PROV 16:16 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.)

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 Νοσσιαὶ σοφίας αἱρετώτεραι χρυσίου, νοσσιαὶ δὲ φρονήσεως αἱρετώτεραι ὑπὲρ ἀργύριον.
(Nossiai sofias hairetōterai ⱪrusiou, nossiai de fronaʸseōs hairetōterai huper argurion. )

BrTr The [fn]brood of wisdom is more to be chosen than gold, and the brood of prudence more to be chosen than silver.

ULT How much better it is to acquire wisdom than gold,
⇔ and to acquire understanding is to be chosen more than silver.

UST Becoming wise is better than having gold.
⇔ Indeed, it is better to choose to become understanding than to have silver.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE How much better it is to get wisdom than gold!
⇔ Yes, to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET How much better it is to acquire wisdom than gold;
⇔ to acquire understanding is more desirable than silver.

LSV To get wisdom—how much better than gold,
And to get understanding—to be chosen [more] than silver!

FBV Far better to get wisdom than gold; far better to choose knowledge than silver.

T4T ⇔ Becoming wise is better than aquiring gold;
⇔ getting good understanding/insight is better than acquiring silver.

LEB • Getting wisdom: how much[fn] better than gold! And getting understanding: it is chosen over[fn] silver.

16:? Literally “what”

16:? Literally “from”

BBE How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! and to get knowledge is more to be desired than silver.

Moff Better get wisdom than gold,
⇔ better choose knowledge than silver.

JPS How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! yea, to get understanding is rather to be chosen than silver.

ASV How much better is it to get wisdom than gold!
⇔ Yea, to get understanding is rather to be chosen than silver.

DRA Get wisdom, because it is better than gold: and purchase prudence, for it is more precious than silver.

YLT To get wisdom — how much better than gold, And to get understanding to be chosen than silver!

Drby How much better is it to get wisdom than fine gold, and the getting of intelligence to be preferred to silver!

RV How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! yea, to get understanding is rather to be chosen than silver.

SLT The obtaining of wisdom how good above gold and the obtaining of understanding to be chosen above silver.

Wbstr How much better is it to get wisdom than gold? and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver?

KJB-1769 How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!

KJB-1611 How much better is it to get wisedome, then gold? and to get vnderstanding, rather to be chosen then siluer?
(How much better is it to get wisdom, then gold? and to get understanding, rather to be chosen then silver?)

Bshps To haue wisdome in possession, is better then to haue golde: and to get vnderstandyng, is rather to be chosen then to haue siluer.
(To have wisdom in possession, is better then to have gold: and to get understanding, is rather to be chosen then to have silver.)

Gnva Howe much better is it to get wisedome then golde? and to get vnderstanding, is more to be desired then siluer.
(How much better is it to get wisdom then golde? and to get understanding, is more to be desired then silver. )

Cvdl To haue wy?dome in possession is better then golde, and to get vnderstondynge, is more worth then syluer.
(To have wisdom in possession is better then gold, and to get understanding, is more worth then silver.)

Wycl Welde thou wisdom, for it is betere than gold; and gete thou prudence, for it is precyousere than siluer.
(Welde thou/you wisdom, for it is better than gold; and gotten thou/you prudence, for it is precyousere than silver.)

Luth Nimm an die Weisheit, denn sie ist besser weder Gold, und Verstand haben ist edler denn Silber.
(Take at/to the wise_(people), because/than they/she/them is better neither Gold, and mind have is nobler because/than silver(n).)

ClVg [Posside sapientiam, quia auro melior est, et acquire prudentiam, quia pretiosior est argento.
([Posside wisdom, because with_gold better it_is, and acquire prudence, because at_a_pricesior it_is with_silver. )

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

16:16

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^16aHow much better to acquire wisdom than gold!

^16b To gain understanding is more desirable than silver .

This “better than” proverb has a different structure than proverbs such as 12:9. See the note there. Such proverbs have a contrast between a bad/undesirable situation and a good/desirable situation in each line. Here in 16:16, the first parallel part in each line is better than the second parallel part in each line.See Fox (pages 597–598) for more details on the logical structure of this kind of proverb. Another proverb of this type is 16:32.

The overall meaning is that it is better to gain wisdom and understanding than to obtain gold and silver. It does not imply that it is bad to obtain gold and silver.

16:16a–b

(combined/reordered)

To gain wisdom and insight is much more valuable than gaining great wealth.
It is far better to become wise and to add to your^(sing) understanding than to become rich.

How much better: This phrase is an exclamation that emphasizes the value of gaining wisdom. In languages that do not use this kind of exclamation, another way to express the emphasis is:

It is better—much better— (GNT)

It is far better

to acquire wisdom…To gain understanding: The verbs that the BSB translates as acquire and gain come from the same word in Hebrew. It means “to get or choose.” The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as understanding refers to the ability to comprehend and interpret ideas and to draw conclusions. Other words that express the meaning accurately include “perception” and “insight.”

See wisdom and understanding (insight) in the Glossary.

gold…silver: gold and silver often function together as a pair to indicate wealth.

General Comment on 16:16a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder and/or combine the parallel parts of this verse. For example:

It is much better to gain wisdom and understanding than to accumulate gold and silver.

It is better to become wise and intelligent than to become rich.

16:16a

How much better to acquire wisdom than gold!

To become wise is much better than to obtain gold.

16:16b

To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.

To gain the ability to understand is far preferable to finding silver.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

קְֽנֹה־חָכְמָ֗ה מַה־טּ֥וֹב מֵ⁠חָר֑וּץ וּ⁠קְנ֥וֹת בִּ֝ינָ֗ה נִבְחָ֥ר מִ⁠כָּֽסֶף

get wisdom what? better more,than_gold and,to_acquire understanding chosen more,than_silver

These two phrases mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could connect the phrases with a word other than and in order to show that the second phrase is repeating the first one, not saying something additional. Alternate translation: “How better it is to acquire wisdom than gold, yes, to acquire understanding is to be chosen more than silver”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

חָכְמָ֗ה & בִּ֝ינָ֗ה

wisdom & understanding

See how you translated the abstract nouns wisdom in [1:2](../01/02.md) and understanding in [2:2](../02/02.md).

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

וּ⁠קְנ֥וֹת בִּ֝ינָ֗ה נִבְחָ֥ר

and,to_acquire understanding chosen