PROV 20:18 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.
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).

UST When people give you good advice, if you do what they suggest, your plans will succeed.
⇔ Therefore, let others advise you before you start fighting a war.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE Plans are established by advice;
⇔ by wise guidance you wage war!

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Plans are established by counsel,
⇔ so make war with guidance.

LSV You establish purposes by counsel,
And with plans you make war.

FBV With sound advice, plans are successful; if you're going to war, make sure you have good guidance.

T4T ⇔ When people give you good advice, if you do what they suggest, your plans will succeed;
⇔ so be sure to get good advice from wise people before you start fighting a war.

LEB • A plan[fn] will be established by advice, and with guidance make war.

20:? Hebrew “plans”

BBE Every purpose is put into effect by wise help: and by wise guiding make war.

Moff Take counsel when you form a plan,
⇔ and have some policy when you make war.

JPS Every purpose is established by counsel; and with good advice carry on war.

ASV Every purpose is established by counsel;
⇔ And by wise guidance make thou war.

DRA Designs are strengthened by counsels: and wars are to be managed by governments.

YLT Purposes by counsel thou dost establish, And with plans make thou war.

Drby Plans are established by counsel; and with good advice make war.

RV Every purpose is established by counsel: and by wise guidance make thou war,
(Every purpose is established by council/counsel: and by wise guidance make thou/you war, )

SLT The purpose shall be prepared by counsel, and with guidance make war.

Wbstr Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.

KJB-1769 Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.
(Every purpose is established by council/counsel: and with good advice make war. )

KJB-1611 Euery purpose is established by counsell: and with good aduice make warre.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps Thorowe counsayle, the thinges that men deuise are made strong: and with good aduise take warre in hande.
(Through counsayle, the things that men devise are made strong: and with good advise take war in hand.)

Gnva Establish the thoughtes by counsell: and by counsell make warre.
(Establish the thoughts by council/counsel: and by council/counsel make war. )

Cvdl Thorow councell the thinges that men deuyse go forwarde: & with discrecion ought warres to be taken in honde.
(Through council/counsel the things that men deuyse go forward: and with discretion ought wars to be taken in hand.)

Wycl Thouytis ben maad strong bi counselis; and bateils schulen be tretid bi gouernals.
(Thouytis been made strong by counselis; and bateils should be tretid by governals.)

Luth Anschläge bestehen, wenn man sie mit Rat führet; und Krieg soll man mit Vernunft führen.
(attacks(n) consist, when man they/she/them with advice leads; and war/battle should man with reason lead.)

ClVg Cogitationes consiliis roborantur, et gubernaculis tractanda sunt bella.
(Cogitationes advices roborantur, and gubernaculis tractanda are wars. )

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

20:18

This parable applies to anyone who makes a plan. But the parallelism indicates that it is directed particularly to kings or others who are responsible for planning a war.

In this proverb, the parallel parts are similar in meaning. The first line gives a general principle: Good advice is needed for plans to be successful. The second line applies this principle to the specific example of waging war.

^18a Plans are established by seeking advice;

^18bif you wage war, obtain guidance. (NIV11)

The NIV11 has been used as the source line for 20:18a, because it follows the recommended interpretation.

In Hebrew, the parallel parts occur in the opposite order in 20:18b. For example:

by wise guidance wage war (ESV)

Use whatever order expresses the meaning more effectively in your language.

20:18a–b

(NIV11) advice…guidance: These parallel terms are close synonyms. Both refer here to wise advice or counsel that helps a person to make an effective plan or strategy. In this context, both terms probably refer to advice from a group of trusted advisers. For more information on the first word, see advice in the Glossary. See how you translated the second word at 1:5b and 11:14a.

20:18a

Set plans by consultation,

Plans that are based on wise advice will succeed,
If wise people advise you^(sing) what to do, your plans will be fulfilled/achieved.

(NIV11) Plans are established by seeking advice: There are two ways to interpret this clause:

This clause is a statement, as in the Hebrew. It describes plans that are made by getting advice. It says that these plans will be successful. For example:
Plans laid in council will succeed (NJPS) (ESV, GW, KJV, NAB, NET, NIV11, NJB, NJPS, NLT, NRSV, REB)
This clause is a command. It tells a person to make plans by getting advice. It does not indicate whether these plans will be successful. For example:
Prepare plans by consultation (NASB) (BSB, CEV, NASB, NIV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most scholars. The Hebrew verb that the NIV11 translates as are established rarely means simply “make.”The Hebrew verb usually implies that something is certain, right, stable, or enduring. See TWOT (#963), BDB (#3559). In the context of plans, it implies that the plans will be achieved or fulfilled.Delitzsch (page 301) takes the verb to mean “accomplished or realized.” In 16:3b, the BSB translated an almost identical phrase as “your plans will succeed.” Some other ways to translate 20:18a are:

Plans made after advice succeed (NAB)

Plans succeed through good counsel (NLT)

If there is good advice, plans will be fulfilled.

20:18b

and wage war under sound guidance.

so if you^(sing) plan to fight a war, be sure to ask wise people to counsel you.
So do not start a war unless you first listen to their advice.

(NIV11) so if you wage war, obtain guidance: In Hebrew, this clause is more literally “and/so by guidance wage war.” This specific command is a conclusion based on the principle that successful plans require good advice.McKane (page 537), Fox (page 671), and Waltke (page 147) are among those who agree that the Hebrew conjunction here introduces a resulting admonition. In some languages, it may be more natural to introduce this conclusion with a word like so (as in the NIV11) or “therefore.” For example:

so with wise guidance wage your war (NAB)

so make war with guidance (NET)

Another way to translate this clause is to use a negative command. For example:

don’t go to war without wise advice (NLT)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

מַ֭חֲשָׁבוֹת בְּ⁠עֵצָ֣ה תִכּ֑וֹן

plans by,counsel established

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: “Counsel establishes plans”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

בְּ⁠עֵצָ֣ה

by,counsel

See how you translated the abstract noun counsel in [1:25](../01/25.md).

Note 3 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

וּ֝⁠בְ⁠תַחְבֻּל֗וֹת

and,by,guidance(s)

These two phrases mean basically the same thing. The second emphasizes the meaning of the first by repeating the same idea with different words. Hebrew poetry was based on this kind of repetition, and it would be good to show this to your readers by including both phrases in your translation rather than combining them. However, 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: “so, by guidance”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

וּ֝⁠בְ⁠תַחְבֻּל֗וֹת עֲשֵׂ֣ה מִלְחָמָֽה

and,by,guidance(s) make/work/create/deal war

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of guidance, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: “and let others guide you when you make war”

Parallel PROV 20:18

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

20:18

20:18a–b

20:18a

20:18b