PROV 20:8 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).

BrLXX Ὅταν βασιλεὺς δίκαιος καθίσῃ ἐπὶ θρόνου, οὐκ ἐναντιοῦται ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ πᾶν πονηρόν.
(Hotan basileus dikaios kathisaʸ epi thronou, ouk enantioutai en ofthalmois autou pan ponaʸron. )

BrTr Whenever a righteous king sits on the throne, no evil thing can stand before his presence.

ULT A king who sits on the throne of judgment
⇔ is one who winnows all evil with his eyes.

UST Ideally, kings who sit on their thrones in order to judge people
⇔ discern anything that is evil and remove it from their lands.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE A king who sits on the throne of judgement
⇔ scatters away all evil with his eyes.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET A king sitting on the throne to judge
⇔ separates out all evil with his eyes.

LSV A king sitting on a throne of judgment,
Is scattering all evil with his eyes,

FBV When a king sits in judgment he recognizes all that isn't right.

T4T ⇔ A king who sits on his throne to judge people
⇔ can easily [MTY] find out what things that people have done are good and what things are evil.

LEB • A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows all evil with his eyes.

BBE A king on the seat of judging puts to flight all evil with his eyes.

Moff A monarch seated on the throne of justice
⇔ scatters all crime before him.

JPS A king that sitteth on the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.

ASV A king that sitteth on the throne of judgment
⇔ Scattereth away all evil with his eyes.

DRA The king, that sitteth on the throne of judgment, scattereth away all evil with his look.

YLT A king sitting on a throne of judgment, Is scattering with his eyes all evil,

Drby A king sitting on the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.

RV A king that sitteth on the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.
(A king that sitteth/sits on the throne of judgement scattereth/scatters away all evil with his eyes. )

SLT The king shall sit upon the throne of judgment scattering with his eyes all evil.

Wbstr A king that sitteth on the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.

KJB-1769 A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.
(A king that sitteth/sits in the throne of judgement scattereth/scatters away all evil with his eyes. )

KJB-1611 A king that sitteth in the throne of iudgement, scattereth away all euill with his eyes.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps A kyng that sitteth in the throne of iudgement, chaseth away all euyll with his looke.
(A king that sitteth/sits in the throne of judgement, chaseth away all evil with his look.)

Gnva A King that sitteth in the throne of iudgement, chaseth away all euill with his eyes.
(A King that sitteth/sits in the throne of judgement, chaseth away all evil with his eyes. )

Cvdl A kynge that sytteth in iudgment, and loketh well aboute him, dryueth awaye all euell.
(A king that sitteth/sits in judgement, and looketh/looks well about him, driveth away all evil.)

Wycl A king that sittith in the seete of doom, distrieth al yuel bi his lokyng.
(A king that sitteth/sits in the seat of judgement, distrieth all evil by his looking.)

Luth Ein König, der auf dem Stuhl sitzt zu richten, zerstreuet alles Arge mit seinen Augen.
(A king, the/of_the on/in/to to_him chair/stool sits to/for direct, scattered all/everything evil(n) with his eyes.)

ClVg Rex qui sedet in solio judicii dissipat omne malum intuitu suo.[fn]
(Rex who/which is_sitting in/into/on throne judgement dissipat everything evil intuitu his_own. )

20.8 Rex qui sedit in solio judicii. Etsi in hac vita electi mala patiantur reproborum, etc., usque ad digna factis recipit.

20.8 Rex who/which sat_down in/into/on throne judgement. Although in/into/on this_way life chosen evil patiantur of_the_reprobate, etc., until to worthy deeds/activities receives.

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

20:8

The topic of this proverb is an ideal king who rules justly and wisely (20:8a). The proverb uses the metaphor of winnowing to describe the way in which he removes evil from his kingdom (20:8b).

^8aA king who sits on a throne to judge

^8bsifts out all evil with his eyes.

20:8a

A king who sits on a throne to judge

When a ruler sits on his throne to judge a case,
In his judging, a king

A king who sits on a throne to judge: A king customarily sat on a throne to listen to legal cases and give his decisions. The throne was a symbol of his authority.

