12:3
Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:
3a
A man cannot be established through wickedness,
3b but the righteous cannot be uprooted.
12:3a
A man cannot be established through wickedness: This clause means that a person cannot become secure, safe, or stable by doing what is wicked. Some other ways to translate this clause are:
No one finds security by wickedness (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Wickedness never brings stability (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Doing evil brings no safety at all (New Century Version)
12:3b
but the righteous cannot be uprooted: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “and/but the root of righteous ⌊people⌋ will not be moved.” It is an incomplete metaphor. It indicates that the life of righteous people will be stable and secure, like a firmly-rooted tree.
If a literal translation of this metaphor is hard to understand, some other ways to translate it are:
• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
but righteous people ⌊are like a tree that⌋ cannot be uprooted
• Use a simile. Make explicit the similarity between righteous people and a tree. For example:
But if you live right, you will be as secure as a tree with deep roots (Contemporary English Version)
• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:
but righteous people stand firm (Good News Translation)
-or-
but a good person has safety and security (New Century Version)
This line is similar to 10:30a, where the same verb is used, although the Berean Standard Bible translates it there as “shaken” rather than uprooted. But in 10:30a, the contrast is between staying in the land and being removed from it. Here the contrast is more general.
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