PROV 21:21 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.)

OET (OET-RV) The person who strives to do what’s right and who shows loyal commitment,
⇔ → will find life, forgiveness, and honour.

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 Ὁδὸς δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἐλεημοσύνης εὑρήσει ζωὴν καὶ δόξαν.
(Hodos dikaiosunaʸs kai eleaʸmosunaʸs heuraʸsei zōaʸn kai doxan. )

ULT A pursuer of righteousness and covenant faithfulness
⇔ will find life, righteousness, and honor.

UST People who diligently try to be righteous and faithful
⇔ will live well, will be righteous, and people will respect them.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE He who follows after righteousness and kindness
⇔ finds life, righteousness, and honour.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET The one who pursues righteousness and love
⇔ finds life, bounty, and honor.

LSV Whoever is pursuing righteousness and kindness,
Finds life, righteousness, and honor.

FBV If you pursue goodness and trustworthy love, you'll find life, prosperity, and honor.

T4T ⇔ Those who always try to act in a fair and kind way toward others
⇔ will live a long time and be honored/respected.

LEB • He who pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.

BBE He who goes after righteousness and mercy will get life, righteousness, and honour.

Moff By following justice and kindness,
⇔ a man finds long life and wins honour.

JPS He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, prosperity, and honour.

ASV He that followeth after righteousness and kindness
⇔ Findeth life, righteousness, and honor.

DRA He that followeth justice and mercy, shall find life, justice, and glory.

YLT Whoso is pursuing righteousness and kindness, Findeth life, righteousness, and honour.

Drby He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.

RV He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.
(He that followeth/follows after righteousness and mercy findeth/finds life, righteousness, and honour. )

SLT He pursuing justice and mercy shall find life, justice and honor.

Wbstr He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honor.

KJB-1769 He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.
(He that followeth/follows after righteousness and mercy findeth/finds life, righteousness, and honour. )

KJB-1611 Hee that followeth after righteousnesse and mercy, findeth life, righteousnesse and honour.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Who so foloweth righteousnesse and mercy, findeth both life, righteousnesse, and honour.
(Whoso/Whoever followeth/follows righteousness and mercy, findeth/finds both life, righteousness, and honour.)

Gnva He that followeth after righteousnes and mercy, shall finde life, righteousnes, and glory.
(He that followeth/follows after righteousness and mercy, shall find life, righteousness, and glory. )

Cvdl Who so foloweth rightuousnesse and mercy, fyndeth both life, rightuousnesse and honor.
(Whoso/Whoever followeth/follows righteousness and mercy, findeth/finds both life, righteousness and honour.)

Wycl He that sueth riytfulnesse and mercy, schal fynde lijf and glorie.
(He that sueth rightfulness/righteousness and mercy, shall find life and glory.)

Luth Wer der Barmherzigkeit und Güte nachjagt, der findet das Leben, Barmherzigkeit und Ehre.
(Who the/of_the compassion and goodness chases, the/of_the finds the life, compassion and honour(n).)

ClVg Qui sequitur justitiam et misericordiam inveniet vitam, justitiam, et gloriam.
(Who follows justice and mercy will_find life, justice, and glory. )

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

21:21

In this proverb, the second line gives the rewards that are the result of pursuing good character traits.

^21aHe who pursues righteousness and loving devotion

^21bfinds life, righteousness, and honor.

21:21a

He who pursues righteousness and loving devotion

The person who strives to do what is right and to always love others
If you^(sing) do your best to follow a righteous and kind lifestyle,

He who pursues righteousness and loving devotion: A person who pursues righteousness and loving devotion makes a deliberate effort to have or show these qualities in his life. He tries hard to do what is right and to show faithful love and kindness to other people.

righteousness: The word righteousness was last used in 21:3, where the BSB translates it as “righteousness.”

loving devotion: This phrase has three aspects of meaning: loyalty, love, and kindness. It was last used in 20:28. If you are able to translate more than one aspect of meaning, you are encouraged to do so. For example:

faithful love (NJB)

unfailing love (NLT)

Some other ways to translate 21:21a are:

He who strives to do good and kind deeds (NJPS)

He who perseveres in right conduct and loyalty (REB)

Whoever tries to live right and be loyal (NCV)

21:21b

finds life, righteousness, and honor.

will have a long life, prosperity/success, and honor/respect.
you^(sing) will live long and succeed in what you do. You will also have a good name/reputation.

(NIV11) finds life, prosperity, and honor: There is a textual issue here:

The Masoretic Text has three terms: life, righteousness/prosperity, and honor. For example:
attains life, success, and honor (NJPS) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GW, KJV, NASB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NLT, REB, GNT)
The LXX has two terms: life and honor. For example:
will find life and honor (NRSV) (NAB, NRSV)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most versions and scholars.The main argument against the MT is that the repetition of ṣǝdaqah “righteousness” is awkward. According to Fox (page 689), this repetition is probably the result of mistakenly copying the word from the first part of the verse. HOTTP recommends the MT with a “C” rating, indicating that there is considerable doubt. The Vulgate follows the MT. Some of the reasons in favor of the MT are: (a) it is significant that those who strive for righteousness can expect to attain it (Garrett, page 183); (b) there is an intended wordplay between “righteousness” and “prosperity/success” (Ross, page 1056). When the first term is understood as “righteousness” and the result is understood as “prosperity,” the apparent awkwardness is eliminated.

There are two ways to interpret the Hebrew word ṣǝdaqah, which the NIV translates here as prosperity. The NIV and BSB translate the same word as “righteousness” in 21:21a.

The word means “prosperity” or “success.” There is a deliberate wordplay between “righteousness” in 21:21a and its effect, “prosperity” in 21:21b. For example:
finds life, prosperity, and honour (REB) (NCV, NET, NIV, NJPS, REB)
The word means “righteousness” or “uprightness.” The author wants to emphasize that a person who pursues a righteous character will attain it. For example:
will find life, righteousness, and honor (ESV) (BSB, CEV, ESV, GW, KJV, NASB, NJB, NLT, GNT)

The Display follows interpretation (1). You may follow either interpretation. Both are well supported by versions and scholars.Scholars who prefer the meaning “prosperity/success” include Waltke, Ross, Hubbard, and Cohen. Scholars who prefer the meaning “righteousness” include Delitzsch, Longman, and Garrett. Whatever interpretation you choose, it is suggested that you add a footnote that gives both meanings. For example, if you choose interpretation (1), a possible footnote is:

(NIV) life: In this context, the word life implies a long and good life. See the GNT (quoted above).

(NIV) prosperity: The Hebrew word that is used here can refer to righteous behavior. It can also refer to prosperity, a reward of righteousness. People who spoke Hebrew probably thought about both meanings when they read this verse.

If you decide to follow interpretation (2), the GNT shows one way to avoid repeating the same term. For the whole verse, it has:

Be kind and honest and you will live a long life; others will respect you and treat you fairly.

(NIV) honor: The word honor refers here to being respected by others in the community and having a good reputation.Hubbard (page 332), Garrett (page 183), UBS (page 453).

Parallel PROV 21:21

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

21:21

21:21a

21:21b