PROV 19:27 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=minor/spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

19:27 OSHB note: We agree with both BHS 1997 and BHQ on an unexpected reading.

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 Υἱὸς ἀπολειπόμενος φυλάξαι παιδείαν πατρὸς, μελετήσει ῥήσεις κακάς.
(Huios apoleipomenos fulaxai paideian patros, meletaʸsei ɽaʸseis kakas. )

BrTr A son who ceases to attend to the instruction of a father will cherish evil designs.

ULT My son, cease to hear instruction
⇔ to stray from the words of knowledge.

UST My child, if you want to become stupid,
⇔ then stop listening to what people teach you.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE If you stop listening to instruction, my son,
⇔ you will stray from the words of knowledge.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET If you stop listening to instruction, my child,
⇔ you will stray from the words of knowledge.

LSV Cease, my son, to hear instruction—To err from sayings of knowledge.

FBV My son, stop listening to my instruction and you'll soon give up following wisdom.

T4T ⇔ My son, if you stop learning things,
⇔ you will soon forget what you already know.

LEB • Cease to listen to instruction, my child, and you will stray[fn] from sayings of knowledge.

19:? Literally “in order to stray”

BBE A son who no longer gives attention to teaching is turned away from the words of knowledge.

Moff Cease not, my son, to listen to instruction,
⇔ and never turn away from a wise teacher.

JPS Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.

ASV Cease, my son, to hear instruction
⇔ Only to err from the words of knowledge.

DRA Cease not, O my son, to hear instruction, and be not ignorant of the words of knowledge.

YLT Cease, my son, to hear instruction — To err from sayings of knowledge.

Drby Cease, my son, to hear the instruction which causeth to stray from the words of knowledge.

RV Cease, my son, to hear instruction only to err from the words of knowledge.

SLT Cease, my son, to hear instructions for erring from the words of knowledge.

Wbstr Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.

KJB-1769 Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.

KJB-1611 Cease, my sonne, to heare the instruction, that causeth to erre from the words of knowledge.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps My sonne heare no more the doctrine that leadeth thee vnto errours from the wordes of vnderstanding.
(My son hear no more the doctrine that leadeth/leads thee/you unto errors from the words of understanding.)

Gnva My sonne, heare no more the instruction, that causeth to erre from ye words of knowledge.
(My son, hear no more the instruction, that causeth to err from ye/you_all words of knowledge. )

Cvdl My sonne, heare nomore the doctrine yt leadeth the awaye from the wordes of vnderstondinge.
(My son, hear no more the doctrine it leadeth/leads the away from the words of understanding.)

Wycl Sone, ceesse thou not to here techyng; and knowe thou the wordis of kunnyng.
(Son, cease thou/you not to here teaching; and know thou/you the words of cunning.)

Luth Laß ab, mein Sohn, zu hören die Zucht, die da abführet von vernünftiger Lehre!
(Let away, my son, to/for hear/listen the culture/discipline, the there abführet from reasonable teaching!)

ClVg Non cesses, fili, audire doctrinam, nec ignores sermones scientiæ.
(Not/No cesses, fili, to_hear teaching, but_not ignores conversations of_knowledge. )

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

19:27

The second line of this verse gives the result of the first line.

^27aIf you cease to hear instruction, my son,

you will stray from the words of knowledge.

In the Hebrew, 19:27a is a warning that implies an “if” statement. The BSB and the NET makes the “if” statement explicit. For example:

^27a If you stop listening to instruction, my child, (NET)

^27byou will stray from the words of knowledge. (NET)

In the Hebrew text, this verse is literally:

^27aCease, my son, to listen to instruction,

^27b to stray from words of knowledge.

It seems to be a command that the son stop listening to instruction in order to stray from words of knowledge. This is not a reasonable command. So most scholars think that the author is using irony. He is saying the opposite of what he intends the son to understand.These scholars include Longman, Ross, Whybray, Garrett, and McKane.

