PROV 28:16 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=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

28:16 OSHB variant note: שנאי: (x-qere) ’שֹׂ֥נֵא’: lemma_8130 morph_HVqrmsa id_2052N שֹׂ֥נֵא

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 Βασιλεὺς ἐνδεὴς προσόδων μέγας συκοφάντης, ὁ δὲ μισῶν ἀδικίαν μακρὸν χρόνον ζήσεται.
(Basileus endeaʸs prosodōn megas sukofantaʸs, ho de misōn adikian makron ⱪronon zaʸsetai. )

BrTr A king in need of revenues is a great oppressor: but he that hates injustice shall live a long time.

ULT A leader lacking of understanding is also abundant of oppressions;
⇔ one hating unjust gain will lengthen days.

UST Leaders who are not sensible severely oppress other people,
⇔ but people who despise gaining wealth unjustly will live for a long time.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE A tyrannical ruler lacks judgement.
⇔ One who hates ill-gotten gain will have long days.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET The prince who is a great oppressor lacks wisdom,
⇔ but the one who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.

LSV A leader lacking understanding multiplies oppressions,
Whoever is hating dishonest gain prolongs days.

FBV An unwise ruler thoroughly extorts his people, but one who refuses to profit illegally will live long.

T4T ⇔ Rulers who do not have good sense cruelly oppress the people they rule,
⇔ but rulers who do not want to become rich by cheating/deceiving people will live (OR, rule) for a long time.

LEB • A ruler who lacks understanding is[fn] a cruel oppressor, but those who hate unjust gain will have long[fn] days.

28:? Hebrew “and”

28:? Or “prolong”

BBE The prince who has no sense is a cruel ruler; but he who has no desire to get profit for himself will have long life.

Moff A cruel oppressor is a fool:
⇔ he thrives who scorns all unjust gain.

JPS The prince that lacketh understanding is also a great oppressor; but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.

ASV The prince that lacketh understanding is also a great oppressor;
⇔ But he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.

DRA A prince void of prudence shall oppress many by calumny: but he that hateth covetousness, shall prolong his days.

YLT A leader lacking understanding multiplieth oppressions, Whoso is hating dishonest gain prolongeth days.

Drby The prince void of intelligence is also a great oppressor: he that hateth covetousness shall prolong [his] days.

RV The prince that lacketh understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.
(The prince that lacketh understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth/hates covetousness shall prolong his days. )

SLT A prince wanting understanding and great in oppressions: he hating gain shall lengthen the days.

Wbstr The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.

KJB-1769 The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.
(The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth/hates covetousness shall prolong his days. )

KJB-1611 The prince that wanteth vnderstanding, is also a great oppressour: but he that hateth couetousnesse, shall prolong his dayes.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Where the prince is without vnderstanding, there is great oppression and wrong: but if he hateth couetousnes, he shall long raigne.
(Where the prince is without understanding, there is great oppression and wrong: but if he hateth/hates covetousness, he shall long reign.)

Gnva A prince destitute of vnderstanding, is also a great oppressour: but hee that hateth couetousnes, shall prolong his dayes.
(A prince destitute of understanding, is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth/hates covetousness, shall prolong his days. )

Cvdl Where the prynce is without vnderstondinge, there is greate oppression & wronge: but yf he be soch one as hateth couetousnesse, he shal longe raigne.
(Where the prince is without understanding, there is great oppression and wronge: but if he be such one as hateth/hates covetousness, he shall long reign.)

Wycl A duyk nedi of prudence schal oppresse many men bi fals chalenge; but the daies of hym that hatith aueryce, schulen be maad longe.
(A duke needy of prudence shall oppress many men by false challenge; but the days of him that hateth/hates averice/greed, should be made long.)

Luth Wenn ein Fürst ohne Verstand ist, so geschiehet viel Unrechts; wer aber den Geiz hasset, der wird lange leben.
(When a prince/ruler without mind is, so happens/occurs many injustices; who but the stinginess hates, the/of_the becomes long life.)

ClVg Dux indigens prudentia multos opprimet per calumniam; qui autem odit avaritiam, longi fient dies ejus.
(Dux indigens prudence many opprimet through slander; who/which however hates greed, longi they_will_be days his. )

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

28:16

This proverb contrasts a ruler who lacks understanding with a ruler who hates unjust gain:

^16aA leader who lacks judgment is also a great oppressor,

^16bbut he who hates dishonest profit will prolong his days.

