PROV 11:25 Parallel Verse View

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

Key: khaki:verbs.
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 Ψυχὴ εὐλογουμένη πᾶσα ἁπλῇ, ἀνὴρ δὲ θυμώδης οὐκ εὐσχήμων.
(psuⱪaʸ eulogoumenaʸ pasa haplaʸ, anaʸr de thumōdaʸs ouk eusⱪaʸmōn. )

ULT A life of blessing will be fattened,
⇔ and the one who drenches, he also will be drenched.

UST People who generously bless others will prosper;
⇔ and people who generously give others what the others need will also receive everything that they need.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE The liberal soul shall be made fat.
⇔ He who waters shall be watered also himself.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET A generous person will be enriched,
⇔ and the one who provides water for others will himself be satisfied.

LSV A liberal soul is made fat,
And whoever is watering, he also is watered.

FBV If you're generous, you'll become rich; give someone a drink of water, and you'll be given one in return.

T4T ⇔ Those who give generously to others will prosper;
⇔ if you help others, they/someone will help you, too.

LEB • A person of blessing will be enriched, and he who gives water also will be refreshed.

BBE He who gives blessing will be made fat, but the curser will himself be cursed.

Moff A liberal soul will be enriched,
⇔ and he who waters will himself be watered.

JPS The beneficent soul shall be made rich, and he that satisfieth abundantly shall be satisfied also himself.

ASV The liberal soul shall be made fat;
⇔ And he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

DRA The soul which blesseth, shall be made fat: and he that inebriateth, shall be inebriated also himself.

YLT A liberal soul is made fat, And whoso is watering, he also is watered.

Drby The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

RV The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

SLT The soul of blessing shall be made fat: also he watering, shall himself drink to the full.

Wbstr The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.

KJB-1769 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.[fn]

11.25 liberal…: Heb. soul of blessing

KJB-1611 [fn]The liberall soule shalbe made fat: and he that watereth, shall be watered also himselfe.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)

11:25 Heb. the soule of blessing.

Bshps He that is liberall in geuyng, shall haue plentie: and he that watereth, shalbe watered also hym selfe.
(He that is liberal in geuing, shall have plentie: and he that watereth, shall be watered also himself.)

Gnva The liberall person shall haue plentie: and he that watereth, shall also haue raine.
(The liberal person shall have plentie: and he that watereth, shall also have rain. )

Cvdl He that is lyberall in geuynge, shal haue plenty: and he that watereth, shalbe watered also himself.
(He that is lyberall in geuing, shall have plenty: and he that watereth, shall be watered also himself.)

Wycl A soule that blessith, schal be maad fat; and he that fillith, schal be fillid also.
(A soul that blessith, shall be made fat; and he that filleth/fills, shall be filled also.)

Luth Die SeeLE, die da reichlich segnet, wird fett; und wer trunken macht, der wird auch trunken werden.
(The soul, the there plenty/abundant blesses, becomes fat(aj); and who drink power, the/of_the becomes also drink become.)

ClVg Anima quæ benedicit impinguabitur, et qui inebriat, ipse quoque inebriabitur.
(Soul which blesses impinguabitur, and who/which inebriat, exactly_that/himself too inebriabitur. )

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

11:25

In most of the proverbs in chapters 10–15, the parallel parts contrast in meaning. Here the parallel parts are similar in meaning.

^25a A generous soul will prosper;

^25band he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

Both lines speak about the rewards of being generous to others.

11:25a

A generous soul will prosper,

The person who is generous to others will be prosperous and happy.
If a person shows kindness to others, he will gain both wealth and well-being.

A generous soul will prosper: The meaning of this line is similar to 11:24a. The phrase that the BSB translates as A generous soul is literally “soul of blessing.” It refers to a person who blesses needy people. He does this by showing them kindness and generously giving them gifts to help them.

will prosper: In Hebrew, will prosper is literally “will be made fat.” This expression is used literally of raising fat, healthy animals. In this context, it should be understood figuratively to refer to prosperity as well as good health and satisfaction. Most versions translate this word similarly to the way the BSB does. The NLT96 expresses the meaning of the Hebrew word more broadly by saying:

The generous prosper and are satisfied (NLT96)

11:25a–b

(combined/reordered)

If a person shares generously with others and encourages/helps them, his quality of life will improve and he will also be helped by others.

11:25b

and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

The one who helps or encourages others will also be helped/encouraged himself.
If a person helps others, others will help him too.

he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed: In Hebrew, this line is literally “he who waters will himself also be watered.” There are two ways to interpret this line:

This line has a figurative meaning. It is a metaphor that compares a person who refreshes or helps needy people to someone who thoroughly waters parched farmland. For example:
those who help others will themselves be helped (NCV) (BSB, GW, NCV, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NLT, REB, GNT)
This line has a literal meaning. It refers to someone who gives a thirsty person a drink of water. For example:
and one who gives water will get water (NRSV) (CEV, NET, NRSV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions.

will himself be refreshed: This is a passive phrase. In some languages, it may be more natural to use an active verb and supply a subject. The implied subject is probably other people in general. For example:

and if a person helps others, there will also be people who help him

General Comment on 11:25a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts of both lines. See 11:25a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

נֶֽפֶשׁ & וּ֝⁠מַרְוֶ֗ה & ה֥וּא

person_of & and,[one_who]_gives_water & he/it

In this verse, A life, the one, and he refer to types of people in general. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “Any life of … and any person who drenches, that person”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

נֶֽפֶשׁ־בְּרָכָ֥ה

person_of blessing

Here Solomon is using the possessive form to describe a life that is characterized by blessing. If your language would not use the possessive form for this, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: “A life that blesses”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

נֶֽפֶשׁ

person_of

Here, life refers to the person himself. See how you translated the same use of life in [8:36](../08/36.md).

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

בְּרָכָ֥ה

blessing

Here Solomon implies that the blessing is given to other people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “blessing other people”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

תְדֻשָּׁ֑ן & יוֹרֶֽא

enriched & refreshed

If your language does not use these passive forms, you could express the ideas in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. The context implies that Yahweh will do the action. Alternate translation: “Yahweh will fatten … Yahweh will drench”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

תְדֻשָּׁ֑ן

enriched

Here Solomon refers to a person becoming prosperous as if they were fattened. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “will become prosperous”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וּ֝⁠מַרְוֶ֗ה גַּם־ה֥וּא יוֹרֶֽא

and,[one_who]_gives_water also/yet he/it refreshed