Translation commentary on Proverbs 12:27

Here again the meaning of the Hebrew is said to be uncertain and the saying, as it stands, lacks any clear parallelism.

“A slothful man will not catch his prey”: The first uncertainty is the word translated “catch” by Revised Standard Version, because this word is found nowhere else in the Old Testament. The Revised Standard Version rendering is supported by the Septuagint. In Aramaic the word rendered “catch” means “to roast,” and the sense of line 1 seems to be “the lazy person is too lazy to feed himself.” However, the second line does not contrast with that. New Revised Standard Version follows the idea of roasting: “The lazy do not roast their game,” a rendering used by medieval Jewish commentators. Bible en français courant has “A lazy hunter has no game to roast.” Good News Translation avoids the hunting image: “If you are lazy, you will never get what you are after.” Contemporary English Version also departs from the hunting image but retains the thought of cooking: “Anyone too lazy to cook will starve.” Some follow a related word in Arabic that means to set something in motion and in this context to stir up game. New English Bible/Revised English Bible say “The lazy hunter puts up no game.”

“But the diligent man will get precious wealth”: This line is unclear mainly because of the order of the Hebrew words, which are literally “and man’s riches precious the diligent.” Interpreters understand these words to mean many different things. Translators are encouraged to follow either Good News Translation or Contemporary English Version “but a hard worker is a valuable treasure.” Another good possibility is offered by Scott, “but the keen [diligent] one gets plenty of it,” where “it” refers back to the game or food of the first line.

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 12:27)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 12:27:

  • Kupsabiny: “A lazy hunter does not follow and kill an animal,
    but a person who struggles gets wealth.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The lazy ones will not obtain
    what their hearts long for.
    But those who work hard
    will have great wealth.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A lazy man can- never -obtain what he desires-for, but a diligent man becomes-rich.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The lazy-one gets-hungry because he does not roast what he hunted, but the industrious-one, valuable wealth is what he gains/obtains.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Lazy people do not even cook the meat of the animals that they catch/kill,
    but those who work hard will acquire (OR, are like) a valuable treasure.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 12:27

12:27

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

27a
A lazy man does not roast his game,

27b but a diligent man prizes his possession.

The main contrast in this proverb is between a person who is too lazy to complete a project successfully ⌊and so must suffer the consequences⌋ and a person who gains valuable possessions as a result of his diligence.

12:27a

A lazy man does not roast his game: The word game describes a wild animal that people hunt for food. So this line refers to a person who is too lazy to cook what he has hunted. This may be expressed as:

Lazy people don’t even cook the game they catch (New Living Translation (2004))

This is a specific and slightly humorous example of extreme laziness. Some versions drop this specific example and instead give a general principle. For example:

If you are lazy, you will never get what you are after (Good News Translation)

Most other versions keep the example. You are encouraged to use it if possible, because the picture of a hunter who is too lazy to cook his own food gets a reader’s attention much better than a general statement.

In some languages, readers may not understand the intended meaning of this clause. If that is true in your language, it may be necessary to make explicit the consequence of the person’s laziness. For example:

Anyone too lazy to cook will starve (Contemporary English Version)

12:27b

but a diligent man prizes his possession: The three main interpretations of this line are:

(1) A diligent person will obtain precious/valuable wealth. For example:

but the diligent man will get precious wealth (English Standard Version)

(2) A diligent person prizes/values his wealth. For example:

but personal possessions are precious to the diligent (NET Bible)

(3) Diligence is a person’s precious possession. For example:

diligence is anyone’s most precious possession (New Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions. Some other ways to translate this line are:

but a hard worker will have great wealth (New Century Version)
-or-
but a hard-working person becomes wealthy (God’s Word)

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