Ixcatlán Mazatec: “with your best/biggest thinking” (source: Robert Bascom)
Noongar: dwangka-boola, lit. “ear much” (source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018 — see also remember)
Kwere “to know how to live well” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Dobel: “their ear holes are long-lasting” (in Acts 6:3) (source: Jock Hughes)
Gbaya: iŋa-mgbara-mɔ or “knowing-about-things” (note that in comparison to that, “knowledge” is translated as iŋa-mɔ or “knowing things”) (source: Philip Noss in The Bible Translator 2001, p. 114ff. )
Chichewa: nzeru, meaning both “knowledge” and “wisdom” (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Kako: “heart thinking” (source: Reyburn 2002, p. 190)
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a hand gesture referring to God to indicate a human quality to communicate that wisdom does not originate from man but is linked to and connected with the fear of God (source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group):
“By insolence the heedless make strife”: This line is literally “Only by pride comes strife” or “Pride causes only strife.” Compare 11.2 and 12.15. “Insolence”, like pride or arrogance, refers to having an excessively high opinion of oneself, that is, being conceited. “The heedless” is not in the Hebrew text. Revised Standard Version and other translations have changed the vowels of the word translated “only” to get a word meaning an inconsiderate, thoughtless person, that is, one who is “heedless”. Toy and W.O.E. Oesterley omit the word rendered “only” and the following preposition; Oesterley’s translation is “Insolence makes strife.” Good News Translation keeps the full form of the Hebrew and gets approximately the same translation. “Strife” refers to conflict, discord, or lack of harmony. Contemporary English Version says “Too much pride causes trouble.” Bible en français courant has “Pride only serves to start quarrels.”
“But with those who take advice is wisdom”: This line is about the same as 11.2b, and some make it identical to that line by changing the word rendered “those who take advice” to one meaning “humble.” However, this change is not required on either textual or translational grounds. “Those who take advice” means people who are willing to listen to advice; they are contrasted with the arrogant or “insolent” people in line 1. “Is wisdom” means that people who seek advice show wisdom or are wise. This line may be rendered, for example, “but it is wise to ask for advice.” We may also translate this line by focusing on “wisdom”, as New Jerusalem Bible “wisdom lies with those who take advice.” We may also say, for example, “Wisdom is shown by those who listen to advice” or “If a person is willing to listen to what other people say, that person is wise.”
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 .
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 13:10:
Kupsabiny: “Pride brings only quarrels/strife, but he who loves to be counselled, gets wisdom.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Arrogance asks for quarrels. But those who take advice are wise.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Too much pride, there are people who do- not -listen to advice/counsel, and this starts-up trouble. If they want to become-wise they should listen to advice/counsel.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “The one who is proud (lit. continually-makes-high his thoughts), he causes-there-to-be quarrels/fights, but one who listens to advice is intelligent/wise.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
English: “People who are arrogant/proud always cause strife; those who are wise ask other people for good advice.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:
10a Arroganceleads only to strife,
10b but wisdomis with the well-advised.
The inexact contrast implies that a proud person does not take advice, and a wise person does not cause quarrels.
Some English versions follow the order of the Hebrew, as the Berean Standard Bible does. Other versions reorder the parallel parts in the form of a chiasm. For example:
10a Prideleads only to arguments,
10b but those who take adviceare wise. (New Century Version)
You may use whatever order is more natural in your language.
13:10a
Arrogance leads only to strife: There is a textual issue here with the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as only :
(1) The Masoretic Text has raq “only.” For example:
Arrogance produces only quarreling (God’s Word)
(2) Some scholars think that the original text was req “empty-headed, heedless.” For example:
By insolence the heedless make strife (New Revised Standard Version)
It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most versions.
Arrogance: This word refers to people who are proud, arrogant, or insolent. Such people do not want to accept the advice of others, so they respond by arguing and causing a quarrel.
leads only to strife: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as leads…to means to cause, produce, bring about, or result in something.
The English versions that follow the Masoretic Text all understand the word only to modify strife. One way to express this meaning is:
Arrogance causes nothing but trouble (Good News Translation)
In some languages, a translation such as “Arrogance produces only quarreling” (God’s Word), quoted above, would wrongly imply that quarreling was the only result of arrogance. (See 11:2, 16:18, and 29:23 for other results of pride.) If that is true in your language, some other ways to translate this clause are:
Arrogance inevitably leads to quarrelling
-or-
Whenever a person displays his pride and arrogance, arguments will always be the result.
13:10b
but wisdom is with the well-advised: This line means that wisdom is a characteristic of people who are humble enough to listen to advice. Some versions express this line as a command. For example:
Be sensible and take advice. (Contemporary English Version)
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