Paragraph 24:17–18 Saying 28
In this saying, the author advises the young man not to rejoice when an enemy suffers disaster. If he rejoices, The LORD will be angry at his attitude and will stop punishing the enemy.
This saying is related to the previous saying by the parallel verbs that refer to disaster.
24:17
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning. In the New International Version, they form a chiasm. The parts in 24:17b occur in the opposite order from the parallel parts in 24:17a.
17a
Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
17b
when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice In Hebrew and in the Berean Standard Bible, there is no chiasm. The underlined parallel parts occur first in each line. For example:
17a
If your enemy falls, do not exult ;
17b
if he trips, let not your heart rejoice, (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
In the New Revised Standard Version, there is also no chiasm, but the underlined parallel parts occur first in each line:
17a
Do not rejoice when your enemies fall,
17b and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble. (New Revised Standard Version)
You should use whatever order expresses the meaning of the parallel lines most effectively in your language.
24:17a–b
Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice: In Hebrew, these two commands have almost the same meaning. The first command can also be translated as “rejoice” (New Revised Standard Version). Another way to translate these two commands is:
Do not be happy…do not feel glad (God’s Word)
The second command is a figure of speech. In this figure of speech, the heart represents the whole person. It refers to his thoughts and feelings of delight. It also includes the way he shows his feelings through his facial expressions, words, or actions.
If possible, choose parallel terms that will refer together to different kinds of joy, whether feelings, words, or actions.
when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles: In Hebrew, the words falls and stumbles are the same as the terms “fall” (24:16a) and “stumble” (24:16b). See the notes there. The parallel clauses both indicate that the enemy experiences a disaster that ruins his life.
In some languages, it will be appropriate to repeat the same terms here as in 24:16. In other languages, it will sound redundant. Choose terms that will show the connection to verse 16 without sounding redundant.
enemy…he: These parallel terms refer to one or more people who are in the category of “enemy.” The New Revised Standard Version (quoted above) uses “enemies…they.” You may use either singular or plural.
General Comment on 24:17a–b
In some languages, it will be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts. For example:
Don’t be happy to see your enemies trip and fall down. (Contemporary English Version)
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