Translation commentary on Proverbs 12:2

“A good man obtains favor from the Lord“: “A good man” translates the Hebrew “the good.” Revised Standard Version supplies “man” because the second line has “man”. Others like Good News Translation and New Revised Standard Version use a plural form in both lines. If it is natural in your language, it is best to use a plural inclusive form in both lines. “Obtains favor” is used in 8.35. See there for comments. As in 11.1 where “delight” is used, “favor” refers to what is pleasing or acceptable to the Lord. In this line the Lord accepts or is pleased with good people.

“But a man of evil devices he condemns”: “A man of evil devices” contrasts with the good kind of people in line 1. “Evil devices”, as used in Psa 37.7, refers to evil schemes or plans to harm others. Note Good News Translation “who plan evil.” Bible en français courant says “the one who has evil intentions.” New English Bible/Revised English Bible calls such people “schemers.” “Condemns” may refer to strong disapproval, but in the context of this verse, it probably has a legal sense, that is, “judges someone as guilty.” Contemporary English Version expresses the legal sense as “but he punishes everyone who makes evil plans.” Some translations put “condemns” in direct speech: “the Lord says, ‘He must be punished.'”

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 12:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 12:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “God loves a person who is good,
    but judges the one who is immoral.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The Lord loves a good man,
    those having bad character
    the Lord pronounces guilty.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The LORD is-showing-mercy to the good man, but he punishes the one who schemes/plans bad (thing).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “God loves the righteous/just, but he punishes the one who plans evil.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Yahweh is pleased with good people,
    but he condemns those who plan to harm others.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

humble form of "receive" (itadaku)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way to do this is through the usage of lexical honorific forms, i.e., completely different words, as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

In these verses, itadaku (いただく), a respectful form of morau (もらう) or “receive” is used. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also receive (Japanese honorifics), humble form of “receive” (tamawaru) and humble form of “eat” (itadaku).

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 12:2

12:2

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

2a
The good man obtains favor from the LORD,

2b but the LORD condemns a man who devises evil.

In the Berean Standard Bible, the parallel parts are arranged in the form of a chiasm to follow natural English sentence order. Other versions more closely follow the Hebrew word order for 12:2b. They probably do this to emphasize the contrast between “a good man” and one who “devises evil.” For example:

2b but those who devise evil he condemns (New Revised Standard Version)

You should use whatever word order expresses the contrast most effectively in your language.

12:2a

The good man obtains favor from the LORD: The phrase obtains favor from the LORD is the same in Hebrew as in 8:35b, where the Berean Standard Bible translates it as “obtains the favor of the LORD.” The word translated as favor also means “goodwill.” This favor is not only an attitude in God’s mind. It implies that God treats good people favorably and shows kindness to them. Some other ways to translate this line are:

The Lord is pleased with good people (Good News Translation)
-or-
The Lord approves of those who are good (New Living Translation (2004))

12:2b

but the LORD condemns: The word condemns is a legal term that means to declare that someone is guilty. Since a guilty verdict results in punishment, the idea of punishment is also implied. Some versions focus entirely on this aspect. For example:

but he punishes everyone who makes evil plans (Contemporary English Version)

However, it is recommended that you do not omit the main idea of condemning. One way to include both ideas is:

but he condemns to be punished everyone who makes evil plans

In some languages, it may be more natural to express the idea of “condemn” as a direct quote. For example:

but he says to the wicked schemer, “You are guilty and must be punished.”

a man who devises evil: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a man who devises evil has a bad connotation. It refers to someone who schemes or makes plans to do what is wicked or harmful to others. For example:

everyone who makes evil plans (Contemporary English Version)

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