PROV 11:5 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) When an innocent person does what’s right things go straightforwardly,
⇔ ^ but the wicked person will fall due to their own wickedness.

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 Δικαιοσύνη ἀμώμους ὀρθοτομεῖ ὁδοὺς, ἀσέβεια δὲ περιπίπτει ἀδικίᾳ.
(Dikaiosunaʸ amōmous orthotomei hodous, asebeia de peripiptei adikia. )

BrTr Righteousness [fn]traces out blameless paths: but ungodliness encounters unjust dealing.

ULT The righteousness of a blameless one will make his way straight,
⇔ but by his wickedness, a wicked one will fall.

UST Being righteous will cause innocent people to live securely,
⇔ but being wicked will ruin those who act wickedly.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way,
⇔ but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET The righteousness of the blameless will make straight their way,
⇔ but the wicked person will fall by his own wickedness.

LSV The righteousness of the perfect makes his way right,
And by his wickedness the wicked fall.

FBV The goodness of the innocent keeps them on track, but the wicked fall by their own wickedness.

T4T ⇔ When people are honest and good, that will ◄direct their paths/show them what is right for them to do►;
⇔ but wicked people will experience disasters because of the evil things that they do.

LEB • The righteousness of the blameless will keep his ways straight, but the wicked will fall by his wickedness.

BBE The righteousness of the good man will make his way straight, but the sin of the evil-doer will be the cause of his fall.

Moff The path of a right-minded man is cleared by his own goodness,
⇔ but a bad man is overturned by his own badness.

JPS The righteousness of the sincere shall make straight his way; but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.

ASV The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way;
⇔ But the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.

DRA The justice of the upright shall make his way prosperous: and the wicked man shall fall by his own wickedness.

YLT The righteousness of the perfect maketh right his way, And by his wickedness doth the wicked fall.

Drby The righteousness of the perfect maketh plain his way; but the wicked falleth by his own wickedness.

RV The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.

SLT The justice of the blameless shall make straight his way, and in his injustice the unjust shall fall.

Wbstr The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.

KJB-1769 The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.[fn]

11.5 direct: Heb. rectify

KJB-1611 [fn]The righteousnesse of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his owne wickednesse.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above apart from footnotes)

11:5 Heb. rectifie.

Bshps The ryghteousnesse of the innocent ordereth his way: but the vngodly shall fall in his owne wickednesse.
(The righteousness of the innocent ordereth his way: but the ungodly shall fall in his own wickedness.)

Gnva The righteousnes of the vpright shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall in his owne wickednes.
(The righteousness of the upright shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall in his own wickedness. )

Cvdl The rightuousnes of ye innocent ordreth his waye, but the vngodly shal fall in his owne wickednesse.
(The righteousness of ye/you_all innocent orderth his way, but the ungodly shall fall in his own wickedness.)

Wycl The riytfulnesse of a simple man schal dresse his weie; and a wickid man schal falle in his wickidnesse.
(The rightfulness/righteousness of a simple man shall dress his way; and a wicked man shall fall in his wickedness.)

Luth Die Gerechtigkeit des Frommen macht seinen Weg eben; aber der GOttlose wird fallen durch sein gottlos Wesen.
(The justice the pious/devout_(one) power his way/path/road even/just; but the/of_the godless_(ones) becomes fall/drop through be godless beings.)

ClVg Justitia simplicis diriget viam ejus, et in impietate sua corruet impius.
(Justice simplicis directt way/road his, and in/into/on impiety/irreverence his_own will_collapse impious/ungodly. )

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

11:5

This proverb uses the metaphor of a path to contrast the lives of blameless and wicked people. Blameless people walk on a path that is free from obstacles. Wicked people follow a path that causes them to stumble and fall. Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

^5aThe righteousness of the blameless directs their path,

^5bbut the wicked fall by their own wickedness.

11:5a

The righteousness of the blameless directs their path,

The person who is blameless/faultless does what is right. As a result, the path that he follows will be straight/smooth.
If a person wholeheartedly/faultlessly obeys Yahweh’s commands, Yahweh will clear/straighten the path that he takes.

The righteousness of the blameless directs their path: This clause refers to a person with integrity who does what is right. His good conduct makes the course of his life straight and smooth and free of obstacles.

righteousness: This is the same word that occurs in 11:4b.

blameless: In Hebrew, this word is a different form of the same word that the BSB translates as “integrity” in 11:3a. In this context, both words refer to a person who is blameless, perfect, and has integrity. Such a person has a good character that is not spoiled by evil character traits.

directs their path: This metaphor has the same meaning as the almost identical metaphor (“make your paths straight”) in 3:6b. See the note there. Both metaphors describe the way that people prepare a highway. They make it straight and level/smooth and remove the obstacles so that a traveler will more easily reach his destination.

In some languages, it may not be natural to say that a character trait (“righteousness”) can straighten a person’s pathway. Some ways to translate this personification are:

Refer to a blameless and righteous person rather than righteousness. For example:
If a person is blameless and righteous, his pathway in life will be straight/smooth
If a person wholeheartedly does what is right, the path that he follows will be easy to walk on
Make the LORD the explicit subject of “makes a straight way.” For example:
The LORD causes the path of a truly righteous person to be straight/smooth

11:5b

but the wicked fall by their own wickedness.

In contrast, the person who is wicked will trip and fall because of the bad things he has done.
But if a person is wicked, he will experience destruction/disaster as a result.

but the wicked fall by their own wickedness: In this context, the Hebrew verb that the BSB translates literally as fall figuratively describes what happens to wicked people. It is as if they stumble over their own wickedness and fall as they walk along. This metaphor means that they experience disaster as a result of their own wicked deeds.

Some other ways to translate this metaphor are:

Use the metaphor of stumbling and falling. For example:
but the bad things that wicked people do cause them to trip and fall
Change the metaphor to a simile and make the meaning explicit. For example:
but as for wicked people, it’s as if they will stumble and fall. They will have severe trouble because of their sins.
If a metaphor or simile is not clear or natural, translate the meaning directly. For example:
but the wicked will be destroyed by their wickedness (NCV)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

צִדְקַ֣ת & וּ֝⁠בְ⁠רִשְׁעָת֗⁠וֹ

righteousness_of & and,by,his_of,wickedness

See how you translated the abstract nouns righteousness in [1:3](../01/03.md) and wickedness in [4:17](../04/17.md).

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

תָּ֭מִים

entire/complete/moral

The phrase a blameless one represents blameless people in general, not one particular blameless one. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a more natural expression. Alternate translation: “any blameless person”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

תָּ֭מִים

entire/complete/moral

Here, a blameless one refers to someone whom Yahweh does not blame for acting wickedly. See how you translated the same use of “blameless ones” in [2:21](../02/21.md).

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

תְּיַשֵּׁ֣ר דַּרְכּ֑⁠וֹ

keeps_~_straight its=road/course

Here Solomon refers to enabling someone to live without bad things happening to him as making that person’s way straight. It is a comparison of a person's life to a path, and righteousness keeps the path from having twists and turns. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. See how you translated a similar idea in [3:6](../03/06.md). Alternate translation: “will cause that person to avoid bad things in life”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

רָשָֽׁע

wicked

See how you translated this phrase in [9:7](../09/07.md).

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

יִפֹּ֥ל

fall

Here Solomon speaks of someone experiencing disaster as if that person were falling down. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “will experience disaster”

Parallel PROV 11:5

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

11:5

11:5a

11:5b