PROV 19:23 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, green:YHWH.
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 Φόβος Κυρίου εἰς ζωὴν ἀνδρὶ· ὁ δὲ ἄφοβος αὐλισθήσεται ἐν τόποις οὗ οὐκ ἐπισκοπεῖται γνῶσις.
(Fobos Kuriou eis zōaʸn andri; ho de afobos aulisthaʸsetai en topois hou ouk episkopeitai gnōsis. )

BrTr The fear of the Lord is life to a man: [fn]and he shall lodge without fear in places where knowledge is not seen.

19:23 Or, 'but he that is without fear (sc. of the Lord) shall dwell' etc.

ULT The fear of Yahweh is to life
⇔ and the satisfied one will stay overnight;
⇔ he will not be visited by evil.

UST Revering Yahweh causes people to live for a long time;
⇔ such people rest contentedly at night;
⇔ nothing will harm them.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE The fear of the LORD leads to life, then contentment;
⇔ he rests and will not be touched by trouble.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Fearing the Lord leads to life,
⇔ and one who does so will live satisfied; he will not be afflicted by calamity.

LSV The fear of YHWH [is] to life,
And he remains satisfied—he is not charged with evil.

FBV Honoring the Lord is life, and you will rest contentedly, safe from harm.

T4T ⇔ Those who have an awesome respect for Yahweh will live a long life;
⇔ they rest peacefully and are not harmed during the night.

LEB • Fear of Yahweh leads to life; he who is filled with it will rest—he will not suffer harm.

BBE The fear of the Lord gives life: and he who has it will have need of nothing; no evil will come his way.

Moff Reverence for the Eternal is the way to life;
⇔ content with that, one never comes to harm.

JPS The fear of the LORD tendeth to life; and he that hath it shall abide satisfied, he shall not be visited with evil.

ASV The fear of Jehovah tendeth to life;
⇔ And he that hath it shall abide satisfied;
⇔ He shall not be visited with evil.

DRA The fear of the Lord is unto life: and he shall abide in fulness without being visited with evil.

YLT The fear of Jehovah [is] to life, And satisfied he remaineth — he is not charged with evil.

Drby The fear of Jehovah [tendeth] to life, and he [that hath it] shall rest satisfied without being visited with evil.

RV The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
(The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath/has it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil. )

SLT The fear of Jehovah is to life: and he being filled shall lodge satisfied; he shall not be reviewed for evil.

Wbstr The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.

KJB-1769 The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.
(The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath/has it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil. )

KJB-1611 The feare of the LORD tendeth to life, and he that hath it shall abide satisfied: he shall not be visited with euill.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps The feare of the Lord bringeth a man to lyfe: and he shall rest the whole night in plenteousnesse without visitation of any plague.
(The fear of the Lord bringeth/brings a man to life: and he shall rest the whole night in plenteous/plentifulness without visitation of any plague.)

Gnva The feare of the Lord leadeth to life: and he that is filled therewith, shall continue, and shall not be visited with euill.
(The fear of the Lord leadeth/leads to life: and he that is filled therewith, shall continue, and shall not be visited with evil. )

Cvdl The feare of the LORDE preserueth the life, yee it geueth pleteousnes, without the visitacio of any plage.
(The fear of the LORD preserveth the life, ye/you_all it giveth/gives pleteousnes, without the visitacio of any plague.)

Wycl The drede of the Lord ledith to lijf `of blis; and he `that dredith God schal dwelle in plentee, with outen visityng `of the worste.
(The dread of the Lord leadeth/leads to life of blis; and he that dreadeth/dreads/fears God shall dwell in plentee, without visiting of the worste.)

Luth Die Furcht des HErr’s fördert zum Leben und wird satt bleiben, daß kein Übel sie heimsuchen wird.
(The fear(n) the LORD’s promotes for_the life and becomes full/fed_up remain/stay, that no/not evil they/she/them attack/beset/plague becomes.)

ClVg Timor Domini ad vitam, et in plenitudine commorabitur absque visitatione pessima.]
(Timor Master to life, and in/into/on fullness will_stay without visitatione worst.] )

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

19:23

In this verse, the second line adds to the thought of the first line. It gives more details about the kind of life that a person who fears the LORD will experience.

