18:21

This verse is closely related to 18:20. The first line describes the power of a person’s words to accomplish great good or evil. The second line reminds people who love to talk that they will have to face the consequences.

21a Life and death are in the power of the tongue,

21b and those who love it will eat its fruit.

The verse as a whole is an implied warning that people who talk a lot should be careful what they say.

18:21a

Life and death are in the power of the tongue: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “Death and life are in the hand of the tongue.” The word “hand” is used figuratively here to mean power. It refers to the power or authority of a person’s words to bring about certain consequences. If your language has a different figure of speech with the same meaning, consider using it here.

Life and death: In Hebrew, this word pair occurs in the opposite order (“death and life”). The Berean Standard Bible has changed it to Life and death, because this order is more common in English.

This word pair is used here as a figure of speech. In this figure of speech, the two extremes “life and death” include other good and bad consequences between these two extremes. What a person says can significantly help or harm another person. It can even result in someone’s life being preserved or lost.

the tongue: The word tongue here has the same meaning as the words “mouth” and “lips” in 18:20. It is a figure of speech that refers to the words that a person speaks.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

Words can bring death or life! (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
What you say can mean life or death. (New Century Version)

18:21b

and those who love it: The phrase those who love it refers here to those who love to use their tongues. In other words, they very much enjoy talking.

will eat its fruit: The phrase will eat its fruit is used here as a figure of speech. It means that those who enjoy talking will experience the consequences of their words, whether good or bad.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

those who love its use will eat its fruit (NET Bible)
-or-
those who love to talk will reap the consequences (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
You will have to live with the consequences of everything you say. (Good News Translation)

© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

19:29

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

29a
Judgments are prepared for mockers,

29b and beatings for the backs of fools.

There is an ellipsis in 19:29b. In some languages, the missing verb will need to be supplied from 19:29a. For example:

29b and beatings ⌊are prepared⌋ for the backs of fools.

Because of the parallelism and the close connection with 19:28, the “mockers” mentioned here probably include the “corrupt witnesses” who “mock at justice” in 19:28a. Such people are all moral fools. So “beatings” are probably the specific “judgment” for both “mockers” in 19:29a and “fools” in 19:29b. See the earlier note on 19:28–29 for more details.

19:29a

Judgments are prepared: In Hebrew, this phrase refers to punishments or acts of judgment that the LORD has established or decided upon. These judgments are usually carried out by individuals or by enemy nations, plagues, or wild beasts.

This is a passive phrase. If it is necessary to make explicit the one who prepares the penalties, you may specify the LORD.

for mockers: The verse here does not specify what the mockers make fun of. It could be justice, the LORD, wisdom, or other people. If possible, translate this word in a way that refers generally to anyone who mocks.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

Condemnation is ready for scoffers (English Standard Version)
-or-
Punishment is made for mockers (New Living Translation (2004))

19:29b

and beatings for the backs of fools: In some languages, it may be more natural to leave the word backs implied. For example:

and fools will certainly receive a beating

For fools see fool 2 in the Glossary.

General Comment on 19:29a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts. For example:

There are punishments, such as a beating, that have been established for mockers and fools.

© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

22:4

This proverb gives three rewards or good results of being humble and fearing the LORD.

4a The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORD

4b are wealth and honor and life.

The New International Version expresses the idea of reward or result by using the word “bring” in 22:4b. In Hebrew, the same relationship is expressed by the word “consequence.” This word is the first word in 22:4a (see the next note). Another way to express this relationship is:

Obey the Lord, be humble, and you will get riches, honor, and a long life. (Good News Translation)

22:4a

The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORD: In Hebrew, this part of the verse is literally “⌊the⌋ consequence of humility the fear of Yahweh.” There is no word and. This has resulted in two main interpretations:

(1) The word and should be supplied. The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORD speaks of two character qualities that result in three benefits : wealth, honor, and life. For example:

The reward for humility and fearing the Lord is riches and honor and life. (NET Bible)

(2) The word “is” should be supplied. humility is a character quality that results in four benefits : the fear of the LORD, wealth, honor, and life. For example:

The reward of humility is the fear of Yahweh, and riches, honour and life. (New Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). See 15:33, where the fear of the LORD and humility are also described as character qualities that result in a benefit. Elsewhere in Proverbs, the fear of the LORD is a quality that results in life. It does not fit in the category of blessings such as riches, honor, and life.

For fear of the LORD, see the note on 10:27a.

22:4b

are wealth and honor and life: In some languages, it may be more natural to translate these three benefits as verbs rather than nouns. For example:

you will become wealthy, people will honor/respect you, and you will live long and well

honor: The word honor was last used in 21:21b. See the note there.

life: As in other verses where life is described as a reward or blessing, the word life implies a good or long life. For example:

a long life (Good News Translation)

© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

23:7

This verse gives a reason for not eating with a stingy person. The reason has to do with his selfish attitude. Even though he encourages his guest to eat heartily, he actually resents the cost of the food that he has served.

