“Lest strangers take their fill of your strength”: “Strangers”, which refers to aliens, foreigners, non-Israelites, translates a different word than “others” in verse 9. “Take their fill” means to satisfy their desire (for your wealth). In some languages this thought is expressed as “Strangers will eat your money.” “Strength”, as the Revised Standard Version footnote indicates, may refer to a person’s power or might and in this context is best understood as wealth.

“And your labors go to the house of an alien”: “Your labors” means the same as “your strength” in line 1, “all that you have worked for” or “all the money you have saved.” “To the house of an alien” means to the family, household, or hands of a foreigner. One translation that joins the two lines together says for the whole verse: “All the good things you have worked hard to get will go into the hands of other people.”

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 .