23:16
My inmost being: In Hebrew, the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as inmost being is literally “kidneys.” It is used here as a figure of speech that represents the whole person. It also represents the source of a person’s strongest emotions, whether sorrow or joy. If your language uses a different organ of the body to refer to such emotions, consider using it here.
will rejoice: In Hebrew, this verb refers to the kind of intense joy that a person expresses in his actions. Here it figuratively describes the author’s kidneys as singing, shouting, or jumping for joy. This is the only verse in Proverbs where this Hebrew verb and the word “kidneys” occur.
Some ways to translate this clause are:
My inmost being will exult (English Standard Version)
-or-
Everything in me will celebrate (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
I feel like dancing from extreme joy
when your lips speak what is right: In this context, the phrase your lips represents the son himself. The word that most English versions translate as right means “honest,” “straightforward,” or “fair.” It implies here that the son’s words straightforwardly express what he is thinking. It does not mean “right” in the sense of “correct.” Some other ways to translate this clause are:
when from your lips come honest words (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
if you are truthful (Contemporary English Version)
See how you translated the similar expression in the second line of 8:6.
General Comment on 23:15–16
In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the lines of this saying so that the son’s good character traits and the father’s response occur together. See 23:15–16 (combined/reordered) in the Display.
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