Paragraph 1:10–14

In this paragraph, the quote that starts in 1:11a and ends in 1:14b gives the words that the “sinners” use to “entice” the young man. The concluding exhortation of 1:10b is parallel to the concluding exhortations of 1:15a–b.

1:10a–11a

The “if” clauses in 1:10a and 1:11a are parallel to each other. In some languages, it may not be natural to use two parallel “if” statements in a row. If that is the case in your language, you may:

• Combine 1:10a–1:11a into one sentence. For example:

My child, do not allow yourself to be persuaded by criminals if they say, “Come join us(excl.).

• Reword one of the “if” clauses (see the last meaning line in the Display for 1:11a).

1:10a

My son: For the meaning of the phrase My son, see the note on 1:8a. This verse is the first of five instances in which the author repeats the words “my son” or “my sons” within a lesson as well as at the beginning. The reason the words are repeated here may be that this verse is the actual start of the first lesson (1:8–9 serves as a more general introduction to the lesson). So the father/teacher repeats “my son” to emphasize that he is now beginning the main part of the lesson.

In some languages, it may not be natural to repeat the words “my son” so soon after using them in 1:8. If that is true in your language, it may be better not to repeat the words here in 1:10.

if sinners entice you: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sinners indicates habitual sinners or wrongdoers, not just people who occasionally sin. In the following context they are described more specifically as a gang of criminals who murder and rob people.

entice: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as entice means to tempt or persuade to do evil.

Some other ways to translate the clause “if sinners entice you” are:

when sinners tempt you (Good News Translation)
-or-
if sinful people try to persuade you to do wrong

1:10b

do not yield to them: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as do not yield to them is only two words in Hebrew. In some languages, the same meaning may be expressed by using a positive command, such as:

turn your back on them (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
refuse to do what they say

General Comment on 1:10a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of these two lines so that the command precedes the “if” clause. For example:

My son, do not consent if wicked people try to persuade you to sin.

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