PROV 11:23 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) Godly people long for good things,
⇔ ^ but wicked people can only expect to receive fury.

Key: .
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 Ἐπιθυμία δικαίων πᾶσα ἀγαθὴ, ἐλπὶς δὲ ἀσεβῶν ἀπολεῖται.
(Epithumia dikaiōn pasa agathaʸ, elpis de asebōn apoleitai. )

BrTr All the desire of the righteous is good: but the hope of the ungodly shall perish.

ULT The desire of the righteous is only good;
⇔ the expectation of the wicked is rage.

UST When righteous people get what they want, it results in only good things,
⇔ but when wicked people get what they hope for, it results in Yahweh being angry.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE The desire of the righteous is only good.
⇔ The expectation of the wicked is wrath.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET What the righteous desire leads only to good,
⇔ but what the wicked hope for leads to wrath.

LSV The desire of the righteous [is] only good,
The hope of the wicked [is] transgression.

FBV Good people want what's best, but what the wicked hope for ends in death.

T4T ⇔ When the things that righteous people want happen, it brings good to them and to others,
⇔ but when the wicked get what they want, it causes everyone else to become angry.

LEB • The desire of the righteous is only good, but the expectation of the wicked, wrath.

BBE The desire of the upright man is only for good, but wrath is waiting for the evil-doer.

Moff What good men desire ends in their favour:
⇔ a bad man’s hope ends in the wrath of God.
¶ 

JPS The desire of the righteous is only good; but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

ASV The desire of the righteous is only good;
⇔ But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

DRA The desire of the just is all good: the expectation of the wicked is indignation.

YLT The desire of the righteous [is] only good, The hope of the wicked [is] transgression.

Drby The desire of the righteous is only good; the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

RV The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

SLT The desire of the just is only good: the expectation of the unjust, wrath.

Wbstr The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

KJB-1769 The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.

KJB-1611 The desire of the righteous is onely good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps The desire of the ryghteous is acceptable: but the hope of the vngodly is indignation.
(The desire of the righteous is acceptable: but the hope of the ungodly is indignation.)

Gnva The desire of the righteous is onely good: but the hope of the wicked is indignation.
(The desire of the righteous is only good: but the hope of the wicked is indignation. )

Cvdl The iust laboure for peace and traquylite, but the vngodly for disquyetnesse.
(The just labour for peace and traquylite, but the ungodly for disquyetness.)

Wycl The desir of iust men is al good; abiding of wickid men is woodnesse.
(The desire of just men is all good; abiding of wicked men is madness/wildness.)

Luth Der Gerechten Wunsch muß doch wohl geraten; und der GOttlosen Hoffen wird Unglück.
(The righteous_(ones) wish(n) must though/but probably/well advised; and the/of_the godless_one(s) hope(n) becomes accident/misfortune/disaster.)

ClVg Desiderium justorum omne bonum est; præstolatio impiorum furor.
(Desiderium of_the_righteous everything good it_is; beforestolatio of_the_wicked furor. )

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

11:23

The parallel words “desire” and “hope” are similar in meaning. The other parallel parts contrast in meaning.

^23a The desire of the righteous leads only to good,

^23bbut the hope of the wicked brings wrath.

11:23a

The desire of the righteous leads only to good,

The result/outcome of what righteous people strongly want is always good,
What people who do what is right long for leads only to good things/results.

11:23b

but the hope of the wicked brings wrath.

but what the wicked hope for results instead in Yahweh’s fierce anger against them.
The desire of people who do what is wrong leads to Yahweh’s severe punishment/anger.

11:23a–b

The desire of the righteous leads only to good, but the hope of the wicked brings wrath: In Hebrew, this verse is literally “Desire of righteous people only good, hope of wicked people wrath.” There are two ways to interpret this verse:

What righteous people desire results only in good. What wicked people hope for results only in wrath. For example:
^23aWhat good people want always results in good (GNT)
^23bbut the hope of wicked people ends only in fury (GW) (BSB, ESV, GW, NAB, NET, NIV, NRSV, GNT)
Righteous people desire to bring good to others. Wicked people plot to bring trouble to others. For example:
^23aThose who do right only wish for good (NCV)
^23bbut troublemakers hope to stir up trouble (CEV) (CEV, KJV, NASB, NCV, NJB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and scholars. Some reasons are:

The words desire and hope are synonyms. Both refer to what a person desires, hopes for, or longs to have happen.Of the commentaries used in this study, McKane, Whybray, Ross, Garrett, Murphy, Toy, Longman, and UBS support the first interpretation. Delitzsch, Fox, and Waltke support the second. Waltke (p. 506) interprets the verse as follows: The righteous desire good for others and obtain good both for others and themselves. The wicked hope to inflict wrath on others (and thus obtain good for themselves) and instead experience God’s wrath themselves. The first interpretation is more straightforward. The three lexicons consulted (BDB, TWOT, NIDOTTE) all understand taʾawa “desire” in 11:23a and tiqwa “hope” in 11:23b as parallel synonyms. It seems unlikely that the wicked hope to experience wrath. It is more likely that both the righteous and the wicked desire good results. The contrast is that the desires/hopes of the righteous are fulfilled, but those of the wicked are not fulfilled.
Interpretation (1) is supported by similar statements in Proverbs 10:24, 10:28, and 11:7.

only: In Hebrew, this word occurs in 11:23a. It does not occur in 11:23b. Some versions, such as the NIV, also make it explicit in 11:23b because they feel that it is implied by the parallelism. Other versions, such as the BSB, do not make it explicit. You may do whatever is natural in your language.

brings wrath: The word wrath implies a fierce, overwhelming anger that destroys its object. (Also see the note on 11:4a–b.) There are two ways to interpret the wrath that is referred to here:

It refers to the wrath of the LORD. For example:
but the wicked can expect to be defeated by God’s anger (NCV) (NCV)
It refers to the wrath of people. For example:
when the wicked get what they want, everyone is angry (GNT) (CEV, GNT)

Most English versions do not specify the one whose wrath is referred to. If your language requires this to be made explicit, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most scholars. In most OT references where this word for wrath is used, it refers to divine wrath.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

תַּאֲוַ֣ת צַדִּיקִ֣ים אַךְ־ט֑וֹב תִּקְוַ֖ת רְשָׁעִ֣ים עֶבְרָֽה

desire_of righteous only good expectation_of wicked severe_anger

This verse could mean: (1) The desire of righteous people results in what is good, but the expectation of wicked people results in rage. Alternate translation: “The desire of the righteous ones leads only to good; the expectation of the wicked ones leads to rage” (2) righteous people only desire what is good, but wicked people expect anger. Alternate translation: “The righteous ones only desire good things; the wicked ones expect rage”

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

תִּקְוַ֖ת רְשָׁעִ֣ים עֶבְרָֽה

expectation_of wicked severe_anger

This clause is a strong contrast with the previous clause. Use the most natural way in your language to indicate a contrast. Alternate translation: “by contrast, the expectation of the wicked ones is rage”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / irony

תִּקְוַ֖ת רְשָׁעִ֣ים עֶבְרָֽה

expectation_of wicked severe_anger

Solomon does not mean to communicate here that the wicked do wicked things because they expect rage. He means to communicate that it is as though they expect rage, because that is what they get. If a speaker of your language would not do that, you could translate the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [whatever the wicked ones might expect, rage is all that they will get]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

עֶבְרָֽה

severe_anger

Here, rage could refer to: (1) Yahweh’s wrath. Alternate translation: “is the wrath of Yahweh” (2) the wrath of other people. Alternate translation: “is the wrath of other people”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns