PROV 27:21 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=minor/spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: .
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 Δοκίμιον ἀργυρίῳ καὶ χρυσῷ πύρωσις, ἀνὴρ δὲ δοκιμάζεται διὰ στόματος ἐγκωμιαζόντων αὐτόν.
(Dokimion arguriōi kai ⱪrusōi purōsis, anaʸr de dokimazetai dia stomatos egkōmiazontōn auton. )

BrTr Fire is the trial for silver and gold; and a man is tried by the mouth of them that praise him.

ULT The smelting-pot is for the silver and the furnace is for the gold;
⇔ so is a man for the mouth of one who praises him.

UST People use crucibles and furnaces to test and refine silver and gold.
⇔ In the same way, people can know what kind of person someone is by how he reacts when people praise him.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE The crucible is for silver,
⇔ and the furnace for gold;
⇔ but man is refined by his praise.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET As the crucible is for silver and the furnace is for gold,
⇔ so a person is proved by the praise he receives.

LSV A refining pot [is] for silver, and a furnace for gold,
And a man according to his praise.

FBV Just as a crucible tests silver, and a furnace tests gold, people are tested by the praise they receive.

T4T ⇔ Workers put silver and gold in a very hot furnace to burn out what is impure,
⇔ and [SIM] people learn what we are really like when they see how we react when people praise us.

LEB • A crucible is for the silver, and a furnace for the gold, but a man is tested by the mouth of him who praises him.

BBE The heating-pot is for silver and the oven-fire for gold, and a man is measured by what he is praised for.

Moff The smelter for silver, the furnace for gold,
⇔ but man is tested by his praise.

JPS The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, and a man is tried by his praise.

ASV The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold;
⇔ And a man is tried by his praise.

DRA As silver is tried in the fining-pot and gold in the furnace: so a man is tried by the mouth of him that praiseth. The heart of the wicked seeketh after evils, but the righteous heart seeketh after knowledge.

YLT A refining pot [is] for silver, and a furnace for gold, And a man according to his praise.

Drby The fining-pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; so let a man be to the mouth that praiseth him.

RV The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, and a man is tried by his praise.

SLT The crucible for silver, and the furnace for gold, and a man to the mouth praising him.

Wbstr As the fining-pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

KJB-1769 As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

KJB-1611 As the fining pot for siluer, and the furnace for gold: so is a man to his praise.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps As is the fining pot for the siluer, and the furnace for golde: so is a man tryed by the mouth of him that prayseth him.
(As is the fining pot for the silver, and the furnace for gold: so is a man tried by the mouth of him that praiseth him.)

Gnva As is the fining pot for siluer and the fornace for golde, so is euery man according to his dignitie.
(As is the fining pot for silver and the furnace for gold, so is every man according to his dignity. )

Cvdl Syluer is tryed in the moulde, & golde in the fornace, & so is a man, whan he is openly praysed to his face.
(Syluer is tried in the moulde, and gold in the furnace, and so is a man, when he is openly praised to his face.)

Wycl As siluer is preuyd in a wellyng place, and gold `is preued in a furneys; so a man is preued bi the mouth of preyseris. The herte of a wickid man sekith out yuels; but a riytful herte sekith out kunnyng.
(As silver is preuyd in a welling place, and gold is proved in a furneys; so a man is proved by the mouth of praiseris. The heart of a wicked man seeketh/seeks out evils; but a rightful heart seeketh/seeks out cunning.)

Luth Ein Mann wird durch den Mund des Lobers bewähret wie das Silber im Tiegel und das Gold im Ofen.
(A man becomes through the mouth the Praisers bewähret as/like the silver(n) in_the Tiegel and the Gold in_the oven.)

ClVg Quomodo probatur in conflatorio argentum et in fornace aurum, sic probatur homo ore laudantis. Cor iniqui inquirit mala, cor autem rectum inquirit scientiam.
(How/In_what_manner approved in/into/on conflatorio silver and in/into/on fornace gold, so approved human vocally they_praiseis. Heart unjust inquirit evil, heart however rightness/accuracy inquirit knowledge. )

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

27:21

Notice the parallelism. The parallel parts in bold print are things that can be tested. The underlined parts are things that do the testing.

^21aA crucible for silver and a furnace for gold,

^21bbut man is tested by the praise accorded him.

