Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 1:26:
Kupsabiny: “So when you (plur.) are in trouble and suffer, or/and when trouble has come to you like a storm that knocks you down, I shall laugh at you.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “So now when you have trouble I will laugh at you. When you get in trouble, I will applaud.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I will-laugh-at you (plur.) when destruction comes to you (plur.) as-if-like a whirlwind; I will-mock you (plur.) when difficulties comes to you (plur.) and the dreadful happenings as-if-like storm.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Therefore I will laugh-at you when your fearful hardship arrives,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Verses 26 and 27 are closely linked in meaning. Verse 26 has two parallel lines and verse 27 three.
“I also will laugh at your calamity”: “I also” serves to indicate that Wisdom also has her turn to scorn them as they have done to her. New English Bible/Revised English Bible say “I in turn shall laugh. . ..” Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version express “also” as a consequence “So when you get into trouble, I will laugh. . ..” “Calamity” refers to suffering, trouble, or disaster. “Calamity” must often be expressed as a verb phrase, for example, “when you suffer” or “when something awful happens to you.”
“I will mock when panic strikes you”: “Mock” means to “deride,” “ridicule,” or “make fun of.” In some languages “mock” is expressed as a figurative expression, for example, “smack the lips at” or “clap the hands at.” “Panic” renders a word used in Lam 3.47 and refers to terror or fright. “Strikes you” is literally “comes [to you].”
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 .
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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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.
In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
In 1:26 the writer used two similar terms: “calamity” and “terror.” In the Hebrew of the next verse he used the same terms but changed the order (chiasm), but the Berean Standard Bible does not follow the Hebrew order. He also added a simile to each line: “dread comes like a storm” and “destruction like a whirlwind.” In the last line he added two other synonyms: “distress” and “anguish.” By organizing these verses in this way, he created the impression of an intense, certain, and sudden disaster. It may not be natural to use a chiasm in your language. It is also unlikely that your language will have the same range of parallel terms, but you should try to keep the implication of increasing or fearful disasters. Because the New International Version retains the parallelism of the original, it will be used in the Display for these verses.
1:26
Notice that the New International Version retains the parallel parts that are similar in meaning in the Hebrew:
26a I in turn will laugh atyour disaster ; (New International Version)
26b I will mockwhen calamity overtakes you — (New International Version)
1:26a–b
(New International Version) I in turn: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “I also.” It shifts the focus from the foolish behavior of the people in Wisdom’s audience to the reaction that Wisdom will have when they face judgment. Some other ways to express this shift of focus in English are:
I, for my part (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
As for me, I will…
(New International Version) will laugh at…will mock: These verbs are parallel, but mock has a stronger meaning. It means to ridicule or make fun of someone.
(New International Version) your disaster…when calamity overtakes you: The Hebrew word that the New International Version translates as disaster refers to any sudden event that causes great damage or destruction. In Hebrew, the parallel word translated as calamity is literally “terror/panic” or “dread.” For example:
I will mock when panic strikes you (New Revised Standard Version)
The New Jerusalem Bible is similar:
I shall jeer when terror befalls you. (New Jerusalem Bible)
However, the Hebrew phrase that the New International Version translates as calamity is literally “your calamity.” This phrase may mean “the terror that you feel” (as in the New Revised Standard Version above) or “what causes you terror.” You may translate it either way. Together, the two lines refer to a disaster that causes people to be afraid.
(New International Version) overtakes: In Hebrew, this word is literally “comes.” In contexts like this verse, it implies “comes as a consequence.” So another way to translate this verse is:
I will scoff when the dreadful disaster you deserve comes.
General Comment on 1:26a–b
In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts in this verse. See 1:26a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.
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