Translation commentary on Proverbs 11:7

Both lines of this verse say much the same thing. Because of this Contemporary English Version has translated the two lines as one: “When the wicked die, their hopes die with them.”

“When the wicked dies, his hope perishes”: The terms rendered “hope” and “expectation” (in the next line) are the same terms used in 10.28. However, Revised Standard Version has translated each Hebrew term once as “hope” and once as “expectation.” The two terms are very close in meaning. “Hope” is the expectation of happiness. “Perishes” means to die, come to an end, be destroyed.

“And the expectation of the godless comes to nought”: “Godless”, which means evil people, is the Revised Standard Version’s understanding of a Hebrew word that has been given numerous interpretations. Without changing the vowels or consonants of the Hebrew word, interpreters have suggested such meanings as “strength” or “sorrow,” and several modern versions prefer “riches.” “Comes to nought” repeats the same verb rendered “perishes” in the first line. This line may be translated as in Revised Standard Version or by following one of the modern versions; for example, Revised English Bible “and any expectation of affluence ends” or New Jerusalem Bible “hope placed in riches comes to nothing.”

Bible en français courant renders the whole verse “The death of the wicked destroys all his hopes, particularly those he put in riches.”

This is a good model, as is the option of following Contemporary English Version in combining the two lines into one.

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 .

complete verse (Proverbs 11:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 11:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “If/when a wicked/immoral person dies, everything he depended on perishes,
    everything he leaned his head on disappears.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “When the wicked person dies
    none of his hopes will be fulfilled.
    The desires
    which he had when he was strong
    will also come to nothing.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When the wicked ones die, their hope will vanish; what they desire-for will-become useless/[lit. have-no value].” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The expectation of those who are doing evil to become-rich, it has no use, because it will-join-in-being-lost at their (lit. his) death.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “When wicked people die, they cannot confidently expect to receive anything that is good;
    they expect that their money will help/save them, but it will not.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 11:7

11:7

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

7a When a wicked man dies, his hope perishes ;

7b
and the hope of his strength vanishes.

Verse 11:7b explains in more detail the meaning of “his hope perishes” in 11:7a.

11:7a–b

his hope perishes, and the hope: The Hebrew text uses two nouns that have almost the same meaning. The Berean Standard Bible translates each of them as hope. These nouns refer to what a wicked person hopes/expects to gain or achieve. The same terms occur in 10:28, but in the opposite order. Some ways to translate these parallel terms are:

• Use nouns for both terms. For example:

hope…expectation (New Revised Standard Version)

• Use verbs for both terms. For example:

what he hoped for…what he expected

• Use a noun for one term and a verb for the other term. For example:

his hope…all he expected (New International Version)

perishes…vanishes: Both these expressions come from the same verb in Hebrew. The same verb is also used in 10:28b. In this context, it means that the expectations or longings of a wicked person will not be fulfilled.

11:7b

the hope of his strength: There is a textual issue here:

(1) The Masoretic Text has “the expectation of strength/power.” For example:

what is expected from strength comes to nought (New American Bible)

(2) The LXX has “the boasting of the impious.” For example:

the expectation of the godless comes to nothing (New Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most versions and scholars.

There are different ways to interpret the Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as strength. The main interpretations are:

(1) What he expected was based on his strength/power. For example:

his confidence in strength vanishes (God’s Word)

(2) What he expected was based on his wealth/riches. With this interpretation, strength is understood to be a figure of speech (metonymy) that represents “wealth.” For example:

hope placed in riches comes to nothing (New Jerusalem Bible)

You may follow either of these interpretations. It is recommended that you put the other interpretation in a footnote. The Display follows interpretation (1).

General Comment on 11:7a–b

In languages that do not use parallelism, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the two lines. For example:

When the wicked die, their hopes die with them, for they rely on their own feeble strength. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
The expectation of wicked people that is based on their strength/wealth is useless, because it will cease to exist at their death.
-or-
When a wicked person dies, all his hopes come to an end, especially those that are based on his own strength/riches.

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