PROV 20:16 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Take the person’s coat if they’ve used it to guarantee the loan of a stranger,
⇔ ≈ and hold it in pledge if they did it for a foreign woman.[ref]

20:16 OSHB variant note: נכרים: (x-qere) ’נָכְרִיָּ֣ה’: lemma_5237 morph_HAafsa id_20uMy נָכְרִיָּ֣ה

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).

ULT Take his garment when he has pledged for a stranger,
⇔ and on behalf of a foreign woman hold it in pledge.

UST Take the coats of people who promise to pay a loan for someone whom they do not know.
⇔ Indeed, hold onto the coats of people who do so for a foreigner because those people are not likely to repay those loans.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE Take the garment of one who puts up collateral for a stranger;
⇔ and hold him in pledge for a wayward woman.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Take a man’s garment when he has given security for a stranger,
⇔ and when he gives surety for strangers, hold him in pledge.

LSV When a stranger has been guarantor, take his garment,
And pledge it for strangers.

FBV If someone guarantees a stranger's debt with their cloak, be sure to take it! Make sure you have whatever is pledged to foreigners!

T4T ⇔ If you foolishly promise to a stranger that you will pay what he owes if he is unable to pay it [DOU],
⇔ you deserve to have someone take your coat from you.

LEB • Take his garment, for he has given security to a stranger, and on behalf of a foreigner—take it as pledge.

BBE Take a man's clothing if he makes himself responsible for a strange man, and get an undertaking from him who gives his word for strange men.

Moff He has gone bail for a man?-- then seize him!
⇔ hold him to what he has pledged!

JPS Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; and hold him in pledge that is surety for an alien woman.

ASV Take his garment that is surety for a stranger;
⇔ And hold him in pledge that is surety for foreigners.

DRA Take away the garment of him that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge from him for strangers.

YLT Take his garment when a stranger hath been surety, And for strangers pledge it.

Drby Take his garment that is become surety [for] another, and hold him in pledge for strangers.

RV Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; and hold him in pledge that is surety for strangers.

SLT Take his garment that became surety for a stranger: and bind him by a pledge for strange women.

Wbstr Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

KJB-1769 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

KJB-1611 Take his garment that is suerty for a stranger: and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

Bshps Take his garment that is suretie for a straunger: and take a pledge of hym for the vnknowen sake.
(Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a pledge of him for the unknown sake.)

Gnva Take his garment, that is suretie for a stranger, and a pledge of him for the stranger.
(Take his garment, that is surety for a stranger, and a pledge of him for the stranger. )

Cvdl Take his garment that is suertie for a straunger, & take a pledge of him for ye vnknowne mans sake.
(Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for ye/you_all unknown mans sake.)

Wycl Take thou awei the cloth of hym, that was borewe of an othere man; and for straungeris take thou awei a wed fro hym.
(Take thou/you away the cloth of him, that was borewe of anothere man; and for strangers take thou/you away a wed from him.)

Luth Nimm dem sein Kleid, der für einen anderen Bürge wird, und pfände ihn um des Unbekannten willen.
(Take to_him be garment, the/of_the for/in_favour_of a others guarantor becomes, and seizures him/it around/by/for the Unknownen will.)

ClVg [Tolle vestimentum ejus qui fidejussor extitit alieni, et pro extraneis aufer pignus ab eo.
([Tolle clothing his who/which with_faithyussor extitit strangers, and for outsideneis aufer pledge away by_him. )

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

20:16

The two lines of this proverb are similar in meaning.

^16a Take the garment of one who posts security for a stranger;

^16b get collateral if it is for a foreigner.

This proverb is addressed to a money lender. It advises him to take special precautions in making a loan when it involves a stranger. It also implies a warning to the person who guarantees (cosigns) the loan. This person will forfeit his own clothing if the borrower fails to repay the loan.

Three people are involved in the situation referred to in this proverb:Whybray (pages 295–296). According to Waltke (page 144), the audience is the fourth participant in this situation. The audience is expected to learn from the advice that is given here to the creditor.

the borrower—the person who owes a debt. This person is referred to here as “a stranger.”
the guarantor—the person who promises/guarantees to pay another person’s debt if that person cannot pay it. This person is referred to here as the “one who puts up security.”
the money lender—this person is the one who is advised to “take the garment.”

The situation described in this proverb is slightly different from the similar situations that are described in 6:1, 11:15, and 17:18. See the notes there. See especially the note on 17:18. This note summarizes the minor differences between the first three situations.

20:16a–b

(combined/reordered)

Someone who lends money to a stranger or foreigner should insist on a security deposit from the person who guarantees/cosigns the loan.

