PROV 18:7 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) The fool’s mouth will bring ruin,
⇔ ≈ and the lips of fools are a trap for their minds.

Key: .
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 Στόμα ἄφρονος συντριβὴ αὐτῷ, τὰ δὲ χείλη αὐτοῦ παγὶς τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτοῦ.
(Stoma afronos suntribaʸ autōi, ta de ⱪeilaʸ autou pagis taʸ psuⱪaʸ autou. )

ULT The mouth of a stupid one is ruin for him,
⇔ and his lips are a snare of his life.

UST What foolish people say will ruin them.
⇔ Indeed, what they say may cause them to die, as a trap may cause an animal to die.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE A fool’s mouth is his destruction,
⇔ and his lips are a snare to his soul.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET The mouth of a fool is his ruin,
⇔ and his lips are a snare for his life.

LSV The mouth of a fool [is] ruin to him,
And his lips [are] the snare of his soul.

FBV Stupid people are caught out by what they say; their own words trap them.

T4T ⇔ What foolish people [MTY] say causes them to be ruined;
⇔ their own words are like a trap [MET] that catches/seizes them.

LEB • The mouth of a fool is ruin to him, and his lips are a snare to his soul.[fn]

18:? Or “life,” or “inner self”

BBE The mouth of a foolish man is his destruction, and his lips are a net for his soul.

Moff A fool’s tongue is the ruin of him,
⇔ his talk is a snare to himself.
¶ 

JPS A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are the snare of his soul.

ASV A fool’s mouth is his destruction,
⇔ And his lips are the snare of his soul.

DRA The mouth of a fool is his destruction: and his lips are the ruin of his soul.

YLT The mouth of a fool [is] ruin to him, And his lips [are] the snare of his soul.

Drby A fool's mouth is destruction to him, and his lips are a snare to his soul.

RV A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.

SLT The mouth of the foolish is destruction to him, and his lips the snare of his soul.

Wbstr A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.

KJB-1769 A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.

KJB-1611 A fooles mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soule.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps A fooles mouth is his owne destruction, and his lippes are the snare for his owne soule.
(A fools mouth is his own destruction, and his lips are the snare for his own soul.)

Gnva A fooles mouth is his owne destruction, and his lips are a snare for his soule.
(A fools mouth is his own destruction, and his lips are a snare for his soul. )

Cvdl A fooles mouth is his owne destruccion, and his lippes are ye snare for his owne soule.
(A fools mouth is his own destruction, and his lips are ye/you_all snare for his own soul.)

Wycl The mouth of a fool is defoulyng of hym; and hise lippis ben the fallynge of his soule.
(The mouth of a fool is defouling of him; and his lips been the falling of his soul.)

Luth Der Mund des Narren schadet ihm selbst, und seine Lippen fahen seine eigene SeeLE.
(The mouth the fool(n) schadet him himself/itself, and his lips drive his own soul.)

ClVg Os stulti contritio ejus, et labia ipsius ruina animæ ejus.
(Os fools breaking/grief his, and lips of_his/her_own ruin(n) soul his. )

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

18:7

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^7a A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

^7band his lips are a snare to his soul.

For the underlined parallel phrases, see the notes on the parallel phrases in 18:6a and 18:6b. All four phrases have the same meaning. The parallel phrases in bold print refer to the intensifying consequences of the fool’s words.

18:7a

A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

What a fool says results in his ruin/destruction.
Terrible things happen to a fool because of his own words.

A fool’s mouth is his ruin: The phrase that the BSB translates as his ruin often refers to the destruction caused by war. Here it refers to the terrible things that happen to a fool as a result of what he says. These things ruin or destroy his life. Some ways to translate this line are:

The words of fools will ruin them (NCV)

When a fool speaks, he is ruining himself (GNT)

18:7a–b

(combined/reordered)

Their words are like a trap that ruins their lives and leads to their deaths.
A fool’s words are like a trap that ruins his life and leads to his death.

18:7b

and his lips are a snare to his soul.

His words are a snare that catches and eventually kills him.
His words are like a trap in which he loses his life.

and his lips are a snare to his soul: This clause is a metaphor. The metaphor compares the fool’s words (BSB: lips) to a snare or trap in which an animal or bird is caught and killed. The implied similarity is that both the fool’s words and a snare result in death.The image of a snare or trap implies the death of the animal or bird that is caught. A number of scholars bring out the deadly nature of a trap. McKane says that the fool’s words are “the snare in which he is trapped and loses his life” (page 515). Murphy uses the term “deadly trap” (page 133), and Hubbard also characterizes the fool’s words as “lethal” (page 275). Waltke adds the term “fatal” and says that 18:7b “now escalates the fool’s punishment to his death” (2005, page 73).

his soul: This phrase represents either the fool himself or his life. In the context of a deadly trap, there is little difference between the two. Some ways to translate this metaphor are:

Keep the metaphor. For example:
their own words will trap them (NCV)
Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
His words are like a deadly trap which catches him.
What he says is like a trap which leads to his death.

The metaphor of a snare also occurs in 12:13a, 13:14b, and 14:27a–b. See the notes there. The contexts of these metaphors differ, so you may not be able to translate them the same way.

General Comment on 18:7a–b

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

Saying foolish things is like setting a trap to destroy yourself. (CEV)

Reordering or combining the parallel lines in this way will affect the chiastic structure as well as the progression of meaning. (See the note on 18:6–7.) So it is better to use this option in situations where a chiasm and intensification of meaning are not effective. See 18:6a–b and 18:7a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display for ways to keep the intensification of meaning.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

פִּֽי־כְ֭סִיל מְחִתָּה־ל֑⁠וֹ וּ֝⁠שְׂפָתָ֗י⁠ו מוֹקֵ֥שׁ נַפְשֽׁ⁠וֹ

mouth_of fool's ruin to=him/it and,lips_of,his snare_of his_life_of,his

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: “The mouth of a stupid one is ruin for him, indeed, his lips are a snare of his life”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

פִּֽי & וּ֝⁠שְׂפָתָ֗י⁠ו

mouth_of & and,lips_of,his

See how you translated the same use of mouth and lips in the previous verse.

Note 3 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

מְחִתָּה־ל֑⁠וֹ

ruin to=him/it

Here, is indicates that what follows is the result of what a stupid one says. Use the most natural way in your language to indicate result. Alternate translation: “causes ruin for him” or “will result in his ruin”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מוֹקֵ֥שׁ נַפְשֽׁ⁠וֹ

snare_of his_life_of,his

Here Solomon refers to what a stupid one says with his lips causing him trouble as if his lips were a snare that traps him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or use a simile. Alternate translation: “will cause him trouble” or “are like a snare that causes him trouble”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

נַפְשֽׁ⁠וֹ

his_life_of,his