PROV 1:12 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) Let’s swallow innocent people just like the grave does,
⇔ ≈ and healthy people just like those going down to the pit.

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 καταπίωμεν δὲ αὐτὸν ὥσπερ ᾅδης ζῶντα, καὶ ἄρωμεν αὐτοῦ τὴν μνήμην ἐκ γῆς,
(katapiōmen de auton hōsper hadaʸs zōnta, kai arōmen autou taʸn mnaʸmaʸn ek gaʸs, )

BrTr and let us swallow him alive, as Hades would, and remove the memorial of him from the earth:

ULT Let us swallow them, the living ones, like Sheol,
⇔ and the whole ones like those going down to a pit.

UST We will kill living people completely, as if we were their grave.
⇔ Yes, we will kill healthy people, as if they could not escape dying.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE Let’s swallow them up alive like Sheol,[fn]
⇔ and whole, like those who go down into the pit.

1:12 Sheol is the place of the dead.

WMBB (Same as above including footnotes)

NET We will swallow them alive like Sheol,
⇔ those full of vigor like those going down to the Pit.

LSV We swallow them as Sheol—alive,
And whole—as those going down [to] the pit,

FBV Let's bury them alive; let's put them in the grave while they're still healthy!

T4T We will kill them [HYP] and get rid of them completely,
⇔ just like people who are buried in graves are gone forever.
⇔ While they are in good health, we will send them to the place where dead people are.

LEB • Like Sheol,[fn] we will swallow them alive and whole, like those who descend to the pit .[fn]

1:? A term for the place where the dead reside, i.e., the Underworld

1:? Literally “like the descenders of a pit”

BBE Let us overcome them living, like the underworld, and in their strength, as those who go down to death;

Moff let us swallow them up like death,
⇔ swallow them whole, as men die in their prime;

JPS Let us swallow them up alive as the grave, and whole, as those that go down into the pit;

ASV Let us swallow them up alive as Sheol,
⇔ And whole, as those that go down into the pit;

DRA Let us swallow him up alive like hell, and whole as one that goeth down into the pit.

YLT We swallow them as Sheol — alive, And whole — as those going down [to] the pit,

Drby let us swallow them up alive as Sheol, and whole, as those that go down into the pit;

RV Let us swallow them up alive as Sheol, and whole, as those that go down into the pit;

SLT We will swallow them down living, as hades, and whole, as they going down to the pit:

Wbstr Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

KJB-1769 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

KJB-1611 Let vs swallow them vp aliue, as the graue, and whole, as those that goe downe into the pit:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Let vs swallowe them vp lyke the graue quicke and whole, as those that go downe into the pit:
(Let us swallow them up like the grave quick and whole, as those that go down into the pit:)

Gnva We wil swallow them vp aliue like a graue euen whole, as those that goe downe into the pit:
(We will swallow them up alive like a grave even whole, as those that go down into the pit: )

Cvdl let us swalowe the vp like ye hell, let us deuoure the quycke and whole, as those that go downe in to the pytt.
(let us swallow the up like ye/you_all hell, let us devour the quick and whole, as those that go down in to the pytt.)

Wycl swolowe we him, as helle swolowith a man lyuynge; and al hool, as goynge doun in to a lake; we schulen fynde al preciouse catel,
(swolowe we him, as hell swolowith a man living; and all whole, as going down in to a lake; we should find all precious cattle,)

Luth wir wollen sie lebendig verschlingen wie die Hölle, und die Frommen, als die hinunter in die Grube fahren;
(we/us want they/she/them lively/alive devour as/like the hell, and the pious/devout_(one), as the down/downward in the pit drive/ride/run;)

ClVg deglutiamus eum sicut infernus viventem, et integrum quasi descendentem in lacum;[fn]
(deglutiamus him like hell living, and integrum as_if descendentem in/into/on lake; )

1.12 Deglutiamus eum, sicut infernus viventem. Exstinguamus memoriam virtutum et doctrinæ illius, ut etiam inter nos vixisse non memoretur.

1.12 Deglutiamus him, like hell living. Exstinguamus memory virtues and doctrines of_that, as also between us barelyisse not/no memoretur.

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:8–19: First lesson: Avoid evil companions

This first lesson may be summarized as follows:

Introduction: Pay attention to your parents’ advice, because it will improve your character (1:8–9).
Lesson: If robbers try to persuade you to do evil (1:10–14), refuse to join them (1:15), because they will destroy their own lives (1:16–18).
Conclusion: People who are greedy and try to obtain wealth illegally will die (1:19).This outline is based on “The Design of Lecture 1” in Fox (page 92).

Some other headings for this section are:

Warnings against Bad Friends (CEV)

Advice to a young man to not be tempted by evil people

Paragraph 1:10–14

In this paragraph, the quote that starts in 1:11a and ends in 1:14b gives the words that the “sinners” use to “entice” the young man. The concluding exhortation of 1:10b is parallel to the concluding exhortations of 1:15a–b.

