PROV 21:23 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 Ὃς φυλάσσει τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν γλῶσσαν, διατηρεῖ ἐκ θλίψεως τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ.
(Hos fulassei to stoma autou kai taʸn glōssan, diataʸrei ek thlipseōs taʸn psuⱪaʸn autou. )

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE Whoever guards his mouth and his tongue
⇔ keeps his soul from troubles.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET The one who guards his mouth and his tongue
⇔ keeps his life from troubles.

LSV Whoever is keeping his mouth and his tongue,
Is keeping his soul from adversities.

FBV If you watch what you say, you can save yourself a lot of trouble.

T4T ⇔ Those who are very careful about what they say [MTY]
⇔ are able to avoid trouble.

LEB • He who guards his mouth and his tongue, he guards his life[fn] from danger.

21:? Or “soul,” or “inner self”

BBE He who keeps watch over his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles.

Moff He who is careful of his lips and tongue
⇔ will manage to keep clear of trouble.

JPS Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.

ASV Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue
⇔ Keepeth his soul from troubles.

DRA He that keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from distress.

YLT Whoso is keeping his mouth and his tongue, Is keeping from adversities his soul.

Drby Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.

RV Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
(Whoso/Whoever keepeth/keeps his mouth and his tongue keepeth/keeps his soul from troubles. )

SLT He watching his mouth and his tongue watches his soul from straits.

Wbstr Whoever keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.

KJB-1769 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.
(Whoso/Whoever keepeth/keeps his mouth and his tongue keepeth/keeps his soul from troubles. )

KJB-1611 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soule from troubles.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Who so kepeth his mouth and his tongue, the same kepeth his soule from troubles.
(Whoso/Whoever keepeth/keeps his mouth and his tongue, the same keepeth/keeps his soul from troubles.)

Gnva He that keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soule from afflictions.
(He that keepeth/keeps his mouth and his tongue, keepeth/keeps his soul from afflictions. )

Cvdl Who so kepeth his mouth and his tonge, the same kepeth his soule from troubles.
(Whoso/Whoever keepeth/keeps his mouth and his tongue, the same keepeth/keeps his soul from troubles.)

Wycl He that kepith his mouth and his tunge, kepith his soule from angwischis.
(He that keepeth/keeps his mouth and his tongue, keepeth/keeps his soul from angwischis.)

Luth Wer seinen Mund und Zunge bewahret, der bewahret seine SeeLE vor Angst.
(Who his mouth and tongue preserved/kept/retained, the/of_the preserved/kept/retained his soul before/in_front_of fear/anxiety.)

ClVg Qui custodit os suum et linguam suam custodit ab angustiis animam suam.
(Who keeps/guards mouth his_own and tongue/language his_own keeps/guards away narrow the_soul his_own. )

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

21:23

This proverb describes the results of guarding one’s speech. It is also an implied warning. It warns people to be careful with what they say in order to avoid trouble.

^23aHe who guards his mouth and his tongue

^23bkeeps his soul from distress.

21:23a

He who guards his mouth and tongue

The person who guards himself against speaking rashly/impetuously
If you^(sing) are cautious with your words,

He who guards his mouth and tongue: There are two figures of speech (metonymy) in the phrase his mouth and tongue. Both the mouth and the tongue represent the words that the person speaks.

These two figures of speech often occur in parallel lines. Here they both occur in the same line. This probably emphasizes that the person needs to be very careful in what he says.Waltke (page 185). He should not speak without thinking.

Some other ways to translate this part of the verse are:

Those who are careful about what they say (NCV)

A person who thinks carefully before he speaks

21:23a–b

(combined/reordered)

If you^(sing) want to avoid various kinds of trouble, think carefully before you speak.

21:23b

keeps his soul from distress.

protects/keeps himself from getting into all kinds of trouble.
you^(sing) will avoid problems/trouble.

keeps his soul from distress: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “keeps/preserves his soul/self from troubles.” The plural word “troubles” indicates a variety of difficulties. They may be legal troubles or problems with relationships in the community.Waltke (page 186), Hubbard (page 277), Ross (page 1057).

keep themselves out of trouble (NCV)

can save you a lot of trouble (CEV)

General Comment on 21:23a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of these two verse parts. For example:

If you want to stay out of trouble, be careful what you say. (GNT)

See also 21:23a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

שֹׁמֵ֣ר פִּ֭י⁠ו וּ⁠לְשׁוֹנ֑⁠וֹ שֹׁמֵ֖ר & נַפְשֽׁ⁠וֹ

he/it_was_watching mouth_of,his and,his_of,tongue he/it_was_watching & self_of,his

One who keeps and his refer to a type of person in general, not one specific person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “Any person who keeps that person’s own mouth and tongue keeps that person’s life”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

שֹׁמֵ֣ר

he/it_was_watching

Here Solomon refers to a person being careful about what he says with his mouth and his tongue as if they were objects that he keeps. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “One who is careful with”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / doublet

פִּ֭י⁠ו וּ⁠לְשׁוֹנ֑⁠וֹ

mouth_of,his and,his_of,tongue

The terms mouth and tongue mean similar things. They both refer to what a person says. Solomon is using the two terms together for emphasis. If it would be clearer for your readers, you could express the emphasis with a single phrase. Alternate translation: “whatever he says”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

נַפְשֽׁ⁠וֹ

self_of,his

Here, life refers to the person himself. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “himself”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

מִ⁠צָּר֣וֹת

from,troubles