Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 19:1:
- Kupsabiny: “A poor man who speaks the truth is better off
than a person who is foolish and brings chaos to things/words.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation) - Newari: “It is better to be poor and honest
than to be dishonest and a fool.” (Source: Newari Back Translation) - Hiligaynon: “Much better/[lit. good] the poor-one who lives without fault than a foolish-(one) who is a liar.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “It-is-better (to be) a poor-person who is righteous than a foolish-person who is a liar.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- English: “Conducting our lives as we should even though we are poor
is better than being foolish and telling lies.” (Source: Translation for Translators) - Czech Bible21: “Better an honest pauper than a crooked fool” (Alexandr Flek [in: Werner 2018, p. 124ff.] explains this poetic translation: “A good example would be Proverbs 19:1, which is rendered in Bible21 as Lepší chudý poctivec než prolhaný pitomec (‘Better an honest pauper than a crooked fool’). This wording has caught the attention even of the Czech secular media, as it sounds like a contemporary aphorism, easy to remember thanks to the rhythm and the assonance (poctivec/pitomec), and also because ‘pitomec’ is a rather strong word in Czech, somewhere between fool and idiot in English. The previous translations were much more literal, copying the wording of the Hebrew phrases, but utilizing many more words than the original; for example, the Kralice Bible uses 16 words (…) where Hebrew has only eight, thus completely losing the pithy and humorous character of the original.”)
