PROV 28:3 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.)

OET (OET-RV) Someone who’s poor but oppresses other poor people,
⇔ is like driving rain when you have nothing to eat.

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 Ἀνδρεῖος ἐν ἀσεβείαις συκοφαντεῖ πτωχούς· ὥσπερ ὑετὸς λάβρος καὶ ἀνωφελὴς,
(Andreios en asebeiais sukofantei ptōⱪous; hōsper huetos labros kai anōfelaʸs, )

BrTr A bold man oppresses the poor by ungodly deeds. As an impetuous and unprofitable rain,

ULT A man who is poor and who oppresses the lowly
⇔ is a rain that washes away, and there is no bread.

UST A poor person who oppresses other poor people
⇔ is as destructive as rain that washes away the crops, leaving nothing to eat.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE A needy man who oppresses the poor
⇔ is like a driving rain which leaves no crops.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET A poor person who oppresses the weak
⇔ is like a driving rain without food.

LSV A man—poor and oppressing the weak,
[Is] a sweeping rain, and there is no bread.

FBV When someone poor oppresses the poor, it's like heavy rain that beats down the crops.

T4T ⇔ A poor person who oppresses other poor people
⇔ is like [MET] a very heavy/hard rain that destroys the crops, with the result that there is no food for people to eat.

LEB • A man who is poor and oppresses the impoverished is a beating rain that leaves[fn] no food.

28:? Literally “and there is”

BBE A man of wealth who is cruel to the poor is like a violent rain causing destruction of food.

Moff A tyrant oppressing the poo
⇔ is like a deluge that leaves no food behind.

JPS A poor man that oppresseth the weak is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.

ASV A needy man that oppresseth the poor
⇔ Is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.

DRA A poor man that oppresseth the poor, is like a violent shower, which bringeth a famine.

YLT A man — poor and oppressing the weak, [Is] a sweeping rain, and there is no bread.

Drby A poor man who oppresseth the helpless is a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.

RV A needy man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.
(A needy man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth/leaves no food. )

SLT A poor man oppressing the poor, a sweeping rain and no bread.

Wbstr A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.

KJB-1769 A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.[fn]
(A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth/leaves no food. )

28.3 which…: Heb. without food

KJB-1611 [fn]A poore man that oppresseth the poore, is like a sweeping raine which leaueth no food.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)

28:3 Heb. without foode.

Bshps One poore man oppressing another by violence, is like a raging rayne that destroyeth the fruite.
(One poor man oppressing another by violence, is like a raging rain that destroyeth the fruit.)

Gnva A poore man, if he oppresse the poore, is like a raging raine, that leaueth no foode.
(A poor man, if he oppress the poor, is like a raging rain, that leaveth/leaves no foode. )

Cvdl One poore man oppressinge another by violence, is like a contynuall rayne that destroyeth ye frute.
(One poor man oppressinge another by violence, is like a contynuall rain that destroyeth ye/you_all fruit.)

Wycl A pore man falsli calengynge pore men, is lijk a grete reyn, wherynne hungur is maad redi.
(A poor man falsli calenging poor men, is like a great reyn, wherein hunger is made redi.)

Luth Ein armer Mann, der die Geringen beleidigt, ist wie ein Meltau, der die Frucht verderbt.
(A poor man, the/of_the the low/small_(one) beleidigt, is as/like a Meltau, the/of_the the fruit corrupted.)

ClVg Vir pauper calumnians pauperes similis est imbri vehementi in quo paratur fames.]
(Man poor calumnians the_poor similar it_is imbri vehementi in/into/on where paratur hungers.] )

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

28:3

The ESV has been used as the source line because it follows the textual recommendation in 28:3a.

^3aA poor man who oppresses the poor (ESV)

^3bis a beating rain that leaves no food. (ESV)

This proverb compares a poor man who oppresses other poor people to a rainstorm that destroys the crops. In this proverb, the first line is the topic of a metaphor. The second line is the illustration. The similarity between the topic and the illustration is that both cause hardship and destruction.

