19:22
This verse does not have parallel parts.
22a The desire of a man is loving devotion;
22b better to be poor than a liar.
The overall meaning is that people desire faithful love in their relationships with one another. Therefore, it is better to be poor ⌊and maintain a loving relationship⌋ than to tell lies ⌊in order to gain wealth, thereby breaking that relationship⌋ .
19:22a
The desire of a man is loving devotion: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “the desire of a man ⌊is⌋ his ḥesed.” This clause has at least two ambiguities:
(a) The word desire can be understood with a good meaning or with a bad meaning.
(b) Hebrew has two words spelled as ḥesed. The more common word means “unfailing love.” The other means “disgrace.”
These ambiguities have resulted in two main interpretations of this clause:
(1) The word desire has a good meaning. The word ḥesed that is used here means “unfailing love.” For example:
What is desired in a man is steadfast love (English Standard Version)
(2) The word desire has a bad meaning. The word ḥesed that is used here means “disgrace.” For example:
Greed is a disgrace to a man (Revised English Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and scholars.
If you use footnotes, you may want to put the other interpretation in a footnote. It is very possible that the author used the two words with double meanings intentionally. Both have an implied connection with 19:22b. A suggested footnote is:
Two of the Hebrew words in this verse have more than one meaning. Another way to translate this verse is: “It is disgraceful for a man to be greedy.”
There are two main ways to translate interpretation (1):
• Focus on the love/loyalty that others desire in a person. For example:
What is desired in a man is steadfast love (English Standard Version)
-or-
What is desirable for a person is to show loyal love (NET Bible)
-or-
People want others to be loyal (New Century Version)
• Focus on the unfailing love/loyalty that a person desires in himself or other people. For example:
Everyone desires that his companions show love and loyalty
Both of these options are acceptable. They both emphasize the importance of mutual love and loyalty in relationships.
loving devotion: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as loving devotion has three aspects of meaning: steadfastness/loyalty, love, and kindness. The last occurrence of this word was in 16:6a. See the note on “loving devotion” in 3:3a.
19:22b
better to be poor than a liar: The connection of this statement to 19:22a is based on implied reasoning. It is implied that a person may tell lies in order to get a bribe or gain wealth in some other way. A person who does that violates the faithful, loving relationship that he should have with other members of his community. Maintaining that relationship is more important than escaping poverty. Therefore, it is better to remain poor.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
so it is better to be poor than to be a liar (New Century Version)
-or-
so it is better to be a ⌊faithful⌋ poor person than to be dishonest
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