“For jealousy makes a man furious”: “Jealousy” refers to the feeling of resentment and suspicion of a rival, and in this case a rival for the affection of the jealous husband’s wife. “Man” translates a word that emphasizes maleness. It is used, for example, in Job 38.3 where the Lord challenges Job “Gird up your loins like a man.” In this context “a man” means any man or men in general; therefore some translations say, “Men always get very angry if someone else sleeps with their wife.” “Furious” renders a word that means heat or emotional rage. It describes a person who acts violently as in a fit of anger.

“He will not spare when he takes revenge”: “Will not spare” is better translated by New Revised Standard Version as “he shows no restraint.” We may say, for example, “He does not hold anything back” or “He lets himself go completely.” “Takes revenge” means to punish someone in return for injury or insult, that is, to retaliate or pay back. Contemporary English Version translates verse 34 “because a jealous husband can be furious and merciless when he takes revenge.” We may also say, for example, “The husband of the woman who commits adultery is jealous and becomes heated with anger; and when he takes revenge, he shows no mercy.” If the first line has been translated as referring to men in general, this line can also be in the plural: “Jealous husbands get very angry and pay back with great strength the one who did wrong to them. They have no mercy.”

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 .