“A man of great wrath will pay the penalty”: In the written Hebrew text the word rendered “great” does not make sense, and so the form translated “great” is the one that is read in its place. This line may be understood, according to Toy, as “A man of great anger pays a fine,” “. . . must bear a penalty,” or “he who pays a fine is very angry.” The expression translated by Revised Standard Version as “pay the penalty” is understood by some to mean “bear the consequences.” So Revised English Bible translates “Anyone whose temper is violent must bear the consequences.” Note also Good News Translation. Contemporary English Version expresses the line as “People with bad tempers are always in trouble.”

“For if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again”: The Revised Standard Version footnote says the Hebrew is uncertain. Translators and interpreters differ greatly in their understanding of this line. Toy gives six translations and concludes that the text is “incurably corrupt.” Nevertheless, the sense of the Revised Standard Version rendering is as likely as any. In its text Good News Translation follows Revised Standard Version. However, note that Good News Translation gives an alternate rendering in its footnote. Translators are encouraged to follow the Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation texts or the Good News Translation footnote.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .