21:17
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
17a
He who loves pleasure will become poor ;
17b
the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich.
The overall meaning is that a person who loves to go to parties and live luxuriously will not become rich. The second line gives a specific example of the general term “pleasure” in the first line.
21:17a
He who loves pleasure will become poor: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as pleasure refers to feasts or parties. The Berean Standard Bible translated the same word as “joy” in 21:15a. A person who loves pleasure loves to attend feasts where he can have fun and enjoy expensive food and wine. Some other ways to translate this line are:
Pleasure-lovers stay poor (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
A person who always wants to attend parties will use up his money
21:17b
the one who loves wine and oil: Both wine and oil were associated with feasts. The olive oil was used to anoint the head or skin of the guests. It may have been perfumed. The phrase wine and oil probably also has a symbolic meaning here. It represents an extravagant lifestyle in which a person pursues his own pleasure.
If people in your culture associate wine and olive oil with parties and luxury, consider using similar terms in your translation. In some languages, the word oil may not be understood correctly. If that is true in your language, consider using a different term that has the right meaning. The meaning can be literal or symbolic. For example:
wine and perfume (New American Bible)
-or-
wine and good living (New Jerusalem Bible)
will never be rich: This phrase expresses the same meaning as the parallel phrase “will become poor” in 21:17a.
General Comment on 21:17a–b
In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder and/or combine the parallel parts. For example:
Heavy drinkers and others who live only for pleasure will lose all they have. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Indulging in luxuries, wine, and rich food will never make you wealthy. (Good News Translation)
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