1:12

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^12alet us swallow them alive like Sheol,

^12band whole like those descending into the Pit.

There is an ellipsis in 1:12b. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the missing words. For example:

^12band let us swallow them whole like those descending into the Pit

1:12a–b

(combined/reordered)

They will no longer be alive and strong/healthy, because we^(incl) will end their lives suddenly. It will be as if the grave has swallowed them.
They are healthy now, but they will soon be dead, because we will be like the grave that opens its mouth to swallow people.
Even though they are strong and healthy now, we will make sure that they are soon in the place of the dead.

let us swallow them alive like Sheol, and whole like those descending into the Pit: This verse contains two parallel similes. In the similes, the criminals compare themselves to Sheol, which some English versions translate as “the grave.” The criminals are similar to the grave, because they will kill unsuspecting, healthy people just as certainly and quickly as the grave opens its mouth to swallow its victims.Ross (page 908).

alive…and whole: The word whole refers to people who are “healthy.” Together, the words alive and whole refer to people who are in good health and do not expect to die soon. Some versions combine and/or reorder these parallel parts. For example:

They may be alive and well… (GNT)

In some languages, it may be redundant to say that a healthy person is alive. In that case, it may be better to leave alive implicit or to use another term that refers to good health. For example:

even if they are strong and healthy

like Sheol…the Pit: In translating these similes, be careful not to imply that people are buried in their graves while they are still alive. In some languages, a literal translation of these similes may be difficult to understand. Some other ways to express the meaning are:

Make explicit the way in which the sinners are like the grave and the pit. For example:
Let’s kill them so fast that it will seem like the place of the dead had swallowed them alive.
Translate the meaning without the figures of speech. For example:
They may be alive and well when we find them, but they’ll be dead when we’re through with them! (GNT)

Notice that both of these options combine the parallel words Sheol and Pit into one expression. Express the meaning in a way that is clear and natural in your language.

1:12a

let us swallow them alive like Sheol,

We^(incl) will kill these people who are not expecting to die, just like the grave swallows those who have died.

let us swallow them alive like Sheol: The word that the BSB translates as Sheol refers to death or the grave or the place of the dead. Sheol is described here as a hungry monster that swallows people alive. In other words, they are alive at the time when he swallows them.Fox (page 87).

1:12b

and whole like those descending into the Pit.

Even though they are now in good health, we^(incl) will soon cause them to descend to the place of the dead.

like those descending into the Pit: The word that the BSB translates as Pit normally means a hole that is dug in the ground or rock to hold water. But here it is a figurative synonym for the place of the dead.

descending: According to Jewish thinking, the place where the dead lived was deep under the surface of the earth. (Other verses with this same idea are 2:18a–b and 9:18b.) In some languages, it may not be natural to use a specific verb such as “descend.” If that is true in your language, you may be able to use a more general word. For example:

go into the pit (GW)

go to the place of the dead

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

נִ֭בְלָעֵ⁠ם

let,us_engulf_them

By us, the sinners are referring to themselves but not other people, so use the exclusive form of that word in your translation if your language marks that distinction.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

נִ֭בְלָעֵ⁠ם

let,us_engulf_them

The sinners speak of murdering people as if they were swallowing them. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Let us destroy them”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

כִּ⁠שְׁא֣וֹל חַיִּ֑ים וּ֝⁠תְמִימִ֗ים כְּ⁠י֣וֹרְדֵי בֽוֹר

like,Sheol life(pl) and,complete like,[those_who]_go_down_of pit

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 living ones, like Sheol, yes, the whole ones, like those going down to a pit”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

כִּ⁠שְׁא֣וֹל

like,Sheol

The sinners are leaving out some of the words that in many languages a clause would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from earlier in the sentence if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “like Sheol swallows people”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

כִּ⁠שְׁא֣וֹל

like,Sheol

Here, Sheol is spoken of as if it were a living thing that could swallow someone. The idea of Sheol swallowing someone refers to how people are completely gone after they die and are buried. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “like Sheol completely covers people”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וּ֝⁠תְמִימִ֗ים

and,complete

The sinners are leaving out some of the words that a clause would need in many languages to be complete. If it would be helpful in your language, you could supply these words from the beginning of the verse. Alternate translation: “and let us swallow the whole ones”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וּ֝⁠תְמִימִ֗ים

and,complete

Here, whole refers to being completely healthy. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and the healthy ones”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

כְּ⁠י֣וֹרְדֵי בֽוֹר

like,[those_who]_go_down_of pit

The sinners are leaving out some of the words that in many languages a clause would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from the context if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “like those going down to a pit are swallowed”

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / simile