“He who sings songs to a heavy heart”: The first line of Revised Standard Version is the final line in the Hebrew verse. “He who sings songs” must be understood here as someone singing happy or “cheerful songs” (New Living Translation). One difficulty with this line is that it is uncertain who has the “heavy heart”, the singer or the one sung to; most versions understand it as the person sung to. “Heavy heart” describes someone who is sad or depressed (see Good News Translation).

“Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day” is almost identical in its consonants with line 2 of verse 19. This appears to have resulted from copying this line from verse 19. Later scribes kept it but gave it different vowels and therefore a different meaning. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends deleting the line (“C” rating); New Revised Standard Version and some other versions also omit it.

“And like vinegar on a wound”: Revised Standard Version prints the verse as having three lines, but in Hebrew this line has no verb and no comparison marker; it is literally “vinegar on soda.” Note that Revised Standard Version has followed the Septuagint “wound”, where, according to the Revised Standard Version footnote, the Hebrew has “lye,” which is often translated “soda.” Most other versions also follow the Septuagint here.

In translating this verse it seems best to understand that singing to a broken-hearted person causes pain and that pain is given two descriptions or comparisons: exposing the body to the cold and pouring vinegar into a wound.
Good News Translation has substituted “salt” for vinegar as a more common expression of causing pain in a wound. Contemporary English Version translates “Singing to someone in deep sorrow is like pouring vinegar in an open cut.” Contemporary English Version, which has deleted the second line of Revised Standard Version, says in its footnote “cut: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 20.” Note that Good News Translation, on the other hand, has kept the three lines of Revised Standard Version. In this case translators may follow either option for the text.

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 .