28:3a

A destitute leader who oppresses the poor

A poor man who mistreats/cheats other poor people
When a very poor person causes suffering/hardship to others of low status,

(ESV) A poor man who oppresses the poor: There is a textual difference in the first phrase of this line:

The Masoretic Text (MT) has: “a poor man.” For example:
A poor person (NET) (CEV, ESV, GW, KJV, NASB, NET, NJPS, NLT, RSV)
Some scholars think that the original text was “a ruler.”The suggested word (roš) has a similar form to the MT word (raš) but has a different vowel. For example:
A ruler (NRSV) (BSB, NCV, NIV, NRSV, REB, GNT)
The LXX has: “a wicked man.”Waltke (p. 395) and Kidner (p. 169) use the general word “wicked” as a translation for this term in the LXX. Commentaries and back translations of the LXX differ widely. A more literal translation based on a combination of the LXX (NETS) and LXX (Swete) and the NET footnote (a) is “One who is bold/valiant as to ungodly deeds” (or “impieties”). For example:
The wicked (NJB) (NJB)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most versions and scholars. The reason that some scholars think that the original word was “ruler” is that in Proverbs, it is usually rich people and wicked rulers who oppress the poor. These scholars think that a poor person is not likely to oppress other poor people.Commentaries that support (2) or (3) include Delitzsch, Ross, Hubbard, and McKane. The last three all think that an oppressor would have to be someone in a position of authority. However, there is no textual evidence that any ancient Hebrew manuscript had a word for “ruler” in this verse. Many scholars point out that in actual life, a very poor person will often cause hardship and suffering to other people of low status like himself.Commentaries that support the MT include Waltke, Fox, Longman, Whybray, Murphy, Kidner, Barnes, and Cohen. For detailed reasons, see Fox (p. 820), Longman (p. 488), Whybray (pp. 389–390), and Kidner (p. 169).

(ESV) A poor man…the poor: In Hebrew, the first word for poor sometimes emphasizes extreme poverty. A person who is poor has no money or other resources to rely on. The second word refers more generally to people who lack material things. They belong to one of the lower social classes.In Hebrew, the first word is raš. The second word is the plural form of dal. In this context, no contrast is intended between these two words. They both refer to the same group of people.

In some languages, it will be appropriate to use a general word such as “poor” for both terms, as many English versions have done. In other languages, it may be more effective to use one or more words that emphasize a specific aspect of poverty. For example:

A poor man…the lowly (NASB)

A poor person…people who lack possessions/money

Someone who is extremely poor…other people who have low status

See the note on 10:4a and the footnote there for information on the other words for “poor” in Proverbs.

(ESV) oppresses: This word means “causes hardship or suffering for people of low status.” A poor person may “oppress” others when he:

forces them to work overly hard;
cheats them by giving them low wages;
charges them an unfair price in the marketplace.

Some other ways to translate oppresses are:

withholds what is due (NJPS)

mistreats (CEV)

causes hardship/suffering

28:3b

is like a driving rain that leaves no food.

is like a strong rainstorm that destroys all the crops.
he is compared to a hard/pounding rain that ruins the entire harvest.

(ESV) is a beating rain that leaves no food: In Hebrew, this line is more literally “rain that washes away and there is no bread.” It refers to a rainstorm that ruins a crop growing in the fields or a crop that has already been harvested. As a result, there is no food.

This line is the illustration of a metaphor. Some other ways to translate the metaphor are:

Keep the metaphor. For example:
is a pounding rain that destroys the harvest
Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
is like a driving rain that destroys the crops (GNT)
is like a destructive rain that leaves no food (NJPS)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

גֶּ֣בֶר

man

A man here refers to this type of person in general, not a specific man. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a more natural expression. Alternate translation: “Any person”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

דַּלִּ֑ים

poor

See how you translated the same use of lowly in [10:15](../10/15.md).

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מָטָ֥ר סֹ֝חֵ֗ף וְ⁠אֵ֣ין לָֽחֶם

rain driving and,there_[is]_not food

Here Solomon refers to A man who is poor and who oppresses the lowly ones as if that person were a rain that washes away. The point is that both are destructive. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly or use a simile. Alternate translation: “is very destructive” or “is like rain that washes away, and there is no bread”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

סֹ֝חֵ֗ף

driving

Here Solomon implies that the rain washes away all the crops. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “that washes all the crops away”

Note 5 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

וְ⁠אֵ֣ין

and,there_[is]_not

Here, and indicates that what follows is a result of what came before. Use a connector in your language that makes it clear that what follows is a result of what came before. Alternate translation: “and it results in their being no”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

לָֽחֶם

food

See how you translated the same use of bread in [9:5](../09/05.md).

Parallel PROV 28:3

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

28:3

28:3a

28:3b