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Parallel PROV 21:29

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.

B I ◄ ← Prov 21:29 ↓ → ► ═ ©  

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) The wicked person makes their face look stern,
 ⇔ ^ but godly people carefully consider their ways.OET logo mark

OET-LV a_person He_makes_firm wicked with_his_of_face and_an_upright_person he he_considers[fn] way_of_his[fn].

21:29 OSHB variant note: יכין: (x-qere) ’יָבִ֬ין’: lemma_995 morph_HVqi3ms id_20QMs יָבִ֬ין

21:29 OSHB variant note: דרכי/ו: (x-qere) ’דַּרְכּֽ/וֹ’: lemma_1870 n_0 morph_HNcbsc/Sp3ms id_2027y דַּרְכּֽ/וֹOET logo mark

UHB הֵעֵ֬ז אִ֣ישׁ רָשָׁ֣ע בְּ⁠פָנָ֑י⁠ו וְ֝⁠יָשָׁ֗ר ה֤וּא ׀ יָבִ֬ין [fn] דרכי⁠ו׃ [fn] ‡
   (hēˊēz ʼiysh rāshāˊ bə⁠fānāy⁠v və⁠yāshār hūʼ yāⱱin drky⁠v.)

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).

K יכין

Q דרכי⁠ו

BrLXX Ἀσεβὴς ἀνὴρ ἀναιδῶς ὑφίσταται προσώπῳ, ὁ δὲ εὐθὺς αὐτὸς συνιεῖ τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ.
   (Asebaʸs anaʸr anaidōs hufistatai prosōpōi, ho de euthus autos suniei tas hodous autou. )

BrTr An ungodly man [fn]impudently withstands with his face; but the upright man himself understands his ways.

21:29 See Alex. ungodly.

ULT A wicked man strengthens his face,
 ⇔ but an upright one, he considers his ways.[fn]

Instead of he considers his ways some read the Hebrew as he establishes his way.

UST Wicked people pretend to know what they are doing,
 ⇔ but upright people think about what they do.

BSB A wicked man hardens his face,[fn]
 ⇔ but the upright [man] makes his way {sure}.

21:29 Or puts up a bold front

MSB (Same as BSB above including footnotes)

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE A wicked man hardens his face;
 ⇔ but as for the upright, he establishes his ways.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET A wicked person shows boldness with his face,
 ⇔ but as for the upright, he discerns his ways.

LSV A wicked man has hardened by his face,
And the upright—he prepares his way.

FBV The wicked act as bold as brass, but those who live right consider carefully what they're doing.

T4T  ⇔ Wicked people pretend that they know everything,
 ⇔ but righteous people think carefully about what will happen because of what they do.

LEB   • A wicked man is strong in his countenance ,[fn] but the upright will appoint his paths.

21:? Literally “his face”

BBE The evil-doer makes his face hard, but as for the upright, he gives thought to his way.

Moff Rascals are impudent,
 ⇔ but honest men watch themselves anxiously.
¶ 

JPS A wicked man hardeneth his face; but as for the upright, he looketh well to his way.

ASV A wicked man hardeneth his face;
 ⇔ But as for the upright, he establisheth his ways.

DRA The wicked man impudently hardeneth his face: but he that is righteous, correcteth his way.

YLT A wicked man hath hardened by his face, And the upright — he prepareth his way.

Drby A wicked man hardeneth his face; but as for the upright, he establisheth his way.

RV A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the upright, he ordereth his ways.

SLT An unjust man strengthened with his face: and the upright he will prepare his ways.

Wbstr A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the upright, he directeth his way.

KJB-1769 A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the upright, he directeth his way.[fn]

21.29 directeth: or, considereth

KJB-1611 [fn]A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the vpright, he directeth his way.
   (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above apart from footnotes)

21:29 Or, considereth.

Bshps An vngodly man hardeneth his face: but the iust refourmeth his owne way.
   (An ungodly man hardeneth his face: but the just refourmeth his own way.)

Gnva A wicked man hardeneth his face: but the iust, he will direct his way.
   (A wicked man hardeneth his face: but the just, he will direct his way. )

Cvdl An vngodly man goeth forth rashly, but the iust refourmeth his owne waye.
   (An ungodly man goeth/goes forth rashly, but the just refourmeth his own way.)

Wycl A wickid man makith sad his cheer vnschamefastli; but he that is riytful, amendith his weie.
   (A wicked man maketh/makes sad his cheer shamelessly; but he that is rightful, amendith his way.)

Luth Der GOttlose fährt mit dem Kopf hindurch; aber wer fromm ist, des Weg wird bestehen.
   (The godless_(ones) drives with to_him head(n) through; but who pious/devout is, the way/path/road becomes consist.)