Take the garment of the one who posts security…get collateral: These parallel commands function as advice to the money lender. The lender is advised to obtain the guarantor’s garment. This will ensure that the guarantor will pay him the money in case the borrower does not repay the loan. The garment was probably the cloak that people wore both during the day and at night.Fox (page 669). Fox also points out that the law against keeping a borrower’s cloak overnight did not apply to a guarantor.

for a stranger…for a foreigner: These parallel terms both refer to the borrower. The borrower is someone who is not well known. He is a stranger to the guarantor and possibly also to the lender.Several scholars mention that the borrower was a stranger to the guarantor, but they do not state clearly whether the borrower was also a stranger to the lender. Longman (page 381) says that either may have been true. (See also 11:15a, where the BSB translates the word foreigner as “stranger.”)

The word that the BSB translates as foreigner usually refers to a person who is literally from a different country. It can also refer to someone who is an “outsider” to the community and is therefore unknown. The emphasis here is that the person is a stranger. It is not on the particular country that the person is from.

Another way to translate 20:16a–b is:

^16aGet security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt. ^16bGet a deposit if he does it for foreigners. (NLT)

Notice that the NLT translates the function of the word “garment” rather than the literal item itself. This may be a good option in cultures where people do not use clothing as a valuable item that guarantees repayment of a loan.

General Comment on 20:16a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine some of the parallel parts. For example:

Anyone stupid enough to promise to be responsible for a stranger’s debts ought to have their own property held to guarantee payment. (GNT)

20:16a

Take the garment of the one who posts security for a stranger;

Take the coat of someone who promises to pay a stranger’s debts, (NCV)
If you^(sing) lend money to a person you do not know and someone guarantees to pay his debt, be sure to get something valuable from the one who made the guarantee.

20:16b

get collateral if it is for a foreigner.

and keep^(sing) it as a deposit to guarantee that he will pay what the stranger owes.
Keep it to ensure that this person will pay the debt if the unknown borrower does not pay it.

foreigner: There is a textual issue here that involves two options for this word in the Masoretic Text:This textual issue involves the difference between the reading/pronunciation recommended by the Masoretes (Qere) nakǝrim “foreigners,” option (1), and what is written in the MT (Kethib) nakǝriyyah “foreign woman,” option (2). See Soulen (page 100) for more information on Qere/Kethib issues.

The first option is the word “foreigners” (masculine plural). For example:
foreigners (NRSV) (BSB, ESV, GW, NASB, NCV, NET, NLT, NJB, NAB, NIV11, NRSV, REB)
The second option is the word “foreign woman” (feminine singular). For example:
wayward woman (NIV) (KJV, NIV)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most versions and scholars. This option frequently occurs as a parallel term with “stranger” and better fits the context. Although “foreigners” is plural, it can refer here to a single foreigner.Fox (page 669) says that it is common for a plural term to be used parallel to a singular term.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

לְֽקַח־בִּ֭גְד⁠וֹ כִּי־עָ֣רַב זָ֑ר וּ⁠בְעַ֖ד נָכְרִיָּ֣ה חַבְלֵֽ⁠הוּ

take garment_of,his that/for/because/then/when put_up_security stranger and,for (Some words not found in UHB: take garment_of,his that/for/because/then/when put_up_security stranger and,for foreigners hold,it_in_pledge )

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: “Take his garment when he has pledged for a stranger, yes, on behalf of a foreign woman hold it in pledge”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

בִּ֭גְד⁠וֹ כִּי־עָ֣רַב זָ֑ר וּ⁠בְעַ֖ד נָכְרִיָּ֣ה

garment_of,his that/for/because/then/when put_up_security stranger and,for (Some words not found in UHB: take garment_of,his that/for/because/then/when put_up_security stranger and,for foreigners hold,it_in_pledge )

Here, his, he, a stranger and a foreign woman refer to types of people in general, not specific people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “a person’s garment when that person has pledged for any stranger, and on behalf of any foreign woman”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

לְֽקַח־בִּ֭גְד⁠וֹ כִּי־עָ֣רַב זָ֑ר

take garment_of,his that/for/because/then/when put_up_security stranger

When someone borrowed money in Solomon’s culture, the lender would take something such as a garment from the borrower as a guarantee of repayment. The lender would return the garment after the money was repaid. If the borrower was too poor, someone else could give something to the lender as a pledge for the poor person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “Take a garment as security from the one who guarantees that what a stranger has borrowed will be paid back”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

עָ֣רַב זָ֑ר

put_up_security stranger

See how you translated the same use of “he pledges for a stranger” in [11:15](../11/15.md).

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וּ⁠בְעַ֖ד נָכְרִיָּ֣ה

and,for (Some words not found in UHB: take garment_of,his that/for/because/then/when put_up_security stranger and,for foreigners hold,it_in_pledge )

Solomon is 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 previous clause if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “and when he has pledged on behalf of a foreign woman”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

חַבְלֵֽ⁠הוּ

hold,it_in_pledge