“The lips of the righteous feed many”: Here again “The lips” refers to words or speech and in this case perhaps counsel, advice, or instruction. “Feed” renders the usual verb meaning to provide pasture or to feed a flock, or by extension to care for a flock of animals. This metaphor may refer to the role of a king or leader as a shepherd of the people or may be used more generally as rendered by Good News Translation. In any case the words of a good person are of value or benefit to those who receive them, that is, “many” people. We may translate, for example, “The instruction given by a good person helps many people” or “The words of a good person instruct many others.”

“But fools die for lack of sense”: “Fools” as in 1.7 refers to people who reject instruction and lead others to do likewise. The fool fails to nurture himself and others with sensible instruction and so dies. “Die” and death, as discussed in 2.18, often have the sense in Proverbs of dying prematurely due to ignorance. For this reason Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version use “kill.” “Lack of sense” is, as in verse 13, “lack of heart,” which means lack of intelligence or good judgment. This line may be translated, for example, “But fools are killed because of their stupidity” or “But foolish people die before their time due to their stupidity.”

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 .

“Be assured, an evil man will not go unpunished”: “Be assured” renders a Hebrew idiom “hand to hand,” perhaps a phrase resulting from the practice of striking hands together when concluding an agreement. Note Good News Translation “you can be sure.” “Evil man” renders the masculine singular form of the adjective “evil”. New Revised Standard Version “the wicked” avoids the exclusive sense of “man”. Note Good News Translation “evil people.” “Not . . . unpunished” renders a legal term denoting acquittal or being set free from guilt, presumably by the Lord as judge. The double negative must often be translated by a positive, for example, “will be punished.” We may also express this as a single negative, for example, “will not escape punishment.”

“But those who are righteous will be delivered”: “Righteous” refers to the upright, those who are good. “Delivered” renders the passive form of the Hebrew verb meaning to set free or enable to escape. In languages in which the agent of the action must be expressed we may say, for example, “But the Lord will deliver those who are upright” or “But the Lord will enable good people to escape unhurt.” Since this verse makes a clear contrast between the fate of the evil person and the righteous person, the sense of “delivered” may be expressed as the opposite of “not go unpunished”. A translation that follows this approach says, “Everybody should know that evil people will receive punishment, but straight people will not receive this punishment.”

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 .

“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord“: “Lying lips” means persons who lie or liars, and is the same as used in 10.18. “Abomination”, first used in the speech of Wisdom in 3.32, means something hated or disgusting. This line is well rendered by Good News Translation, or we may say, for example, “Liars are disgusting to the Lord.”

“But those who act faithfully are his delight”: “Those . . . faithfully” renders a noun phrase that refers to people who are steadfast, who can be trusted in what they do or say. “His delight” translates the same expression used in 11.1 and means that the Lord takes pleasure in or approves of such persons: “he is really happy with those who keep their word.” Contemporary English Version says “he [the Lord] is the friend of all who can be trusted.”

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 .

“Wisdom builds her house” is literally “The wisest of women has built her house.” “Wisest” in Hebrew is plural but “has built” is singular. Revised Standard Version has attempted to resolve this plural-singular conflict by making a change in the Hebrew for “wisest” which gives “Wisdom” and drops “women.” In this way the line says the same as in 9.1a. Also, it allows “Wisdom” to contrast with the abstract noun “folly” in line 2. New Revised Standard Version departs somewhat from Revised Standard Version by changing “women” to “woman” and says “The wise woman builds her house.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, which rates the text as “A,” comments that the Hebrew text is “probably not original, but the earliest attested text” and supports the New Revised Standard Version adjustment with “each of the wise women builds her house,” or recommends as an alternative “all the wise women build their houses.”

Some scholars argue that women did not build houses in Old Testament times and, therefore, “builds her house” should be understood in a figurative sense, that is, “founds her family” or “establishes her home.” It is in this sense that Good News Translation says “Homes are made by the wisdom of women,” where “to make a home” in English means to establish, build up, or create a family unit. New English Bible says “The wisest women build up their homes.” Bible en français courant has “The wisdom of a woman guarantees the stability of a home [foyer],” and Contemporary English Version “A woman’s family is held together by her wisdom.” Translators may follow either the figurative or the nonfigurative sense of “builds her house”.

