understanding ("head wisdom")

In the Tzeltal translation for the dialectal variant of Highland Tzeltal (Biblia Tzeltal yu’un Oxchuc soc Tenejapa, 2001) the translation team used three different words to translate the Hebrew term that is translated as “wisdom” in English. One of them is p’ijil jol or “word wisdom” which is also used for “understanding,” good sense,” “intelligent,” or “insight.”

For the complete story and more background, please see wisdom (Proverbs).

complete verse (Proverbs 12:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 12:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “A wise person is praised,
    but the one with crooked/warped thoughts is mocked/despised.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “People are honored
    in accordance with their wisdom,
    but those who have crooked hearts
    are despised.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A wise man is-honored, but a man whose thinking is crooked is-despised.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “A person is praised because of his wisdom, but the mindless one, he is mocked/belittled.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “People will praise those who have good sense,
    but people will despise those who are always thinking about doing evil things/whose thinking is twisted.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Proverbs 12:8

The theme of this saying is that intelligence earns the respect of others.

“A man is commended according to his good sense”: “A man” renders the Hebrew form but is not intended to represent exclusively an adult male. New Revised Standard Version has “One is commended. . ..” We may also say, for example, “A person is. . ..” “Commended” is literally “praised,” that is, “spoken well of.” “Good sense” renders the same word as used in 3.4 and translated “repute” in Revised Standard Version. See comments there. “Good sense” means “intelligence” here. In some languages “intelligence” is expressed as “having a bright spirit,” “a powerful head,” or “a glowing eye.” Note how Good News Translation uses the “if you. . .” form. We may translate, for example, “People speak well of an intelligent person” or “If a person is intelligent, people will praise his name.”

“But one of perverse mind is despised”: The expression “perverse mind” is used in Revised Standard Version in 11.20, where the word rendered “perverse” is a different Hebrew word. However, the sense is the same and the form is literally “twisted heart.” See 3.32 and 11.20. The person with a “perverse mind” contrasts with the intelligent person in line 1. This is expressed in some languages as “a person whose head is full of cranky [stupid] thoughts.” However, some take the form found here to refer to a person whose thoughts are unnatural rather than stupid. For example, New English Bible/Revised English Bible say “warped mind” and New Jewish Publication Society Version “twisted mind.” “Despised” contrasts with “commended” in line 1 and means to look down upon or to regard with scorn or contempt (see 1.7). In some languages it is necessary to avoid the passive construction and say, for example, “But people look down on a person with a perverted mind” or “But people consider someone as worthless if he is stupid.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 12:8

12:8

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

8a
A man is praised according to his wisdom,

8b but a twisted mind is despised.

12:8a

A man is praised according to his wisdom: The Hebrew word śekel, which the Berean Standard Bible translates here as wisdom, refers to the good sense, practical insight, or wise conduct that results from carefully evaluating a situation. A person who has śekel can understand the different aspects of a problem and think of a helpful solution.

according to: A person is praised according to, in proportion to, or based on the amount of, the intelligence that he has. Another way to translate this line is:

A person will be praised based on his insight (God’s Word)

The relationship “in proportion to” is difficult to express in many languages. If that is true in your language, you may want to translate this line in a more general way, as many English versions have done. For example:

One is commended for good sense (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
If you are sensible/prudent, people will say good things about you
-or-
Good sense is worthy of praise (Contemporary English Version)

12:8b

but a twisted mind is despised: There is a textual issue here for the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a twisted mind :

(1) The Masoretic Text (MT) has “crooked/twisted of heart.” This refers to a person who is not able to think clearly or make good decisions. For example:

but whoever has a twisted mind will be despised (God’s Word)

(2) The LXX has “sluggish in heart,” so some scholars think that the original text was an expression that means “thick-headed.” For example:

if you are stupid, people will look down on you (Good News Translation)

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

is despised: For despised, see the note on 11:12a, where the Berean Standard Bible translates the same verb as “shows contempt.”

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