PROV 12:20 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.)

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 Δόλος ἐν καρδίᾳ τεκταινομένου κακὰ, οἱ δὲ βουλόμενοι εἰρήνην εὐφρανθήσονται.
(Dolos en kardia tektainomenou kaka, hoi de boulomenoi eiraʸnaʸn eufranthaʸsontai. )

BrTr There is deceit in the heart of him that imagines evil; but they that love peace shall rejoice.

ULT Deceit is in the heart of devisers of evil,
⇔ but joy is for advisers of peace.

UST People who plan to act evilly think deceitfully,
⇔ but people who advise others to act peacefully will be joyful.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil,
⇔ but joy comes to the promoters of peace.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil,
⇔ but those who promote peace have joy.

LSV Deceit [is] in the heart of those devising evil,
But for counselors of peace—joy.

FBV Deceit is in the mind of those planning evil, but those who plan peace have joy.

T4T ⇔ Those who plan to do what is evil are always wanting to deceive others,
⇔ but things will go well for those who plan to do good things.

LEB • Deceit is in the heart[fn] of those who plan[fn] evil, but to those who plan[fn] peace, there is joy.

12:? Or “mind”

12:? Literally “the planners of”

BBE Deceit is in the heart of those whose designs are evil, but for those purposing peace there is joy.

Moff Fraud is the aim of evil-minded men,
⇔ but those who plan the good of others prosper.

JPS Deceit is in the heart of them that devise evil; but to the counsellors of peace is joy.

ASV Deceit is in the heart of them that devise evil;
⇔ But to the counsellors of peace is joy.

DRA Deceit is in the heart of them that think evil things: but joy followeth them that take counsels of peace.

YLT Deceit [is] in the heart of those devising evil, And to those counselling peace [is] joy.

Drby Deceit is in the heart of them that devise evil; but to the counsellors of peace is joy.

RV Deceit is in the heart of them that devise evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.

SLT Deceit in the heart of those devising evil: and joy to those counseling peace.

Wbstr Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counselors of peace is joy.

KJB-1769 Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.

KJB-1611 Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine euill: but to the counsellours of peace, is ioy.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Deceipt is in the heart of them that imagine euyll: but to the counsaylers of peace shalbe ioy.
(Deceipt is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsaylers of peace shall be joy.)

Gnva Deceite is in the heart of them that imagine euill: but to the counsellers of peace shall be ioye.
(Deceite is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace shall be joy. )

Cvdl They that ymagin euell in their mynde, wil disceaue: but the councelers of peace shal heaue ioye folowinge the.
(They that imagine evil in their mind, will deceive: but the counsellors of peace shall heaven joy following them.)

Wycl Gile is in the herte of hem that thenken yuels; but ioye sueth hem, that maken counsels of pees.
(Gile is in the heart of hem that think evils; but joy sueth hem, that making counsels of peace.)

Luth Die, so Böses raten, betrügen; aber die zum Frieden raten, machen Freude.
(Die, so evil guess/advise, deceive/defraud; but the for_the peace guess/advise, make joy/pleasure/delight.)

ClVg Dolus in corde cogitantium mala; qui autem pacis ineunt consilia, sequitur eos gaudium.
(Dolus in/into/on heart they_thinkium evil; who/which however of_peace ineunt plans, follows them joy. )

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

12:20

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

^20a Deceit is in the hearts of those who devise evil,

^20bbut the counselors of peace have joy.

The contrast between 12:20a and 12:20b is not exact. The first line talks about the purpose of people who plot evil. Their purpose is deceit. The second line talks about the result in the lives of people who promote peace. The result is joy.

12:20a

Deceit is in the hearts of those who devise evil,

People who make evil plans intend to deceive others,
If a person plans to do something bad/harmful to another person, his heart/mind will be filled with lies.

Deceit is in the hearts of those who devise evil: There are two ways to interpret this statement:

Those who plot evil intend to deceive others. For example:
Those who plan evil are full of lies (NCV) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GW, KJV, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NLT, NRSV)The phrase “full of lies” in the NCV clearly implies telling lies to other people. The other versions listed here are similar to the BSB. They do not specify who is deceived. However, in English, a statement such as “there is deceit in their hearts” normally implies an intention to deceive others.
Those who plot evil deceive themselves. For example:
Those who plot evil delude themselves (REB) (REB, GNT)The GNT says: “are in for a rude surprise.” This expression probably implies that those who plan evil deceive themselves in some way. It does not imply that they deceive others.

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).The only reason given in the commentaries for following interpretation (2) is that it would result in a better contrast, but imprecise parallelism is fairly common in Proverbs, so this is not sufficient reason in itself. Scholars who support interpretation (2) include McKane, Scott, and possibly Whybray. Interpretation (1) is supported by Fox, Waltke, UBS, and Delitzsch. In Proverbs, the term Deceit most frequently refers to deceiving others (for example, see 12:5b, 12:17b).Of the eight occurrences of this word in Proverbs, only one clearly (14:8) refers to self-deception. Of the thirty occurrences in other books of the OT, most if not all refer to telling lies or deceiving others.

devise evil: The word evil frequently refers to moral evil, but it may also refer to trouble or harm (see 12:21b). The phrase devise evil probably refers here to plans or schemes to harm someone else.

12:20b

but the counselors of peace have joy.

but those who encourage/advise others to get along well together will be happy.
But a person whose plans cause others to live in peace/harmony will be full of happiness/joy.

the counselors of peace: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates literally as counselors of peace refers to anyone who advises, promotes, or works toward peace. In this context, peace refers mainly to peaceful relationships or well-being among the people in a community. (See the note on 3:2b.)

joy: Other words that express the meaning of joy include “gladness” and “happiness.”

Another way to translate this line is:

but those who work for good will find happiness (GNT)

Parallel PROV 12:20

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

12:20

12:20a

12:20b