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Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 13:12:
Kupsabiny: “When what a person wants/needs is delayed, he loses heart/hope, but when he receives that thing, he becomes happy.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “When one does not get what one longs for it tends to be like dying. As for obtaining what one longs for, it is like a tree of life.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The desire of a man which have- not -been-fulfilled causes- him -to-become-weak, but his desire which have-been-fulfilled strengthens and gives-joy to his life.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “If hope/expectation is not fulfilled for a long-time, (one’s) thoughts/feelings are injured, but if (one’s) wishes are fulfilled, it is like a tree that gives life.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
English: “When people do not receive the things that they are expecting to receive, it causes them to despair/they become very sad; but if you receive what you are desiring to get, that will be like a tree whose fruit gives you life (OR, that will cause you to be joyful).” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Verses 12-19 form a unit in which verse 12b opens with “a desire fulfilled” and verse 19a closes with the same expression. Verses 13 and 18 assert that destruction results from ignoring instruction. Verses 14-15 are parallel and teach that wisdom saves people from death and destruction. Verses 16-17 are parallel to each other, showing that a person’s character is revealed in his or her conduct.
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick”: For comments on “Hope” see 10.28. “Deferred” translates the passive form of a verb whose basic meaning is to drag or draw, as in a long-drawn-out process. In this line it refers to a “Hope” whose fulfillment is delayed or postponed. Anything “deferred” involves waiting and expectation. “Heart” in this expression represents not just the mental or emotional center but rather the whole person. “Makes the heart sick” is a figurative expression that means “causes a person to despair or be afflicted.” Note Good News Translation “heart is crushed.”
“But a desire fulfilled is a tree of life”: As in 10.24 “desire” refers to something positive that is wanted or looked forward to, and is closely parallel to “Hope” in line 1. “Fulfilled” here means to bring the things desired into effect, or to realize them. For “a tree of life” see discussion of this expression at 3.18. In this line “a tree of life” may be used as in 11.30, or we may say with Bible en français courant “is a fountain of life.” Other possibilities are “gives new life” and “fills you with new life.” Contemporary English Version says “is a life-giving tree.” See also Good News Translation.
In some languages it is not natural to use qualities such as “Hope” and “desire” as the subjects of clauses. The verse may be restructured to say, for example, “If a person thinks about getting something but has to wait a long time for it, he will be very sad. But if he gets that thing, then he will think life is good and feel very happy.”
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 .
Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:
12a Hope deferredmakes the heart sick,
12b but desire fulfilledis a tree of life.
13:12a
Hope deferred makes the heart sick: The word deferred means to be delayed or postponed for a long period of time. When a person hopes or waits expectantly for something to happen, but that hope remains unfulfilled for a long time, the result is sadness, discouragement, or depression. Some ways to translate this line are:
It is sad not to get what you hoped for. (New Century Version)
-or-
If a person’s hope is not fulfilled for a long time, he will become discouraged/depressed.
13:12b
but desire fulfilled is a tree of life: This is a metaphor that compares a person’s fulfilled desire to a life-giving tree. When a person strongly desires something, and that desire is met or comes true, the result will be the same as if he had eaten fruit from a tree that gives life. The similarity is that he will feel invigorated and happy.
If a literal translation of this metaphor is not clear in your language, some other ways to translate it are:
• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
But wishes that come true are like eating fruit from the tree of life. (New Century Version)
• Change the metaphor to a simile and make the similarity explicit. For example:
But if a person’s desires are met, he will be as ⌊happy as⌋ someone who has eaten fruit from a tree that gives life.
• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:
but a wish come true fills you with joy (Good News Translation)
desire: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as desire means essentially the same thing as “hope” in 13:12a. Another way to translate it is:
a longing (New International Version)
tree of life: For the expression tree of life, see the notes on 3:18a and 11:30a. Because of the contrast with sadness/discouragement in 13:12a, the kind of life that is implied here in 13:12b is probably an enthusiastic and happy life rather than a long life.
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