15:17
This proverb compares two kinds of meals. The people at each meal have different relationships with one another. The situation at the meal in 15:17a is better than the situation at the meal in 15:17b. Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:
17a Better a dish of vegetables where there is love
17b than a fattened ox with hatred.
The first line describes a simple meal of vegetables with people who love one another. This kind of meal is more desirable than a feast of the finest food with people who hate one another.
This proverb has the same form as 15:16. The four parts are:
A: a simple meal of vegetables (undesirable)
B: a loving relationship (very desirable)
C: a feast with tasty meat (desirable)
D: a relationship of hatred (very undesirable)
See the note on 12:9 for more details on this kind of proverb.
15:17a–b
a dish of vegetables…a fattened ox: The phrase dish of vegetables refers to a very simple meal. It contrasts with a banquet at which the main dish is meat from an ox/cow that has been specially fattened.
a fattened ox: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as ox can refer to an ox or cow. It can be a male or female, of any age.
A fattened ox/cow was literally butchered for a special meal in OT times. But this phrase is also a figure of speech. It represents the finest, tastiest kind of meat. More generally, it represents any fine food. So it is not necessary to specify ox unless only oxen are butchered for food in your language area.
In addition to using the literal terms, some other ways to translate these phrases are.
• Use a more general phrase in each line. For example:
A simple meal…a feast (Contemporary English Version)
• Use foods that convey the same contrast in your culture. Try to use foods that would also have been found in the OT context. For example:
a bowl of soup…steak (New Living Translation (1996))
where there is love…with hatred: These phrases refer to mutual love and hatred. Some English versions specify the subject and object of love and hate. For example:
17a A bowl of vegetables with someone you love
17b is better than steak with someone you hate. (New Living Translation (2004))
Some versions use a different order of the subject and object. For example:
17a It is better to eat vegetables with those who love you
17b than to eat meat with those who hate you. (New Century Version)
The Hebrew text does not specify the subject or object. It only describes a situation in which there is love in contrast to one in which there is hatred. You may use the Berean Standard Bible or any of the examples cited here as models, depending on what is natural in your language.
General Comment on 15:17a–b
In some languages, it may be difficult to express a complex comparison in one sentence. Another way to translate it is to divide this verse into two sentences. You may need to change the order of the two lines or the order of the parts. For example:
17b Sometimes there is plenty of tasty meat to eat, but the people who are eating with you hate you.
17a It is better to eat with people who love you, even though there are only vegetables to eat.
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