12:25

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

25a
Anxiety weighs down the heart of a man,

25b but a good word cheers it up.

12:25a

Anxiety weighs down the heart of a man: The phrase the heart of a man refers to a person’s emotions or inner being. A person who is anxious is both worried and fearful about the future. This clause is a metaphor in which anxiety is compared to a heavy burden that makes a person’s heart bow down under its weight. It is also a personification that speaks of the heart as if it were a person who could bow down. To be emotionally weighed down means to be depressed. Some ways to translate this metaphor are:

• Make the image of the metaphor explicit. For example:

Worry is a heavy load (New Century Version)

• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:

Worry is like a heavy weight on a person’s heart/back.

• Translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:

An anxious heart is dispiriting (Revised English Bible)

12:25b

but a good word cheers it up: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a good word refers to anything encouraging, reassuring, kind or helpful that a person says in order to make another person feel glad or happy again. This verse part continues the personification of the “heart” by speaking of it as if it were a person whom a helpful saying cheers…up. A way to translate this without the personification is:

an encouraging word cheers a person up (New Living Translation (2004))

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