20:5
Notice the contrasting parallelism:
5a The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters,
5b but a man of understanding draws them out.
The overall meaning is that it is difficult to know a person’s intentions. But a person who has good sense is able to discover what they are.
20:5a
The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters: This clause is a metaphor. It compares a person’s intentions or plans to the water in a deep well. Some similarities are:
(a) A person’s thoughts and plans are not visible. They are located inside his mind or heart. The water in a deep well is also located far below the surface of the ground.
(b) It is hard to discover what a person is really thinking. It is also hard to reach the water in a deep well.
Some other ways to translate this metaphor are:
• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
The intention in the human heart is like water far below the surface (New American Bible)
-or-
A person’s thoughts are like water in a deep well (Good News Translation)
• Change the metaphor to a simile and make the similarity explicit. For example:
The plans in a person’s mind are like water that is deep under the ground. It is hard to reach.
intentions of a man’s heart: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “advice/counsel in the heart of a man.” In this context, it probably refers to the “advice” that a person gives to himself. In other words, it refers to his plans, motives, or intentions.
a man’s heart: As in other verses, the Hebrew word for heart refers primarily to the mind or intellect (see the note on 4:4a). In some languages, it may be redundant to specify that a person’s plans or thoughts are “in his mind/heart.” If that is true in your language, you may leave this phrase implied, as in the Good News Translation (quoted above).
deep waters: By itself, the phrase deep waters could refer to any water that is deep. However, the parallel phrase “draws them out” is normally used of pulling water up out of a well. So in this context, deep waters probably refers specifically to the water in a deep well.
20:5b
but a man of understanding draws them out: The verb draws…out continues the metaphor of “deep waters.” Water in a deep well is not easy to get at. It requires effort to pull it up in a bucket. Similarly, it requires a man of understanding to “draw out” the thoughts of another person through careful questioning and conversation.
a man of understanding: The word understanding refers here to a person’s ability to discover another person’s plans or intentions.
Another way to translate 20:5b is:
but if you are smart, you will discover them (Contemporary English Version)
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