^23aThe fear of the LORD leads to life,

^23bthat one may rest content, without visitation from harm.

The overall meaning is that the life of a person who reveres the LORD will be characterized by contentment and safety.

19:23a

The fear of the LORD leads to life,

A person who respects and obeys Yahweh will have a good/long life.
If a person has fear and reverence/awe for Yahweh, his life will be long.

The fear of the LORD: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as fear indicates both real fear and reverential awe. It also involves submitting to the LORD and obeying him. See the note on “fear of the LORD” in 10:27a–b for translation advice.

leads to life: This phrase is similar in meaning to the figurative phrase “is a fountain of life” in 13:14a. As in other proverbs, the word life implies a long and good life.

Some other ways to translate 19:23a are:

Obey the Lord and you will live a long life (GNT)

Showing respect for the Lord brings true life (CEV)

19:23b

that one may rest content, without visitation from harm.

He will always be content and safe/protected from harm.
Yahweh will provide all that he needs and will protect/keep him from trouble/disaster.

that one may rest content: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “and satisfied, one will spend the night.” The subject is not specified, but it clearly refers to the person who fears the LORD in 19:23a. There are two ways to interpret the verb that the BSB translates as rest:The BSB rendering “rest” may be intentionally ambiguous. It could refer to sleeping at night, to resting when tired, or to remaining in a specific situation (content). Other versions that use the word “rest” include the ESV, GW, NIV, NRSV, and REB. It should perhaps be mentioned that of the sixty-five or more instances where this Hebrew word is used, the BSB translates it as “rest” only in three places.

The verb is used here as a figure of speech that represents “any time,” not only at night.Waltke (page 116) identifies this figure of speech as a synecdoche. In this figure of speech, the night (often a dangerous time) represents “all the time.” It indicates that the person remains satisfied or content. For example:
he shall abide in contentment (NJPS) (BSB, CEV, KJV, NCV, NET, NJPS, NLT, GNT)
The verb refers literally to “staying overnight” or “spending the night,” as a traveler does on a journey. It indicates that the person spends the night satisfied or content. For example:
so that one may sleep satisfied (NASB) (NAB, NASB)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). When the Hebrew verb is used literally of people spending the night, it refers to temporary overnight stays. It never refers to going to sleep at night in one’s own home. Most OT lexicons define the word figuratively in this context as “remains, abides.”NIDOTTE (H4328), TWOT (#1096), and BDB (#3885) all list this verse as one of the figurative uses of this word. HALOT (#4642) understands it literally.

content: This word refers frequently in its other forms to being satisfied after a meal. (See 13:25a for one example). Here it probably refers to being content or satisfied in general, with all one’s basic needs met.Fox (page 659), Hubbard (page 201).

without visitation from harm: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “not visited by trouble.” It indicates that the person who fears the LORD will be safe or protected from trouble or harm.

Some other ways to translate 19:23b are:

and one who does so will live satisfied; he will not be afflicted by calamity (NET)

content and safe from harm (GNT)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

יִרְאַ֣ת יְהוָ֣ה

fear_of YHWH

See how you translated this phrase in [1:7](../01/07.md).

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

לְ⁠חַיִּ֑ים

[is]_to,life

See how you translated this phrase in [10:16](../10/16.md).

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

וְ⁠שָׂבֵ֥עַ & בַּל־יִפָּ֥קֶד

and,satisfied & not suffer

Here, the satisfied one and he refer to a type of person in general, not a specific person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “and any satisfied one … that person will not be visited by”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וְ⁠שָׂבֵ֥עַ

and,satisfied

Here, the satisfied one refers to a person who has The fear of Yahweh. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “and such a person is a satisfied one who”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

יָ֝לִ֗ין

rests

The phrase stay overnight here is an idiom that refers to resting or sleeping. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “will rest”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

בַּל־יִפָּ֥קֶד רָֽע

not suffer harm

If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could state this in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “evil will not visit him”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

בַּל־יִפָּ֥קֶד רָֽע

not suffer harm

Here Solomon speaks of a person experiencing evil as if evil were a person who could visit him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “he will not experience evil”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

רָֽע

harm

Here, evil refers to trouble that someone might experience as a result of evil. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “trouble”

Parallel PROV 19:23

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

19:23

19:23a

19:23b