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Parallel PROV 20:20

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.

B I ◄ ← Prov 20:20 ↓ → ► ═ ©  

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

OET (OET-RV) The one who curses their father and mother,
 ⇔ → will have their lamp extinguished in deep darkness.OET logo mark

OET-LV one_who_curses his/its_father and_his_of_mother it_will_be_extinguished lamp_of_his in_a_time_of[fn] darkness.

20:20 OSHB variant note: ב/אישון: (x-qere) ’בֶּ/אֱשׁ֥וּן’: lemma_b/380 morph_HR/Ncmsc id_20hMA בֶּ/אֱשׁ֥וּןOET logo mark

UHB מְ֭קַלֵּל אָבִ֣י⁠ו וְ⁠אִמּ֑⁠וֹ יִֽדְעַ֥ךְ נֵ֝ר֗⁠וֹ ב⁠אישון [fn] חֹֽשֶׁךְ׃ ‡
   (məqallēl ʼāⱱiy⁠v və⁠ʼimm⁠ō yidˊak nēr⁠ō ⱱ⁠ʼyshvn ḩoshek.)

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).

Q בֶּאֱשׁ֥וּן

BrLXX No BrLXX PROV 20:20 verse available

BrTr No BrTr PROV 20:20 verse available

ULT One who curses his father and his mother,
 ⇔ his lamp will be extinguished in the pupil of darkness.

UST People who curse their parents
 ⇔ will die like an oil lamp that stops burning oil in a totally dark place.

BSB Whoever curses his father or mother,
 ⇔ his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.

MSB (Same as BSB above)

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE Whoever curses his father or his mother,
 ⇔ his lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET The one who curses his father and his mother,
 ⇔ his lamp will be extinguished in the blackest darkness.

LSV Whoever is vilifying his father and his mother, his lamp is extinguished in blackness of darkness.

FBV Anyone who curses their father or mother will have their light put out and end in utter darkness.

T4T  ⇔ If someone curses his father or his mother,
 ⇔ his life will be ended, just like a lamp is extinguished.

LEB   • He who curses his father and his mother, his lamp will be extinguished in the midst of darkness .[fn]

20:? Literally “in a pupil of darkness”

BBE If anyone puts a curse on his father or his mother, his light will be put out in the blackest night.

Moff He who curses his father or his mother,
 ⇔ his lamp of life will go out in black darkness.

JPS Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in the blackest darkness.

ASV Whoso curseth his father or his mother,
 ⇔ His lamp shall be put out in blackness of darkness.

DRA He that curseth his father, and mother, his lamp shall be put out in the midst of darkness.

YLT Whoso is vilifying his father and his mother, Extinguished is his lamp in blackness of darkness.

Drby Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in the blackest darkness.

RV Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in the blackest darkness.
   (Whoso/Whoever curseth/curses his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in the blackest darkness. )

SLT He cursing his father and his mother, his lamp shall go out in the midst of darkness.

Wbstr Whoever curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

KJB-1769 Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.[fn]
   (Whoso/Whoever curseth/curses his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness. )

20.20 lamp: or, candle

KJB-1611 [fn]Who so curseth his father or his mother, his lampe shall be put out in obscure darkenesse.
   (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above apart from footnotes)

20:20 Or, candle.

Bshps Who so curseth his father and mother, his light shalbe put out in the depth of darknesse.
   (Whoso/Whoever curseth/curses his father and mother, his light shall be put out in the depth of darkness.)

Gnva He that curseth his father or his mother, his light shalbe put out in obscure darkenes.
   (He that curseth/curses his father or his mother, his light shall be put out in obscure darkness. )

Cvdl Who so curseth his father and mother, his light shalbe put out in the myddest of darcknesse.
   (Whoso/Whoever curseth/curses his father and mother, his light shall be put out in the midst of darkness.)

Wycl The liyt of hym that cursith his fadir and modir, schal be quenchid in the myddis of derknessis.
   (The light of him that curseth/curses his father and mother, shall be quenched in the midst of darkness.)

Luth Wer seinem Vater und seiner Mutter flucht, des Leuchte wird verlöschen mitten in Finsternis.
   (Who his father and his mother escape(v), the lamp/lantern becomes extinguish midway/in_the_middle in darkness.)

ClVg Qui maledicit patri suo et matri, extinguetur lucerna ejus in mediis tenebris:
   (Who curses to_his_father his_own and mother, will_be_extinguished lamp his in/into/on by_means darkness: )

HAP Hebrew accents and phrasing: See Allan Johnson's Hebrew accents and phrasing analysis.
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

20:20

The second line of this proverb describes the severe consequences of the wicked action in the first line.

20aWhoever curses his father or mother,

20bhis lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.

In the law of Moses, the penalty for a person who cursed his parents was death. If you use footnotes, you may want to add a footnote that gives this information, along with the references (Exodus 21:17, Leviticus 20:9, Deuteronomy 27:16).

20:20a

Whoever curses his father or mother,

Whoever curses his father or mother: The word curses refers here to words, not to sorcery. A person who curses his parents insults or belittles them. He says bad things about them and may even wish them harm.Fox (page 672), UBS (page 428). Some other ways to translate this line are:

Children who curse their parents (CEV)

If you insult your father or mother (NLT)

One who reviles his father or mother (NJPS)

20:20b

his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.

his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness: This clause is a metaphor that refers to a sudden and premature death. It compares the person’s life to a lamp that will be extinguished in the middle of the night. Some ways to translate this metaphor are:

See the note on 13:9b, where similar wording occurs.

in deepest darkness: In Hebrew, this phrase may refer to either the middle of the night or to the blackest/deepest darkness.Waltke (page 150), UBS (page 428).

General Comment on 20:20a–b

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

The lamp of the person who curses his father and mother will be snuffed out in total darkness. (GW)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

מְ֭קַלֵּל אָבִ֣י⁠ו וְ⁠אִמּ֑⁠וֹ & נֵ֝ר֗⁠וֹ

curses his/its=father and,his_of,mother & lamp_of,his

One who curses and his 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: “Any person who curses that person’s father and mother, that person’s lamp”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

יִֽדְעַ֥ךְ נֵ֝ר֗⁠וֹ

go_out lamp_of,his

If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: “Yahweh will extinguish his lamp”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

יִֽדְעַ֥ךְ נֵ֝ר֗⁠וֹ

go_out lamp_of,his

See how you translated the same use of lamp and will be extinguished in [13:9](../13/09.md).

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ב⁠אישון חֹֽשֶׁךְ

in,a_time_of darkness

Here Solomon refers to a very dark place as if it were in the pupil, which is the dark circle in the center of an eye. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “in the darkest darkness” or “in the deepest dark place”

B I ◄ ← Prov 20:20 ↑ → ► ═ ©