PROV 21:12 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=unclear 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 Συνιεῖ δίκαιος καρδίας ἀσεβῶν, καὶ φαυλίζει ἀσεβεῖς ἐν κακοῖς.
(Suniei dikaios kardias asebōn, kai faulizei asebeis en kakois. )

BrTr A righteous man understands the hearts of the ungodly: and despises the ungodly for their wickedness.

ULT A righteous one evaluates the house of a wicked one;
⇔ overturning the wicked to evil.

UST Righteous people are able to understand what the households of wicked people do;
⇔ they let the evil things that wicked people do happen to them.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked,
⇔ and brings the wicked to ruin.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked;
⇔ he overthrows the wicked to their ruin.

LSV The Righteous One is acting wisely
Toward the house of the wicked,
He is overthrowing the wicked for wickedness.

FBV The God of justice[fn] sees what happens in the homes of the wicked, and brings the wicked down in disaster.

21:12 Literally, “the righteous one.” This is taken to refer to God particularly because of the second line.

T4T ⇔ God, the one who is completely righteous, knows what happens inside the houses of wicked people,
⇔ and he will cause those people to be completely ruined/destroyed.

LEB • The righteous observes the house of the wicked; he throws the wicked to ruin.

BBE The Upright One, looking on the house of the evil-doer, lets sinners be overturned to their destruction.

Moff A just God cares for the good,
⇔ but he brings down the wicked with a crash.

JPS The Righteous One considereth the house of the wicked; overthrowing the wicked to their ruin.

ASV The righteous man considereth the house of the wicked,
⇔ How the wicked are overthrown to their ruin.

DRA The just considereth seriously the house of the wicked, that he may withdraw the wicked from evil.

YLT The Righteous One is acting wisely Towards the house of the wicked, He is overthrowing the wicked for wickedness.

Drby One that is righteous wisely considereth the house of the wicked: he overthroweth the wicked to [their] ruin.

RV The righteous man considereth the house of the wicked; how the wicked are overthrown to their ruin.
(The righteous man considereth/considers the house of the wicked; how the wicked are overthrown to their ruin. )

SLT The just one being circumspect for the house of the unjust one: overthrowing the unjust for evil.

Wbstr The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.

KJB-1769 The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.
(The righteous man wisely considereth/considers the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth/overthrew the wicked for their wickedness. )

KJB-1611 The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God ouerthroweth the wicked for their wickednesse.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps The righteous man wysely considereth the house of the wicked, and for their wickednesse God ouerthroweth the vngodly.
(The righteous man wisely considereth/considers the house of the wicked, and for their wickedness God overthroweth/overthrew the ungodly.)

Gnva The righteous teacheth the house of the wicked: but God ouerthroweth the wicked for their euill.
(The righteous teacheth/teaches the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth/overthrew the wicked for their evil. )

Cvdl The rightuous enfourmeth the house of the vngodly, but ye vngodly go on still after their owne wickednesse.
(The righteous enfourmeth the house of the ungodly, but ye/you_all ungodly go on still after their own wickedness.)

Wycl A iust man of the hous of a wickid man thenkith, to withdrawe wickid men fro yuel.
(A just man of the house of a wicked man thenkith, to withdraw wicked men from evil.)

Luth Der Gerechte hält sich weislich gegen des GOttlosen Haus; aber die GOttlosen denken nur Schaden zu tun.
(The righteous_(one) holds itself/yourself/themselves wisely to/against the godless_one(s) house; but the godless_one(s) think only damage/harm(n) to/for do/put.)

ClVg Excogitat justus de domo impii, ut detrahat impios a malo.]
(Excogitat just from/about at_home wicked, as detrahat wicked from I_prefer.] )

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

21:12

In this proverb, the first line describes the careful evaluation of a wicked person’s household. The second line describes the resulting punishment.

^12aThe Righteous One considers the house of the wicked

^12band brings the wicked to ruin.

21:12a

The Righteous One considers the house of the wicked

Yahweh, who is righteous/just, carefully observes those who live in the house of a wicked person.
Yahweh always does what is right/just. He knows what wicked people and their families do,

The Righteous One: There are two ways to interpret the Hebrew word that the BSB translates as The Righteous One:

It refers to the LORD, who is righteous. For example:
God, the righteous one (GNT) (BSB, CEV, ESV, NCV, NET, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NLT, NRSV, REB, GNT)
It refers to a person who is righteous. For example:
A righteous person (GW) (GW, KJV, NAB, NASB, RSV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and scholars. The Righteous One does not occur elsewhere in Proverbs as a title for the LORD. However, his role in judging the wicked is mentioned in a number of verses. No verses say that righteous people observe the households of the wicked in order to bring them to ruin.This conclusion comes from a search of the references in NIDOTTE (H7404) where the word ṣaddiq occurs. In reference to the LORD, he is described as “a righteous judge” in Psalm 7:11. Proverbs 3:33 specifically refers to “the LORD’s curse” (or “punishment”) “on the house of the wicked.” In Proverbs 11:21, it is also implied from the previous verse that the LORD is the one who punishes the wicked.

Righteous: In the context of judging the wicked, the word Righteous indicates that the LORD always acts in a way that is right and just.

In some languages, it may be necessary to translate the phrase “The Righteous One” as a separate sentence. For example:

The Lord always does what is right.This example is taken from UBS (page 446).

God is always fair! (CEV)

considers the house of the wicked: In Hebrew, this phrase indicates that the LORD carefully observes, watches, or evaluates the household of a wicked person. The phrase probably refers to the household or family as a whole, including the wicked person. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

knows what is going on in the homes of the wicked (NLT)

carefully observes the actions of a wicked family

He knows what the wicked do (CEV)

21:12b

and brings the wicked to ruin.

He will cause them to experience disaster.
and he will destroy/punish them.

and brings the wicked to ruin: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “and twists/overturns wicked (people) to calamity/distress.” In this context, it implies that the LORD changes the direction of wicked people’s lives so that they experience disaster instead of prosperity.According to TWOT (1510a), the Hebrew verb that is used here has the basic meaning “to twist.” The BART interlinear glosses it as “(he is) ruining,” and HALOT (#6587) gives it the sense “bring to ruin.” Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

he will bring disaster on them (NLT)

and will punish them (CEV)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

צַ֭דִּיק

law-abiding/just

A righteous one could refer to: (1) Yahweh, who is the Righteous One. Alternate translation: “The Righteous One” (2) a righteous person in general. Alternate translation: “Any righteous person”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

מַשְׂכִּ֣יל

observes

See how you translated the abstract noun insight in [1:3](../01/03.md).

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

לְ⁠בֵ֣ית

to_[the],house_of

Here, house refers to the family who lives in that house. See how you translated the same use of house in [3:33](../03/33.md).

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

רָשָׁ֑ע

wicked

See how you translated the wicked one in [10:16](../10/16.md).

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מְסַלֵּ֖ף רְשָׁעִ֣ים לָ⁠רָֽע

brings wicked to,calamity

Here Solomon refers to Yahweh causing the wicked ones to experience disaster as if he were overturning them to evil. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “causing wicked ones to experience evil”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

לָ⁠רָֽע

to,calamity

Here, evil refers to trouble that someone might experience as a result of evil. See how you translated the similar use of evil in [12:21](../12/21.md).

Parallel PROV 21:12

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

21:12

21:12a

21:12b