19:13
This proverb describes the destructive effect of two important family relationships on a father and husband. The underlined parallel parts identify the family relationships. The parts in bold print describe their destructive effect.
13a
A foolish son is his father’s ruin,
13b and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
19:13a
A foolish son is his father’s ruin: This proverb focuses on the effect of a son’s foolish behavior on his father. However, it does not imply that his mother was not affected. It also does not imply that foolish daughters did not ruin their parents. In some languages, it may be more appropriate to use gender-neutral terms such as child/children and parents. For example:
Stupid children can bring their parents to ruin. (Good News Translation)
-or-
A foolish child is a calamity to a father (New Living Translation (2004))
A foolish son: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as foolish refers to a person who does what is stupid and wrong because he is mentally lazy. See also 17:21 and 17:25, which have a similar theme.
is his father’s ruin: This phrase indicates here that the foolish son causes his father to experience severe troubles, disaster or calamity.
Some other ways to translate 19:13a are:
A foolish son ruins his father (God’s Word)
-or-
When a son does foolish things, his father will experience disaster.
19:13b
and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping: In Hebrew, this is a metaphor. The Berean Standard Bible has changed the metaphor to a simile by supplying the word like. In either of these figures of speech, a quarrelsome wife is compared to a constant dripping from a leaking roof. Some ways that they are similar are:
(a) Both cause damage to a home.
(b) Both are very irritating.
Some ways to translate the Hebrew metaphor are:
• Keep the metaphor. For example:
a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain (English Standard Version)
• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
a quarrelsome wife is like the constant dripping of a leaky roof (New International Version (2011))
-or-
A nagging wife is like water going drip-drip-drip. (Good News Translation)
• Change the metaphor to a simile and make explicit one or more of the similarities. For example:
a quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping (New Living Translation (2004))
a quarrelsome wife: In Hebrew, this phrase refers to a woman who constantly quarrels with her husband. She also causes serious disagreements with people in the community. Because of her behavior, she is definitely annoying. She also ruins the relationship with her husband and makes her home difficult to live in.
a constant dripping: This phrase refers specifically to “the constant dripping of a leaky roof” (New International Version (2011)). A constant leak damages a house. It does not only make an irritating noise.
In some areas, the sound of dripping rain is not irritating. People are happy to hear it. If that is true in your area, it may be better to emphasize the damage caused by a leak in the roof. For example:
a persistent leak (New American Bible)
-or-
a serious leak in the roof ⌊that ruins the house⌋
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