PROV 25:28 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) A person who has no self-control,
⇔ is like a city where the walls have been broken down.

Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative.
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 Ὥσπερ πόλις τὰ τείχη καταβεβλημένη καὶ ἀτείχιστος, οὕτως ἀνὴρ ὃς οὐ μετὰ βουλῆς τι πράσσει.
(Hōsper polis ta teiⱪaʸ katabeblaʸmenaʸ kai ateiⱪistos, houtōs anaʸr hos ou meta boulaʸs ti prassei. )

BrTr As a city whose walls are broken down, and which is unfortified, so is a man who does anything without counsel.

ULT A breached city without a wall
⇔ is a man who has no restraint for his spirit.

UST People who cannot control themselves
⇔ are as defenseless as a city that an army has broken into and knocked down its walls.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE Like a city that is broken down and without walls
⇔ is a man whose spirit is without restraint.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Like a city that is broken down and without a wall,
⇔ so is a person who cannot control his temper.

LSV A city broken down without walls,
[Is] a man without restraint over his spirit!

FBV Someone without control is as exposed as a town whose walls have been breached.

T4T ⇔ People who ◄cannot control their tempers/quickly become very angry► are unable to defend their behavior;
⇔ that is like having a city without a wall around it, with the result that no one can defend it.

LEB • A breached city where there is no wall is like a man who has no[fn] self-control for his spirit.

25:? Literally “there is no”

BBE He whose spirit is uncontrolled is like an unwalled town which has been broken into.

Moff A man with no control over himself
⇔ is like a town with broken walls.

JPS Like a city broken down and without a wall, so is he whose spirit is without restraint.

ASV He whose spirit is without restraint
⇔ Is like a city that is broken down and without walls.

DRA As a city that lieth open and is not compassed with walls, so is a man that cannot refrain his own spirit in speaking.

YLT A city broken down without walls, [Is] a man without restraint over his spirit!

Drby He that hath no rule over his own spirit is [as] a city broken down, without walls.

RV He whose spirit is without restraint is like a city that is broken down and hath no wall.
(He whose spirit is without restraint is like a city that is broken down and hath/has no wall. )

SLT A city being broken down, and not a wall, a man who restrains not to his spirit.

Wbstr He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

KJB-1769 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
(He that hath/has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls. )

KJB-1611 Hee that hath no rule ouer his owne spirit, is like a citie that is broken downe, and without walles.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps He that can not rule him selfe, is like a citie whiche is broken downe and hath no walles.
(He that cannot rule himself, is like a city which is broken down and hath/has no walls.)

Gnva A man that refraineth not his appetite, is like a citie which is broken downe and without walles.
(A man that refraineth not his appetite, is like a city which is broken down and without walls. )

Cvdl He that can not rule himself, is like a cite, which is broken downe, and hath no walles.
(He that cannot rule himself, is like a city, which is broken down, and hath/has no walls.)

Wycl As a citee opyn, and with out cumpas of wallis; so is a man that mai not refreyne his spirit in speking.
(As a city open, and with out compass/all_around of walls; so is a man that may not refreyne his spirit in speaking.)

Luth Ein Mann, der seinen Geist nicht halten kann, ist wie eine offene Stadt ohne Mauern.
(A man, the/of_the his spirit not hold/keep can, is as/like a/one open city without walls.)

ClVg Sicut urbs patens et absque murorum ambitu, ita vir qui non potest in loquendo cohibere spiritum suum.][fn]
(Like city patens and without wallrum ambitu, so/thus man who/which not/no can in/into/on loquendo cohibere spirit his_own.] )

25.28 Sicut urbs patens, etc. Si enim murum silentii non habet, etc., usque ad contra semetipsam per multiloquium pugnat.

25.28 Like city patens, etc. When/But_if because wall silentii not/no has, etc., until to on_the_contrary myself through multiloquium fightt.

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 25:1–29:27: This is Hezekiah’s collection of Solomon’s proverbs

This section is the second collection of Solomon’s proverbs. These proverbs were organized and copied by men who served King Hezekiah. Most scholars divide this section into two groups. These groups differ in several ways.

The first group (chapters 25–27) has many more comparisons and admonitions. In Hebrew, most of these comparisons are metaphors in which one or more illustrations precede the topic. Some English versions change the order so that the topic precedes the illustration(s). You should follow the order that expresses the meaning naturally and effectively in your language.