It is implied by the parallelism that an oppressive ruler will not enjoy a long life. It is also implied that a ruler who hates unjust gain has good understanding.

28:16a

A leader who lacks judgment is also a great oppressor,

A leader/ruler who does not have good sense harshly oppresses his people,
If a high official is not wise/sensible, he will cause extreme hardship to the people he governs/rules.

There are two main ways to interpret the structure of this line:

This line is about a ruler who lacks understanding. This kind of ruler oppresses his people. For example:
A prince who lacks understanding is very oppressive (NJPS) (BSB, ESV, GW, NCV, NAB, NJB, NJPS, NLT, NRSV, GNT)
This line is about a ruler who oppresses his people. This kind of ruler lacks understanding. For example:
A leader who is a great oppressor lacks understanding (NASB) (CEV, NASB, NET, NIV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and scholars.

leader: The word leader can refer here to any high official or leader.

judgment: In Hebrew, this word refers to a person’s good sense or competence. See understanding (good sense) in the Glossary.

a great oppressor: In Hebrew, this phrase is more literally “great of oppression/extortion” or a great oppressor, as in the BSB.See BART and footnote (a) in the NET. Most versions translate this Hebrew word with a word such as “oppress,” oppressor,” or “oppression.” Most lexicons gloss the word as “extortion” or “exploitation.” It refers to a person who severely oppresses the people under his rule. He may do this in many ways, including making them work as slaves, taking their land, or taxing them unfairly.See NIDOTTE (H5131) for further discussion of common types of oppression and extortion. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

a cruel tyrant (GNT)

is very oppressive (NJPS)

causes extreme hardship/suffering

28:16b

but he who hates dishonest profit will prolong his days.

but the leader/ruler who refuses/hates to cheat others or accept bribes in order to become rich will live a long time.
As for officials who refuse/reject wealth that comes from corruption, their lives will be long.

but he who hates dishonest profit: This phrase refers to someone who hates or rejects wealth that is gained dishonestly or unfairly. He refuses to tolerate or accept it. Some ways to translate this phrase are:

but those who hate unjust gain (GW)

but one who hates corruption (NLT)

but anyone who refuses to get rich by cheating others (CEV)

will prolong his days: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates literally as will prolong his days can be interpreted in two ways:

It refers to a long life. For example:
will live long (NJPS)
will have a long life (NLT) (CEV, GW, NIV, NJPS, NLT, NRSV, REB)
It refers to a long rule. For example:
will rule a long time (NCV) (NCV, NIV11, GNT)

Versions that translate the phrase literally, including the BSB and several other English versions (ESV, NASB, NET), could be referring to either the days of a leader’s life or the days of his rule. If you have a phrase in your language that can be interpreted either way, you may use it. If you need to choose one interpretation, it is recommended that you choose interpretation (1).

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

נָגִ֗יד & שֹׂ֥נֵא

ruler & (Some words not found in UHB: ruler lacks_of understanding and,great_of oppressor hates unjust_gain prolong days )

A leader and one who hates 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: “Any leader … any person who hates”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

תְּ֭בוּנוֹת

understanding

See how you translated the abstract noun understanding in [1:2](../01/02.md).

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

וְ⁠רַ֥ב מַעֲשַׁקּ֑וֹת

and,great_of oppressor

Here Solomon is using the possessive form to describe an abundant number of oppressive acts. If your language would not use the possessive form for this, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: “does many oppressive acts”

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

שֹׂ֥נֵא

(Some words not found in UHB: ruler lacks_of understanding and,great_of oppressor hates unjust_gain prolong days )

This clause is a strong contrast to the previous clause. Use the most natural way in your language to indicate a contrast. Alternate translation: “however, one who hates”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

בֶ֝֗צַע

unjust_gain

See how you translated this phrase in [1:19](../01/19.md).

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

יַאֲרִ֥יךְ יָמִֽים

prolong days

See how you translated the similar phrase “length of days” in [3:2](../03/02.md).

Parallel PROV 28:16

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

28:16

28:16a

28:16b