However, this kind of irony is not used elsewhere in Proverbs.Whybray (page 286) mentions this specifically, though he supports irony in this verse. Fox (page 661) rejects “irony” as a credible interpretation, based on his understanding that the two infinitives “to listen” and “to stray” both connect to the command “cease.” He gives an excellent summary of at least five ways that scholars or ancient versions have tried to make sense of what is clearly a very difficult text. Waltke (page 124) understands the author’s strategy to involve “sarcasm,” since the command obviously contradicts what is taught elsewhere. He says that both the Vulgate (“do not cease listening…”) and the NIV (conditional statement) express the author’s intention. Murphy (page 141) allows a possible “conditional” interpretation of the imperative, but Ross (page 1038) and Garrett (page 173) reject a conditional sense. These Notes have not attempted to list all the textual variants or to treat this as an interpretation issue. It is also difficult to understand this kind of irony correctly, because nothing else in the context implies it.

Scholars agree that the purpose of this verse is to emphasize to the son the serious consequences of not listening to instruction. Some ways to express this meaning are:

Use an “if” statement, as the BSB has done.
Use a command that means to not stop listening. For example:
^27aDon’t stop listening to correction, my child, ^27bor you will forget what you have already learned. (NCV)
Use irony or sarcasm. For example:
So, my son, you want to ignore all the useful things that you have learned, do you? Go ahead, then, block your ears! Be sure that you do not listen to wise advice!

19:27a

If you cease to hear instruction, my son,

My child/son, if you^(sing) stop listening to what wise people teach/advise you,
My son, do not stop listening to instruction/advice,

hear instruction: For the word instruction, see discipline in the Glossary. Here it refers to wise moral teaching.

19:27b

you will stray from the words of knowledge.

you^(sing) will soon forget/neglect the good things that you have learned.
for if you do, you will wander/turn away from what you know is right.

you will stray from the words of knowledge: The phrase that the BSB translates as words of knowledge is parallel to “instruction.” It also refers to teaching from a wise teacher. The whole clause implies that this is wisdom or knowledge that the son previously learned. To stray from this knowledgeHALOT (#9368) and BDB (#7686) list this verse under the sense “go astray” rather than the specific sense “commit inadvertent sin.” However, TWOT (#2325) understands that the main emphasis of the root word is on “sin done inadvertently…not willfully.” NIDOTTE (H8706) also understands the verb to refer here to “wandering away from the Lord.” as a result of no longer listening to instruction implies that:

The son will no longer think about what he has learned, so he will forget it. For example:
you will forget what you already know (CEV)
The son will neglect wise conduct in his life and actions and will wander off the path of right behavior. For example:
you will soon neglect what you already know (GNT)
you will turn your back on knowledge (NLT)

See the note on 5:23b, where the same Hebrew verb is used.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

בְּ֭נִ⁠י

my_son_of,my

See how you translated the same use of this phrase in [1:8](../01/08.md).

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / irony

חַֽדַל & לִ⁠שְׁמֹ֣עַ מוּסָ֑ר לִ֝⁠שְׁג֗וֹת מֵֽ⁠אִמְרֵי־דָֽעַת

cease & to,listen_to instruction to,stray from,words_of knowledge

Here Solomon is using irony. By doing so, Solomon actually means to communicate the opposite of the literal meaning of his words. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “do not cease to hear instruction, and you will not stray from the words of knowledge”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

מוּסָ֑ר & דָֽעַת

instruction & knowledge

See how you translated the abstract nouns instruction in [1:2](../01/02.md) and knowledge in [1:4](../01/04.md).

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

לִ֝⁠שְׁג֗וֹת

to,stray

Here, to indicates that what follows is the result of doing what was stated in the previous clause. Use the most natural way in your language to indicate result. Alternate translation: “and it will result that you stray”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

לִ֝⁠שְׁג֗וֹת מֵֽ⁠אִמְרֵי־דָֽעַת

to,stray from,words_of knowledge

Here Solomon refers to a person straying or wandering from the words of knowledge to mean that the person is no longer heeding those words. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “to stop accepting the words of knowledge”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

מֵֽ⁠אִמְרֵי־דָֽעַת

from,words_of knowledge

Here Solomon is using the possessive form to describe words that are characterized by knowledge. If your language would not use the possessive form for this, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: “from the knowledgeable words”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

מֵֽ⁠אִמְרֵי

from,words_of

See how you translated the similar use of words in [1:23](../01/23.md). Alternate translation: “from the sayings of” or “from the messages of”

Parallel PROV 19:27

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

19:27

19:27a

19:27b