PROV 14:16 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) A wise person fears trouble and turns away from it,
⇔ ^ but a stupid one is careless and overconfident.

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 Σοφὸς φοβηθεὶς ἐξέκλινεν ἀπὸ κακοῦ, ὁ δὲ ἄφρων ἑαυτῷ πεποιθὼς μίγνυται ἀνόμῳ.
(Sofos fobaʸtheis exeklinen apo kakou, ho de afrōn heautōi pepoithōs mignutai anomōi. )

BrTr A wise man fears, and departs from evil; but the fool trusts in himself, and joins himself with the transgressor.

ULT A wise one fears and turns away from trouble,
⇔ but a stupid one interferes and is confident.

UST Wise people are careful and avoid doing things that annoy others,
⇔ but foolish people confidently interfere in other people’s business.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE A wise man fears and shuns evil,
⇔ but the fool is hot headed and reckless.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET A wise person is cautious and turns from evil,
⇔ but a fool throws off restraint and is overconfident.

LSV The wise is fearing and turning from evil,
And a fool is transgressing and is confident.

FBV Wise people are careful and avoid evil, but stupid people are confidently reckless.

T4T ⇔ Wise people are careful and avoid doing things that will give them trouble;
⇔ foolish people are careless and act ◄too quickly/without thinking►.

LEB • The wise is cautious and turns from evil, but the fool throws off restraint and is confident.

BBE The wise man, fearing, keeps himself from evil; but the foolish man goes on in his pride, with no thought of danger.

Moff A man of sense is cautious and shuns harm,
⇔ but a fool steps into it jauntily.
¶ 

JPS A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil; but the fool behaveth overbearingly, and is confident.

ASV A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil;
⇔ But the fool beareth himself insolently, and is confident.

DRA A wise man feareth and declineth from evil: the fool leapeth over and is confident.

YLT The wise is fearing and turning from evil, And a fool is transgressing and is confident.

Drby A wise [man] feareth and departeth from evil; but the foolish is overbearing and confident.

RV A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool beareth himself insolently, and is confident.
(A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool beareth/bears himself insolently, and is confident. )

SLT The wise one feared and departed from evil: and the foolish overflowing, and being confident.

Wbstr A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.

KJB-1769 A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident.

KJB-1611 A wise man feareth, and departeth from euill: but the foole rageth, and is confident.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps A wyse man feareth, and departeth from euyll: but the foole is angry, and counteth hym selfe sure.
(A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool is angry, and counteth himself sure.)

Gnva A wise man feareth, and departeth from euill: but a foole rageth, and is carelesse.
(A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but a fool rageth, and is carelesse. )

Cvdl A wyse man, feareth, and departeth from euell, but a foole goeth on presumptuously.
(A wise man, feareth, and departeth from evil, but a fool goeth/goes on presumptuously.)

Wycl A wijs man dredith, and bowith awei fro yuel; a fool skippith ouer, and tristith.
(A wise man dreadeth/dreads/fears, and boweth/bows away from evil; a fool skippith over, and trusteth/trusts.)

Luth Ein Weiser fürchtet sich und meidet das Arge; ein Narr aber fährt hindurch türstiglich.
(A wise_(man) fears(v) itself/yourself/themselves and avoids the evil(n); a fool(n) but drives through thrifty.)

ClVg Sapiens timet, et declinat a malo; stultus transilit, et confidit.
(Wise he_is_afraid, and declines from I_prefer; stupid/foolish transilit, and he_trusts. )

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

14:16

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

^16a A wise man fears and turns from evil,

^16bbut a fool is careless and reckless.

14:16a

A wise man fears and turns from evil,

A wise person is cautious, and therefore he stays out of trouble/danger.
If you^(sing) are wise, you will be careful to avoid anything that is evil,

A wise man fears: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “a wise person is fearing.” In Proverbs, the verb “to fear” (see the note on 10:27a) usually occurs with the object “the LORD.” Here there is no object. There are two ways to interpret this clause:

A wise man is cautious. He is aware that a person’s actions may have bad consequences, so he is afraid of acting rashly. For example:
One who is wise is cautious (REB) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GW, KJV, NASB, NCV, NET, NJB, NJPS, NLT, REB, RSV, GNT)
A wise man fears the LORD. For example:
A wise man fears the Lord (NIV) (NIV)

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

This interpretation forms a good parallel with 14:16b.
If the author had intended this clause to mean “fears the LORD,” he probably would have made the object explicit. That is what he did elsewhere in Proverbs.

and turns from evil: The word that the BSB translates as evil can refer either to moral evil or to trouble/misfortune. (See the note on 12:20a.) In this context, either meaning is appropriate, since a person who avoids moral evil will also avoid the trouble that accompanies it. Some ways to express the second meaning are:

Wise people are careful and stay out of trouble (NCV)

Sensible people are careful to stay out of trouble (GNT)

14:16b

but a fool is careless and reckless.

A fool is careless and overconfident. (GW)
but if you^(sing) are foolish, you will act without thinking because of your strong trust in yourself.

but a fool is careless: The word that the BSB translates as careless is literally “passing beyond bounds.” It usually means to become very angry or excited or to lose control. Since anger does not fit the context very well, most versions focus on being reckless or out of control.

fool: See fool 2 in the Glossary.

and reckless: In this context, the word reckless means to be self-assured or overconfident. A person who is overconfident tends to act too quickly or to be reckless. But the main meaning in this context is probably self-confidence.

Two ways to express the meaning of this line are:

but a fool is careless and overconfident (GW)

fools plunge ahead with great confidence (NLT96)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

חָכָ֣ם & וּ֝⁠כְסִ֗יל

wise & and,a_fool

See how you translated a wise one in [1:5](../01/05.md) and a stupid one in [10:18](../10/18.md).

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וְ⁠סָ֣ר מֵ⁠רָ֑ע

and,turning_aside from,evil

Solomon is speaking as if trouble were an object that A wise one physically turns away to walk in a different direction from. He means that he decides not to join in situations that could get him into trouble. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [and does not take part in troubling situations]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / hendiadys

מִתְעַבֵּ֥ר וּ⁠בוֹטֵֽחַ

throws_off and,confident

The phrase interferes and is confident expresses a single idea. The word confident tells more about how the stupid one interferes. If it would be more natural in your language, you could express this meaning in a different way. Alternate translation: [carelessly intrudes] or [overconfidently interferes]

Parallel PROV 14:16

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

14:16

14:16a

14:16b