In this verse, the focus is on what a king does (20:8b) when he judges a case. It is not on the fact that he was in a seated position on a throne. Some versions leave one or more of these details implied in order to focus on the main idea. For example:

The king sits in judgment (GNT)

When rulers decide cases (CEV)

One of these options may be effective if it is awkward in your language to specify that the king is sitting on a throne.

20:8b

sifts out all evil with his eyes.

he examines all the evidence so that he can remove what is bad.
is like a winnower who scatters the chaff. He carefully separates what is bad from what is good.

sifts out all evil with his eyes: This part of the verse is an incomplete metaphor. It compares the way that a king judges a case to the process of sifting. Except for the verb sifts out (literally, “winnows,” “scatters”), the agricultural details are left implied.

A farmer winnows grain after he has threshed it to separate the straw and the chaff from the kernels. (See 20:26b for more details on threshing.) He then throws the threshed grain into the air with a winnowing fork or shovel. The wind blows away the straw, chaff, and hulls. The kernels of grain remain in the threshing area.NIDOTTE (H2430), UBS (pages 419–420).

In this context, the point of the metaphor is that winnowing separates the useless material from the kernels and scatters it far away. Similarly, a king carefully examines the evidence in a legal case. He separates what is false or evil from what is true or good. He does this in order to stop evil conduct and/or remove evil people from his kingdom.

with his eyes: This phrase is used here as a figure of speech. The king’s eyes represent his ability to recognize what is false or evil when he “looks at” or examines the evidence.Waltke (page 134), NET footnote (c) for Proverbs 20:8.

Some other ways to translate 20:8b are:

Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
A king who judges is like a person who winnows. He recognizes all that is evil and scatters/removes it.
Use a different figure of speech for “winnow” or for eyes. For example:
A king who sits on his throne to judge sifts out every evil with his eyes. (GW)
When a king sits in judgment, he weighs all the evidence, distinguishing the bad from the good. (NLT)
Translate the meaning without using figures of speech. For example:
When a king sits on his throne to judge, he knows evil when he sees it. (NCV)

If you use footnotes for cultural background information, consider adding a footnote that explains how people winnowed grain in the country of Israel. For example:

In the country of Israel at that time, people winnowed grain by tossing it in the air with a special fork or shovel. The wind blew away the chaff and husks, and the grain was left behind.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

מֶ֗לֶךְ

king

This verse describes the traits of an ideal, righteous king, not any king in general. See how you translated the same use of king in [16:10](../16/10.md).

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

מֶ֗לֶךְ & כִּסֵּא־דִ֑ין מְזָרֶ֖ה בְ⁠עֵינָ֣י⁠ו כָּל־רָֽע

king & throne_of judgement winnows with,his_of,eyes all/each/any/every evil

A king, the throne, one who winnows, and his refers to righteous kings and their thrones, not a specific king or throne. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “Any good king … the throne of judgment is a king who winnows all evil with his eyes”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

כִּסֵּא־דִ֑ין

throne_of judgement

This phrase could refer to: (1) a throne that a king sits on for the purpose of judgment. Alternate translation: “the throne for judgment” (2) a throne that is characterized by “justice,” which is another possible translation for the word judgment. Alternate translation: “the just throne”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

דִ֑ין & רָֽע

judgement & evil

See how you translated the abstract nouns judgment in [16:10](../16/10.md) and evil in [1:16](../01/16.md).

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מְזָרֶ֖ה

winnows

Here Solomon speaks of a king removing evil from his kingdom as if that evil were chaff that a farmer winnows out of the grain. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or use a simile. Alternate translation: “is one who removes” or “is one who removes like someone winnowing grain”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

בְ⁠עֵינָ֣י⁠ו

with,his_of,eyes

Here, eyes refers to seeing, and seeing is a metaphor for perceiving something. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “according to his perception” or “according to what he perceives”

Parallel PROV 20:8

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

20:8

20:8a

20:8b