12:11
Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:
11a
He who works his land will have plenty of food,
11b
but whoever chases fantasies lacks judgment.
The main contrast is between a hard-working farmer and a person who spends his time doing worthless things. Having abundant food and lacking judgment do not directly contrast. To “have plenty of food” is a desirable result. “Lacks judgment” is an undesirable mental condition. This verse is identical to 28:19 except for the last half of the second line.
12:11a
The one who works his land will have plenty of food: The phrase works his land refers to any kind of work that a farmer does in his field or garden. It includes planting, cultivating, and harvesting. It implies that the farmer works diligently. The result is that he will have plenty to eat. Another way to translate this line is:
A hard-working farmer has plenty to eat (Good News Translation)
12:11b
whoever chases fantasies: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as chases fantasies is literally “pursues worthless ⌊things⌋ .” The Hebrew text does not specify what is worthless. In this context, it is probably a worthless goal, plan, or project. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
those who follow worthless pursuits (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
the one who chases unrealistic dreams (God’s Word)
lacks judgment: This phrase refers to a person who lacks common sense and makes foolish decisions.
In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of the parts in this line. For example:
but it is stupid to waste time on useless projects (Good News Translation)
© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.