18:11
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
11a
A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city ;
11b
it is like a high wall in his imagination.
Due to the parallelism, the phrase “in his imagination” is also implied in 18:11a. One way to make this explicit is:
11a The rich think that their wealth is their fortified city;
11b they imagine it an unscalable wall.
18:11a
A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city: A fortified city is a city surrounded by high walls. These walls protect the inhabitants from outside dangers. Similarly, a rich person relies on his wealth to protect him from difficulties. This metaphor is identical to 10:15a. See the notes there for translation advice.
However, the implied information is different. The connection with the following line and with the preceding verse is also different. Evaluate these differences carefully before you translate this line.
18:11b
it is like a high wall in his imagination: In Hebrew, the word high is a slightly different form of the word “set on high.” The Berean Standard Bible translated that word as “safe” in 18:10b. Some English versions translate this word in 18:11b as “unscalable” (New International Version), because the implied purpose of a high wall is to prevent enemies from climbing over it.
This clause means that rich people think or imagine that their wealth will protect them. They think it will be like a high wall that protects the residents inside a city. Some other ways to translate this line are:
a high wall, as the rich supposes (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
in his fancy, it is a protective wall (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
-or-
they imagine it to be a high wall of safety (New Living Translation (2004))
General Comment on 18:11a–b
In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts. See the Good News Translation, quoted in 18:11a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.
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