This verse is a metaphor. It compares a person’s character (the topic) to silver and gold (the illustrations). There is both similarity and contrast between the illustrations and the topic. One way that they are similar is that they are all tested to determine their quality. One way that they contrast is that a person’s character and precious metals are tested in different ways.

In Hebrew, the two lines are connected by a conjunction that can indicate either similarity or contrast. Some versions, such as the BSB, connect the two lines with the word “but” to indicate the contrast. Other versions use a word such as “and” to indicate the similarity. For example:

^21band people are tested by the praise they receive (NCV)

In some languages, the connection may be left implied. For example:

^21aA hot furnace tests the purity of silver and gold.

^21bPraise tests the character of a person.

Use a natural way in your language to indicate this kind of comparison.

In Hebrew, there is no verb in either line of this verse. Most versions supply a verb such as “tests” or “is/are tested” in one or both lines. See 17:3. In Hebrew, that verse explicitly uses the verb “test” in the second line.

27:21a

A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold,

¶ Just as gold and silver are tested when people melt them in a fire/furnace,
¶ Fire shows the quality/purity of gold and silver.

A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold: A crucible is a container used for melting metals so that the impurities can be removed. A furnace is like a large oven where a fire is made to melt metals. It has the same function as a crucible. Silver and gold are melted in a crucible or furnace in order to test their purity or to refine them. In this verse the focus is on testing and showing their purity.

This line is identical to 17:3a. See the notes on 17:3a–b for translation advice.

27:21b

but a man is tested by the praise accorded him.

so also the character of a person is tested when others praise him.
And the good things that people say about us^(incl) show the kind of people we really are.

but a man is tested by the praise accorded him: In this context, the word man represents a person’s true character. The phrase that the BSB translates as the praise accorded him is literally “his praise,” as in the ESV. This phrase probably refers to his reputation—the good things that people say about him.There is an interpretation issue regarding the phrase “his praise.” It is not discussed in the body of the Notes, because of the lack of support for interpretation (2). (1) Except for versions that translate it literally, the versions used in the Notes all interpret it as an objective genitive (“the praise about him” or “the praise that he receives”). Scholars who support this interpretation include UBS, Fox, Longman, Hubbard, Whybray, Garrett, Toy, Murphy, and Cook. (2) The phrase could be a subjective genitive (“the praise that he gives”). This interpretation is supported by Cohen. (3) The ESV, KJV, and NJPS translate the phrase literally. They are ambiguous. Scholars who simply list alternate interpretations include Ross and Kidner. Waltke (p. 387) thinks that the ambiguity is intentional: A person’s character is tested by “public opinion.” It is also tested by “whom or what he praises.” These things serve as a test of his character. They show the kind of person that he is.

Some other ways to translate this line are:

and people are tested by the praise they receive (NCV)

but we are tested by praise (CEV)

As for people, their character can be known by their reputation.

and/but the praise that a person receives shows the kind of person he really is

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

מַצְרֵ֣ף לַ֭⁠כֶּסֶף וְ⁠כ֣וּר לַ⁠זָּהָ֑ב

crucible [is]_for,silver and,a_furnace [is]_for,gold

See how you translated the identical clause in [17:3](../17/03.md).

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

וְ֝⁠אִ֗ישׁ

and,a_person

Here, so indicates that Solomon is comparing what follows to what he said in the previous clause. In the same way that the smelting-pot reveals the impurities in silver and the furnace reveals the impurities in gold, the character of a man is revealed by how he responds to the mouth of one who praises him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: “in the same way, a man is”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

וְ֝⁠אִ֗ישׁ לְ⁠פִ֣י מַהֲלָלֽ⁠וֹ

and,a_person [is]_to,the_mouth_of his_praise_of,of

Here, a man and one who praises him refer to types of people in general, not specific people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “so is any person for the mouth of any person who praises that person”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

לְ⁠פִ֣י מַהֲלָלֽ⁠וֹ

[is]_to,the_mouth_of his_praise_of,of

Solomon implies that a man is tested by the mouth of one who praises him, just as silver and gold are tested by someone melting them in a smelting-pot or furnace. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “tested by the mouth of one who praises”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

לְ⁠פִ֣י

[is]_to,the_mouth_of

Here, mouth refers to what the person who praises him says. See how you translated the same use of mouth in [10:6](../10/06.md).

Parallel PROV 27:21

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

27:21

27:21a

27:21b