In the first group, many proverbs are one verse long. As with the individual proverbs in the main collection of Solomon’s proverbs (Section 10:1–22:16), they are not related to the proverbs around them. Other proverbs in this group are two or more verses long. Still others are one-verse proverbs that are closely related in theme. Proverbs in all three categories will be marked as separate paragraphs.

The second group (chapters 28–29) has more contrastive proverbs. The proverbs in this group are each one verse long. They will not be marked as separate paragraphs.

Some other headings for this section are:

More Proverbs of Solomon (NIV)

Proverbs of Solomon Collected by Hezekiah (NET)

These are also wise things that Solomon said

25:28

Like other comparisons in this chapter, this proverb gives the illustration before the topic.

^28aLike a city whose walls are broken down

^28bis a man who does not control his temper.

It compares a person who cannot control his emotions to a city that no longer has a wall surrounding it. The similarity is that both are unable to defend themselves.

25:28a

Like a city whose walls are broken down

¶ Think about a city with no walls to protect its inhabitants.

Like a city whose walls are broken down: In Hebrew, this phrase is more literally “a city that is broken into, there is no wall.” It describes a city that has been attacked by enemies. They have broken into the city by breaking down the wall in one or more places. As a result, the city is left without a wall to protect it.

Some ways to translate this comparison are:

Keep both ideas (“broken into” and “no wall”). For example:
Like a city broken into and left without a wall (GW)
Make explicit one or more points of similarity. For example:
Like an open city with no defenses (NAB)
you are as helpless as a city without walls, open to attack (GNT)

25:28a–b

(combined/reordered)

¶ A person who cannot restrain his feelings is in a dangerous situation. He is like a city where enemies have destroyed the walls.
¶ If you^(sing) do not control yourself, you are as helpless as a city that has no sturdy walls around it.

25:28b

is a man who does not control his temper.

A person who cannot control himself is like that city.

is a man who does not control his temper: This line refers to a person who is not able to restrain his emotions or other desires. These may include anger, sexual desire, or ambition.In Hebrew, the clause is more literally “There is no restraint over his spirit.” Waltke (page 344), Delitzsch (page 380), Hubbard (page 448), and Toy (page 471) all understand a range of emotions and desires. The BSB and GNT focus on anger. For example:

If you cannot control your anger (GNT)

If possible, translate in a way that includes both anger and other feelings, as in the NIV and NCV (quoted in the “General Comment”). For example:

is a man who lacks self-control (NIV)

General Comment on 25:28a–b

In some languages, it may be clearer or more natural to state the topic before the illustration. For example:

Those who do not control themselves are like a city whose walls are broken down. (NCV)

Losing self-control leaves you as helpless as a city without a wall. (CEV)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

עִ֣יר פְּ֭רוּצָה אֵ֣ין חוֹמָ֑ה אִ֝֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֤ר אֵ֖ין מַעְצָ֣ר לְ⁠רוּחֽ⁠וֹ

(a)_city breached not walls (a)_man which/who not control for,his_of,spirit

If it would be more natural in your language, you could reverse the order of these clauses. Alternate translation: “A man who has no restraint for his spirit is a breached city without a wall”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

עִ֣יר פְּ֭רוּצָה אֵ֣ין חוֹמָ֑ה

(a)_city breached not walls

In this verse, Solomon speaks of a man who has no restraint for his spirit being defenseless or unprotected as if that person were A breached city without a wall. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or use a simile. Alternate translation: “Very defenseless” or “Like a breached city without a wall”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

עִ֣יר פְּ֭רוּצָה אֵ֣ין חוֹמָ֑ה

(a)_city breached not walls

Here Solomon implies that there is no wall because it was broken down when people breached the city. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “A city whose walls an army has knocked down”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

אִ֝֗ישׁ & לְ⁠רוּחֽ⁠וֹ

(a)_man & for,his_of,spirit

Although the terms man and his are masculine, Solomon is using these words in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use phrases that make this clear. Alternate translation: “is a person … for that person’s spirit”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

אֲשֶׁ֤ר אֵ֖ין מַעְצָ֣ר לְ⁠רוּחֽ⁠וֹ

which/who not control for,his_of,spirit