the righteous way that Yahweh teaches people to live. This is the “way of wisdom” that Solomon speaks of in [4:11](../04/11.md). If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “is living by Yahweh's instruction”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וּ֝⁠מְחִתָּ֗ה

and,ruin

Solomon is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a clause would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from the previous clause if it would be clearer in your language. The way of Yahweh causes ruin for doers of iniquity because they walk on a different path, as in [4:14](../04/14.md). Alternate translation: “but the way of Yahweh causes ruin”

Parallel PROV 10:29

Section 10:1–22:16: This is the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs

10:29

10:29a

10:29b