“But folly with her own hands tears it down”: The translation of this line will depend on the way “wise woman” and “builds her house” are treated in the first line. “Folly” renders a feminine singular noun first used in 5.23; see there for comments. “With her own hands” serves to personify “folly” or “stupidity.” Most modern versions contrast “folly”, either as singular or plural, with “wise woman”; for example, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy “the foolish woman” and Revised English Bible “the foolish” (“women” being understood). It is also possible to understand that “folly” applies to the same woman as in line 1; for example, Contemporary English Version “but it can be destroyed by her foolishness.” If you have translated “builds her house” as a literal house construction, it may be best to keep “with her own hands”. On the other hand, if what is destroyed is the family unit, “with her own hands” may be less suitable, and “tears it down” may need to be rendered by an expression such as “ruins” or “spoils.” One example of a translation that takes this approach is: “but the foolish woman spoils her home by her stupid behavior.”

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 .

This saying expresses the idea that intelligent people, in contrast to the foolish, possess wisdom.

“Wisdom abides in the mind of a man of understanding”: “Abides in the mind” is literally “rests [settles down] in the heart.” New English Bible/Revised English Bible say “Wisdom is at home in . . . mind,” and New Jerusalem Bible has “Wisdom resides in . . . heart.” “A man of understanding” may be expressed as “an intelligent person,” “thoughtful people,” or “people with good sense” (see 1.5).

“But it is not known in the heart of fools”: In this line the Hebrew text has no word equivalent to “not”. See Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation footnotes. “Heart” translates a word that refers generally to the inner parts of the body, but is used here as the seat of thought and emotion. In some languages this is the stomach, spleen, liver, or kidneys. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project suggests two interpretations based upon the Hebrew text: “and even among fools is she [wisdom] known” or “but in the mind of fools she [wisdom] makes herself known.” Most modern translations, like Good News Translation, follow the Septuagint. In this case we may say, for example, “but fools know nothing about wisdom.”

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 .

“The light of the eyes rejoices the heart”: “The light of the eyes” most likely refers to the radiant glow on the face of a happy person; but it could also refer to the person who hears good news in the second line. In any event it is assumed that the light is observed in another’s eyes. Accordingly, Good News Translation has “Smiling faces make you happy,” and Contemporary English Version “A friendly smile makes you happy.” “Rejoices the heart” means “makes the heart of the observer rejoice.”

“And good news refreshes the bones”: “Good news” refers to “a good report.” “Refreshes”, according to the Revised Standard Version footnote, is literally “makes fat,” and in reference to “the bones” this is a figurative expression for “well-being.” We may translate, for example, “and getting good news makes you feel good.”

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 .

“A man of violence entices his neighbor”: For “violence” see 3.31. For “entices” see 1.10, and for “neighbor” see 3.28. The thought here is not that the person of violence lures the neighbor into a place where he can rob or attack him, but rather that he lures him into a life of crime.

“And leads him in a way that is not good”: “Leads” is used figuratively of taking, directing, bringing a person to an unfortunate end. “A way that is not good” is interpreted in various ways. Some take it to mean death, while others understand it to refer to ruin. See Good News Translation. We may translate this saying, for example, “An evil person lures his neighbor into trouble and leads him to an unfortunate end.”

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 .

“Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise”: “Even” is used here in Hebrew to accent or emphasize the following noun. Some modern translations do not represent it. However, see Contemporary English Version and Bible en français courant below. “Keeps silent” means “does not talk” or “keeps his mouth shut.” “Is considered wise” means that people will think of him as wise, or have the impression that he is wise.

“When he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent”: This line is parallel to the first line. “Closes his lips” means that he refrains from talking, or remains silent, as in the first line. “Is deemed intelligent” is the matching term for “is considered wise” and has the same sense. Contemporary English Version translates this line “Even fools seem smart when they are quiet.” Bible en français courant renders this whole saying: “When he keeps silent even a fool seems sensible. When his lips are shut, one could think him intelligent.”

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 .