In this verse Revised Standard Version has two series of commands that are separated by a reason for the commands. For clarity in the flow of thought it may be necessary to switch the first two lines of this verse. In this way verse 3 would begin with “You have come into your neighbor’s power.” See under verse 4 for an example of restructuring the whole verse. The discussion of the lines in this verse follows the Revised Standard Version order.
“Then do this, my son, and save yourself”: “Then” renders a term that marks a transition from the “if” clauses in verses 1-2 to the commands in verse 3. “Do this” may need to be restated as, for example, “This is what you should do,” “Follow these instructions,” or “Now do as I tell you.” For “my son” see 1.8. “Save yourself” means here to free yourself from your troubles, to escape or get out of your difficulty. One translation, for example, says, “Son, you must get out of this prison quickly.”
“For you have come into your neighbor’s power” is literally “You come into the palm [hand] of your neighbor,” which means “You have fallen into the control of. . .” or “Your neighbor now has control over you.” Since this situation is clearly very dangerous, some translations render the sentence “It is no good that you stay underneath this other man. So. . ..”
“Go, hasten, and importune your neighbor”: “Go” means to take immediate action. “Hasten” translates a verb whose form and meaning appear to have the sense of tread on, trample, or crush down. Although Good News Translation renders it “hurry,” it appears in this context to mean to “humble yourself.” Note the Revised Standard Version footnote. Some take it to mean mire or mud, and so it expresses the thought of getting down in the mud, an image of humbling yourself. One translation says, for example, “It doesn’t matter that you have to put yourself down and be ashamed, just go. . ..”
The word rendered “importune” is better translated “plead” or “beg.” The Hebrew text does not say what should be pleaded for. However, the context makes clear that it is a plea to be released, freed from the promise to pay the other person’s debts. Accordingly Good News Translation says, “beg him to release you.” Bible en français courant has “insist that he free you.”
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 .