Translation commentary on Proverbs 13:2

“From the fruit of his mouth a good man eats good”: This line is similar to 12.14a. “From the fruit of his mouth a good man” is a figurative way of saying, for example, “what a good person says” or “the words that come from a good person’s speech.” “Good” in “good man” is not in the Hebrew text, but Revised Standard Version has interpreted “man” to refer here to a man who is good, in contrast to the “treacherous” in line 2. New Revised Standard Version retains the sense with “good persons.” See also Good News Translation “good people.” “Eats good” is again figurative and means to enjoy something or be rewarded. We may translate, for example, “A good person rejoices in the good things he says.” Bible en français courant keeps the fruit figure by translating “A good person reaps a harvest from what he says.”

“But the desire of the treacherous is for violence”: “Desire” translates the Hebrew for “soul,” which is often used in the sense of “appetite,” “what a person craves to eat.” “Treacherous” refers to someone who betrays trust or is dangerously deceitful (see 2.22). “Violence” is the use of unjust force or abusive power. For “violence” see also 4.17. In this line “desire” is the equivalent for the verb “eat” in line 1. Some translations express the sense of “desire” in a way that parallels the sense of “eat”; for example, “feeds on violence” (New Jerusalem Bible) and “are hungry for violence” (Good News Translation). The “treacherous” person contrasts with the “good man”, and “violence” contrasts somewhat with the “fruit of his mouth” (good speech) in line 1. Line 2 may be rendered, for example, “but deceitful people want to act violently against others” or “but traitors look for opportunities to be cruel to others.”

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 13:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 13:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “The life of a person who says good words is good,
    but a deceitful person has a habit of being violet.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “A good mouth gives good fruit.
    But the pale-hearted [those with bad character]
    are always asking just wanting to fight.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A man who speaks good [thing] will-be-paid-back with good things, but the unfaithful man will-be-paid-back with violence.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Good people will be rewarded on-account of their words, but the betrayers, they desire to cause-hardship-to their companions.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Good people are rewarded for the good things that they say,
    but those who desire to deceive others are very eager to act violently.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 13:2

13:2

The first line contrasts with the second line, but the contrast is not exact.

2a From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things,

2b but the unfaithful have a craving for violence.

The overall contrast is that a person receives benefit from the good things that he says to others. But treacherous people desire to do violent things to others.

13:2a

From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things: This clause is almost the same as 12:14a, where the Berean Standard Bible uses the expression “fruitful speech.” (See the notes there.) The main difference is that 12:14a has “is filled with” instead of enjoys. Both lines imply that a ⌊good⌋ person benefits from the good things that he says to others.

When you translate this line, you may or may not need to make explicit the implied information that the person is ⌊good⌋ . Translate in a way that is natural and makes the meaning clear in your language.

enjoys: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as enjoys is literally “eats.” This word should be understood figuratively to mean enjoys or “experiences.”

13:2b

but the desire of the faithless is violence: The meaning of this line is that treacherous people strongly desire to act violently against others.

desire: This word refers to a strong appetite or craving for something.

faithless: This word describes someone who acts treacherously or breaks an agreement (see the note on 2:22a–b, where the Berean Standard Bible translates it as “unfaithful”).

violence: This word refers to the actions of a person who is brutal and cruel. He uses physical force to hurt someone else. See the note on “violent” in 3:31a.

General Comment on 13:2a–b

These parallel lines both use words that can refer literally to eating food or to a desire for it. This creates an obvious word play in Hebrew, which may be lost in versions that translate only the figurative meaning. Some English versions have tried to use words related to eating in one or both lines. For example:

2b but those who are deceitful are hungry for violence (Good News Translation)
-or-
2a The fruit of the mouth provides a good meal, 2b but the soul of the treacherous feeds on violence (New Jerusalem Bible)

In some languages, it may be possible to use expressions like this that will more clearly show the parallel relationship between the two lines. But if literal expressions give the wrong meaning, you will probably need to translate the figurative meaning. For example:

2a People will be rewarded for what they say, 2b but those who can’t be trusted want only violence. (New Century Version)
-or-
2a You will be well rewarded for saying something kind, 2b but all some people think about is how to be cruel and mean. (Contemporary English Version)

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