ClVg Vir impius procaciter obfirmat vultum suum; qui autem rectus est corrigit viam suam.[fn]
   (Man impious/ungodly procaciter obfirmat face his_own; who/which however straight/righteous it_is corrects way/road his_own. )

21.29 Vir impius. Judas, etc., usque ad quod negando deliquit.

21.29 Man impious/ungodly. Yudas, etc., until to that negando he_commits_an_offence.

HAP Hebrew accents and phrasing: See Allan Johnson's Hebrew accents and phrasing analysis.
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

21:29

This proverbs contrasts the behavior of a wicked person with the behavior of an upright person.

29a A wicked man hardens his face,

29bbut the upright man makes his way sure.

The contrast is not exact. The parallel lines imply that a wicked person does not think about his actions. They also imply that an upright person does not deceive others by acting in an over-confident way.

21:29a

A wicked man hardens his face,

A wicked man hardens his face: The figure of speech that the BSB translates as hardens his face is literally “makes strong with his face.”BART interlinear. This figure of speech indicates that:

  1. The true character of the wicked is hidden behind false pretenses.

  2. Wicked people boldly pretend that everything they do is good. But the truth is that they are wicked in character.Whybray (page 316), Hubbard (page 342).

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

A wicked person shows boldness with his face (NET)

Wicked people bluff their way (CEV)

21:29b

but the upright man makes his way sure.

but the upright man makes his way sure: There is a textual issue here with the verb that the BSB translates as makes…sure. There are two options in the Masoretic Text:

  1. The first option is the verb makes…sure or “considers.” With this option, the line means that the upright person carefully thinks about his conduct. He considers what he is doing now and what he plans to do in the future. For example:

    but as for the upright, he discerns his ways (NET) (BSB, CEV, ESV, NAB, NCV, NET, NIV, NJPS, NLT, NRSV, REB)

  2. The second option is the verb “makes firm.” With this option, the line means that the upright person is certain about his conduct. He is confident that what he does and what he will do in the future are right.Waltke (page 190) says that this textual option “means that the upright unswervingly follows righteousness.” Cook (page 61) speaks of the “confidence of integrity.” For example:

    but as for the upright, he makes his way sure (NASB) (GW, KJV, NASB, NJB, GNT)

It is recommended that you follow option (1).The reading/pronunciation recommended by the Masoretes (Qere) is yabin, option (1). It is supported by the LXX and by Waltke, Fox, Garrett, Toy, and Murphy. The form that is written in the MT (Kethib) is yakin, option (2). It is supported by the Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate, and by Hubbard, Longman, Kidner, McKane, Cook, and Scott. See Soulen (page 100) for more information on Qere/Kethib issues. The meaning of this option is very similar to 14:8a.

Some other ways to translate this line are:

but good people think carefully about what they do (NCV)

but the virtuous think before they act (NLT)

the upright man: The word upright was last used in 21:18b. Also see the note in 11:3a.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

הֵעֵ֬ז אִ֣ישׁ רָשָׁ֣ע בְּ⁠פָנָ֑י⁠ו וְ֝⁠יָשָׁ֗ר ה֤וּא ׀ יָבִ֬ין דרכי⁠ו

strong (a)_man wicked with,his_of,face and,an_upright_[person] he/it (Some words not found in UHB: strong (a)_man wicked with,his_of,face and,an_upright_[person] he/it gives_thought way_of,his )

A wicked man, his, an upright one, and he refer to types of people in general, not to specific people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. See how you translated A wicked man in [11:7](../11/07.md). Alternate translation: “Any wicked person strengthens that person’s own face, but any upright person considers that person’s own ways”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

הֵעֵ֬ז & בְּ⁠פָנָ֑י⁠ו

strong & with,his_of,face

Here, strengthens his face means that the man has a facial expression that showed how stubborn and obstinate he is. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a similar expression from your language or express the meaning plainly. See how you translated the similar expression “strengthens her face” in [7:13](../07/13.md). Alternate translation: “has a brazen face” or “has a stubborn expression on her face”

Note 3 topic: translate-textvariants

יָבִ֬ין דרכי⁠ו

(Some words not found in UHB: strong (a)_man wicked with,his_of,face and,an_upright_[person] he/it gives_thought way_of,his )

Many ancient manuscripts read he considers his ways, as in the ULT. Other ancient manuscripts read “he establishes his way.” If a translation of the Bible exists in your region, you may wish to use the reading that it uses. If a translation of the Bible does not exist in your region, you may wish to use the reading of the ULT.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

דרכי⁠ו

way_of,his

See how you translated the same use of ways in [3:6](../03/06.md).

B I ◄ ← Prov 21:29 ↑ → ► ═ ©