PROV 26:13 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 lazy person says, “There’s a young lion on the road.
⇔ ≈ There’s a lion out there on the streets.”

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 Λέγει ὀκνηρὸς ἀποστελλόμενος εἰς ὁδὸν, λέων ἐν ταῖς ἐν δὲ ταῖς πλατείαις φονευταί.
(Legei oknaʸros apostellomenos eis hodon, leōn en tais en de tais plateiais foneutai. )

BrTr A sluggard when sent on a journey says, There is a lion in the ways, and there are murderers in the streets.

ULT A lazy one says, “A young lion is on the road!
⇔ A lion is between the open areas!”

UST Lazy people claim that there is a lion in the path
⇔ or in the midst of the streets so that they can stay inside their houses and do nothing.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
⇔ A fierce lion roams the streets!”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
⇔ A lion in the streets!”

LSV The slothful has said,
“A lion [is] in the way,
A lion [is] in the broad places.”

FBV Lazy people are the ones who say, “There's a lion on the road—a lion running around the streets!”[fn]

26:13 In other words, they make excuses for not going out to work.

T4T ⇔ Lazy people just stay inside their houses and do nothing;
⇔ they keep saying “I think there is a lion in the street!”

LEB • A lazy person says “A lion is in the road! A lion among the streets!”

BBE The hater of work says, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.

Moff The sluggard says, “Some beast is roaring on the road
⇔ there’s a lion outside!”

JPS The sluggard saith: 'There is a lion in the way; yea, a lion is in the streets.'

ASV The sluggard saith, There is a lion in the way;
⇔ A lion is in the streets.

DRA The slothful man saith: There is a lion in the way, and a lioness in the roads.

YLT The slothful hath said, 'A lion [is] in the way, A lion [is] in the broad places.'

Drby The sluggard saith, There is a fierce lion in the way; a lion is in the midst of the streets!

RV The sluggard saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
(The sluggard saith/says, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets. )

SLT The slothful one said, A lion in the way; a lion between the broad places.

Wbstr The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.

KJB-1769 The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets.
(The slothful man saith/says, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets. )

KJB-1611 The slothfull man sayth, There is a lion in the way, a lion is in the streets.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps The slouthfull saith, there is a lion in the way, and a lion in the middest of the streates.
(The slothful saith/says, there is a lion in the way, and a lion in the midst of the streets.)

Gnva The slouthfull man sayth, A lyon is in the way: a lyon is in the streetes.
(The slothful man saith/says, A lion is in the way: a lion is in the streets. )

Cvdl The slouthfull sayeth: there is a leoparde in ye waye, and a lyon in ye myddest of the stretes.
(The slothful saith/says: there is a leopard in ye/you_all way, and a lion in ye/you_all midst of the streets.)

Wycl A slow man seith, A lioun is in the weie, a liounnesse is in the foot pathis.
(A slow man saith/says, A lion is in the way, a lionness is in the foot paths.)

Luth Der Faule spricht: Es ist ein junger Löwe auf dem Wege und ein Löwe auf den Gassen.
(The lazy_(one) speaks/says: It is a younger lion on/in/to to_him ways and a lion on/in/to the alleys/lanes.)

ClVg [Dicit piger: Leo est in via, et leæna in itineribus.[fn]
([Sayit lazy/reluctant: Leo it_is in/into/on way/road, and the_lioness in/into/on itineribus. )

26.13 Dicit piger. Multi cum verba exhortationis audiunt, etc., usque ad in suis jacere pravitatibus non desistunt.

26.13 Sayit lazy/reluctant. Multi when/with words exhortationis they_hear, etc., until to in/into/on to_his_own yacere pravitatibus not/no desistunt.

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

Paragraph 26:13–16

This paragraph is about a lazy person or “slacker” (BSB). The first three verses ridicule the lazy person and imply a progression in his laziness. First, he makes a ridiculous excuse for staying at home and not going to work (26:13). Second, he just stays in bed (26:14). Third, he is too lazy to even put food in his mouth (26:15). The conclusion or climax comes in 26:16. In spite of his laziness, he considers himself to be extremely wise.See Fox (page 798) and Waltke (page 355). Both of these scholars analyze this paragraph in a similar way. According to Fox, the first three proverbs ridicule the lazy person. Waltke considers the fourth proverb to be the climax of the paragraph. Fox notes that this last proverb is a “non-ironic observation.”

26:13

This verse gives the lazy person’s ridiculous excuse for not going to work. A lion might be outside the house. It is implied that he is afraid to go into the streets lest the lion kill him.

^13aThe slacker says, “A lion is in the road!

^13b A fierce lion roams the public square!”

This verse is similar to 22:13. See the notes there. The main difference is that the word “lion” is used only once in 22:13. Verse 22:13b also makes explicit the man’s fear that he will be killed.

26:13a–b

The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!”

¶ A lazy person says, “I am afraid to go to work. A lion is on the road outside my house!”
¶ A lazy person makes excuses for not going to work. He says, “A lion might be in the street. In fact, I am sure there is a lion there!”

The slacker says, “A lion is in the road! A fierce lion roams the public square!”: The two lines give almost identical excuses for the sake of poetic variation and emphasis.

lion…fierce lion: In Hebrew, the first word for lion is used only in poetry. The second word is used more generally. The BSB probably translated it as fierce lion for the sake of emphasis. The GW probably translated the first word as “ferocious lion” for the same reason. There is no difference in meaning between the two words in Hebrew.

in the road…roams the public square: These parallel phrases refer to the same location. In Hebrew, the second phrase is more literally “in the open places.” It sometimes refers to an open area in a town, such as a plaza. Here it probably means “streets,” as in most versions.NIDOTTE (H8148). In 22:13b, the NASB and BSB translated the same word as “streets.” Here the BSB has the public square and the NASB has:

in the open square (NASB)

In areas that have town squares or plazas, consider using this option to avoid redundancy.

General Comment on 26:13a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder and/or combine these terms. For example:

Don’t be lazy and keep saying, “There’s a lion outside!” (CEV)

The lazy person claims, “There’s a lion on the road! Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!” (NLT)

The general statements in many of the proverbs are intended as implied advice. Notice that the CEV makes the advice explicit. Also notice that the NLT makes the emphasis of the second parallel line explicit by saying, “Yes, I’m sure…” Consider using one or more of these options if they are natural in your language.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

עָ֭צֵל

sluggard

See how you translated this phrase in [13:4](../13/04.md).

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations

אָמַ֣ר & שַׁ֣חַל בַּ⁠דָּ֑רֶךְ אֲ֝רִ֗י בֵּ֣ין הָ⁠רְחֹבֽוֹת

he/it_had_said & lion [is]_in,road lion between the_open,places

If it would be more natural in your language, you could express this as an indirect quotation. See how you translated the similar phrases in [22:13](../22/13.md). Alternate translation: “says that a lion is on the road and a lion is between the open areas”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

אָמַ֣ר

he/it_had_said

In this verse, Solomon implies that what the lazy one says is not true. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “says falsely”

Parallel PROV 26:13

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

Paragraph 26:13–16

26:13

26:13a–b

General Comment on 26:13a–b