“Can a man carry fire in his bosom”: “Fire” may be an image of sexual passion; or it may be meant to picture the consequences of the man’s actions. If your translation has addressed the learner with “you” singular, that form can be continued here. “Bosom” (see 5.20) can refer to the breast, or to the middle part of the outer garment, which was pulled up to make a carrying pocket. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates “Can a person carry fire in the pockets of his clothes. . .?” In some languages the style of clothing worn or lack of clothing make this difficult to express. However, we may say, for example, “If you carry fire in your clothes. . .” or “If you carry fire next to your body. . ..”

“And his clothes not be burned?”: that is, “and not burn your clothes?” or “and not burn you?” In some languages this rhetorical question is better expressed as a negative statement: “You can’t carry fire . . . without being burned.” Some languages require the question to be answered in the negative. New Jerusalem Bible says “Can a man carry fire inside his shirt without setting his clothes alight?” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “He who puts fire on his chest will certainly burn his clothes.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .