20:20
The second line of this proverb describes the severe consequences of the wicked action in the first line.
20a Whoever curses his father or mother,
20b his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness.
In the law of Moses, the penalty for a person who cursed his parents was death. If you use footnotes, you may want to add a footnote that gives this information, along with the references (Exodus 21:17, Leviticus 20:9, Deuteronomy 27:16).
20:20a
Whoever curses his father or mother: The word curses refers here to words, not to sorcery. A person who curses his parents insults or belittles them. He says bad things about them and may even wish them harm. Some other ways to translate this line are:
Children who curse their parents (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
If you insult your father or mother (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
One who reviles his father or mother (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
20:20b
his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness: This clause is a metaphor that refers to a sudden and premature death. It compares the person’s life to a lamp that will be extinguished in the middle of the night. Some ways to translate this metaphor are:
• Keep the metaphor. For example:
his lamp will be extinguished in the blackest darkness (NET Bible)
• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
your life will end like a lamp that goes out in the dark (Good News Translation)
See the note on 13:9b, where similar wording occurs.
in deepest darkness: In Hebrew, this phrase may refer to either the middle of the night or to the blackest/deepest darkness.
General Comment on 20:20a–b
In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder some of the verse parts. For example:
The lamp of the person who curses his father and mother will be snuffed out in total darkness. (God’s Word)
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