This reason is expressed in two parallel lines. The first line describes the actual thoughts of the stingy person. The second line gives the nice-sounding-but-insincere words that he says to his guest.

7a for he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost.

7b “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

23:7a

for: Some versions use a specific word, such as for, to introduce the reason in this verse. Others do not. Introduce this reason in a natural way in your language.

he is keeping track, inwardly counting the cost: There is a textual issue here:

(1) The Masoretic Text has: “for as he calculates (šaʿar) in his self/soul (nepeš), thus he.” This clause means that in his mind, the stingy person calculates or thinks about either the cost of the food or himself. For example:

for he is like one who is inwardly calculating (English Standard Version)

(2) The LXX apparently understood the text to say: “for as a hair (śeʿar) in his throat (nepeš), thus he.” This clause means that the delicacies will stick in the guest’s throat like a hair.” For example:

for like a hair in the throat, so are they (New Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow the Masoretic Text, along with most versions and lexicons.

The Masoretic Text does not make explicit what the stingy man calculates or thinks about. Nor does it indicate what “thus he” refers to. There are three ways to interpret the implied information:

(1) The stingy man is the kind of person who thinks about the cost of the food. For example:

for he is like someone calculating the cost in his mind (NET Bible)

(2) What the stingy man thinks about reveals the kind of person he really is. For example:

What he thinks is what he really is. (Good News Translation)

(3) The stingy man thinks about himself. For example:

For what he is really thinking about is himself (New Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions. This interpretation better fits the meaning of the verb “calculate/reckon.” It also fits his insincere invitation (in the next line) to eat and drink.

Some other ways to express this meaning are:

He is like one keeping accounts (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
-or-
Selfish people are always worrying about how much the food costs. (New Century Version)

23:7b

“Eat and drink,” he says to you: The words of this quote are intended to show hospitality and generosity. They indicate that the guest should eat and drink all that he wants. Other ways to express this meaning in English are:

They say, “Take all you want!” (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
“Come on and have some more,” he says (Good News Translation)

In some languages, it may be more natural to use an indirect quote. For example:

He will bid you eat and drink (Revised English Bible)
-or-
He tells you to eat and drink a lot

but his heart is not with you: This clause contrasts the man’s actual feelings with his hospitable words in the preceding clause. The Berean Standard Bible translates the Hebrew text here quite literally. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

but he doesn’t really mean it (God’s Word)
-or-
but he is not sincere

General Comment on 23:7a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder these two lines. For example:

“Eat and drink,” they say, but they don’t mean it.

They are always thinking about how much it costs. (New Living Translation (1996))

With this reordering, the insincere words of stingy people precede the two clauses that describe what they actually think.

© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

24:4a–b

The two lines of this verse form a single clause, so they will be combined in the Display.

Some other ways to translate 24:4a–b are:

by knowledge its storerooms are filled with riches of every kind, rare and desirable (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Where there is knowledge, the rooms are furnished with valuable, beautiful things. (Good News Translation)

knowledge: In Proverbs, this word refers to the good or useful things that a person knows or has learned.

its rooms are filled: The word rooms may include storerooms as well as rooms where the family lives. The wise builder knows how to obtain many things to put in these rooms.

with every precious and beautiful treasure: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “precious and pleasant wealth.” It refers to things that are valuable and expensive. They are also beautiful and desirable.

General Comment on 24:3a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel lines that are about building the house. For example:

Use wisdom and understanding to establish your home (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
When people have wisdom and good sense, they build sturdy houses.

General Comment on 24:3–4

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the three parallel clauses in these two verses. For example:

By means of his wisdom, competence, and knowledge, a person builds a ⌊sturdy⌋ house with ⌊many⌋ rooms and buys valuable and beautiful things to put in it.

© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

1:21

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

21a
in the main concourse she cries aloud,

21b
at the city gates she makes her speech :

1:21a–b

in the main concourse…at the city gates: The phrase in the main concourse refers to the place where the streets converged, at the entrance of the city gates. So these two phrases refer to the same area as the “public squares.”

If your readers will not understand city gates as a place where people gathered, you may want to add a footnote. Here is one possible wording for a footnote:

Inside the gates/entrance of the city was a wide place where people gathered to talk and to do business.

General Comment on 1:20–21

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in both verses. For example:

Wisdom ⌊goes⌋ outside to the wide-areas/plaza near the gates of the city, where people gather ⌊to conduct business⌋ . She raises her voice to speak to them.

© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.