PROV 21:20 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=minor/spelling 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 Θησαυρὸς ἐπιθυμητὸς ἀναπαύσεται ἐπὶ στόματος σοφοῦ, ἄφρονες δὲ ἄνδρες καταπίονται αὐτόν.
(Thaʸsauros epithumaʸtos anapausetai epi stomatos sofou, afrones de andres katapiontai auton. )

BrTr A desirable treasure will rest on the mouth of the wise; but foolish men will swallow it up.

ULT Desirable treasure and oil are in the home of a wise one,
⇔ but a stupid man swallows it up.

UST Wise people store up precious riches and olive oil,
⇔ but foolish people waste everything that they have.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise,
⇔ but a foolish man swallows it up.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET There is desirable treasure and olive oil in the dwelling of the wise,
⇔ but a foolish person devours all he has.

LSV A treasure to be desired, and oil,
[Is] in the habitation of the wise,
And a foolish man swallows it up.

FBV The wise hold on to their wealth and olive oil, but stupid people use up everything they have.

T4T ⇔ Wise people have many valuable things in their houses,
⇔ but foolish people quickly spend/waste all their money.

LEB • Precious treasure and oil are in the house of the wise, but the foolish person[fn] will devour them.[fn]

21:? Or “foolish of mankind”

21:? Literally “it”

BBE There is a store of great value in the house of the wise, but it is wasted by the foolish man.

Moff The provident store up precious treasure,
⇔ only to have it squandered by a fool.

JPS There is desirable treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man swalloweth it up.

ASV There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise;
⇔ But a foolish man swalloweth it up.

DRA There is a treasure to be desired, and oil in the dwelling of the just: and the foolish man shall spend it.

YLT A treasure to be desired, and oil, [Is] in the habitation of the wise, And a foolish man swalloweth it up.

Drby There is costly store and oil in the dwelling of a wise [man]; but a foolish man swalloweth it up.

RV There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man swalloweth it up.

SLT A treasure desired, and oil in the house of the wise one; and the foolish man will swallow it down.

Wbstr There is a treasure to be desired, and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.

KJB-1769 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.
(There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth/spends it up. )

KJB-1611 There is treasure to be desired, and oyle in the dwelling of the wise: but a foolish man spendeth it vp.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps In a wise mans house there is a great treasure and oyle: but a foolishe body spendeth vp all.
(In a wise mans house there is a great treasure and oil: but a foolish body spendeth/spends up all.)

Gnva In the house of the wise is a pleasant treasure and oyle: but a foolish man deuoureth it.
(In the house of the wise is a pleasant treasure and oil: but a foolish man devoureth/devours it. )

Cvdl In a wyse mans house there is greate treasure and plenteousnesse, but a foolish body spendeth vp all.
(In a wise mans house there is great treasure and plenteous/plentifulness, but a foolish body spendeth/spends up all.)

Wycl Desirable tresoure and oile is in the dwelling places of a iust man; and an vnprudent man schal distrie it.
(Desirable treasuree and oil is in the dwelling places of a just man; and an unprudent man shall destroy it.)

Luth Im Hause des Weisen ist ein lieblicher Schatz und Öl aber ein Narr verschlemmt es.
(In_the house the ways/manners is a lovelier treasure(n) and oil but a fool(n) verschlemmt it.)

ClVg Thesaurus desiderabilis, et oleum in habitaculo justi: et imprudens homo dissipabit illud.[fn]
(Thesaurus desirable, and oil in/into/on habitculo just: and imprudens human dissipabit it/this/that. )

21.20 Thesaurus desiderabilis. Reprobi non tantum virtutes non assequi, etc., usque ad unde, Nolite timere eos qui occidunt corpus, etc. Matth. 10.

21.20 Thesaurus desirable. Reprobi not/no only by_virtues not/no assequi, etc., until to from_where/who, Don't to_be_afraid them who/which occidunt body, etc. Matth. 10.

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

21:20

The two lines of this proverb contrast in meaning, but the contrast is not exact.

^20a Precious treasures and oil are in the dwelling of the wise,

^20bbut a foolish man consumes them.

The explicit contrast is that a wise person has valuable things stored in his house. But a foolish person wastefully uses what he has.

The implied contrast is that a wise person is careful and frugal with his possessions. So he is able to accumulate wealth. A foolish person is wasteful, not frugal. So he has nothing to store in his house.

21:20a

Precious treasures and oil are in the dwelling of the wise,

In the house of a wise person there are always valuable possessions and good foods,
Wise people have useful/valuable and expensive things stored in their homes.

Precious treasures and oil are in the dwelling of the wise: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “desirable treasure and oil (are) in the house of a wise (person).”BART interlinear, except that “house” has been substituted for “habitation.” There is a textual issue here with the phrase “desirable treasure and oil”:

The Masoretic Text has “desirable treasure and oil.” For example:
Precious treasure and oil (ESV) (BSB, ESV, GW, KJV, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NLT, REB, GNT)
The LXX has “desirable treasure remains.” For example:
Precious treasure remains (NRSV) (CEV, NAB, NRSV) It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most versions and scholars.The main difficulty with the MT is that “oil” doesn’t seem to fit with “desirable treasure.” Two explanations are:• Oil is a specific indication of wealth or luxury (Longman, page 396; Murphy, page 157).• Gold and similar valuables represent one category of wealth. Oil represents valuable supplies in the kitchen or supply room (Delitzsch, page 316).In addition, the LXX does not correspond with the rest of the clause. It has “Precious treasures rest on the mouth of the sage.” See McKane (page 552).

Precious treasures: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “desirable treasure.” The word “desirable” is a form of the Hebrew verb that means “to desire, delight in.”TWOT (#673). In this context, it means “costly” or “valuable.”BDB (#2530). The word “treasure” “refers to both a storeroom and its contents.”Fox (page 688).

oil: As in 21:17b, oil may refer to literal olive oil, which was valued in cooking as well as in cosmetics/perfume. It may also be used as a figure of speech (metonymy) to represent any valuable items.UBS (page 452).

Some other ways to translate this whole clause are:

There is desirable treasure and olive oil in the dwelling of the wise (NET)

The wise have wealth and luxury (NLT)

21:20b

but a foolish man consumes them.

but a foolish person quickly uses up whatever he owns/has.
A stupid fool wastes/spends everything that he has.

but a foolish man consumes them: The phrase consumes them can be used literally or figuratively. It can refer literally to gulping down food or drink. It can also refer figuratively to wasting food or money, or to losing or destroying property or other possessions.Fox (page 688) says that the foolish person’s inheritance or other property may be destroyed by poor management. Delitzsch (page 316) also mentions the possibility of squandering one’s inheritance. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

but fools waste everything they have (NCV)

but fools spend whatever they get (NLT)

For foolish man, see fool 2 in the Glossary.

Parallel PROV 21:20

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

21:20

21:20a

21:20b