neighbor

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “neighbor” in English is rendered into Babatana as “different man,” i.e. someone who is not one of your relatives. (Source: David Clark)

In North Alaskan Inupiatun, it is rendered as “a person outside of your building,” in Tzeltal as “your back and side” (implying position of the dwellings), in Indonesian and in Tae’ as “your fellow-man,” in Toraja-Sa’dan it is “your fellow earth-dweller,” in Shona (translation of 1966) as “another person like you,” in Kekchí “younger-brother-older-brother” (a compound which means all one’s neighbors in a community) (sources: Bratcher / Nida and Reiling / Swellengrebel), in Mairasi “your people” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Mezquital Otomi as “fellow being,” in Tzeltal as “companion,” in Isthmus Zapotec as “another,” in Teutila Cuicatec as “all people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), and in most modern German translations as Mitmensch or “fellow human being” (lit. “with + human being”).

In Matt 19:19, Matt 22:39, Mark 12:31, Mark 12:33, Luke 10:27, Luke 10:29 it is translated into Ixcatlán Mazatec with a term that refers to a person who is socially/physically near. Ixcatlán Mazatec also has a another term for “neighbor” that means “fellow humans-outsiders” which was not chosen for these passages. (Source: Robert Bascom)

In Noongar it is translated as moorta-boordak or “people nearby” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

neighbor - relative

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “neighbor” or “relative” in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) and the Buku Lopatulika translation (1922/2018) with just one word: nansi. This word can also be translated as neighbors whom you share a blood relation with because in Chewa context a community is mostly comprised of people of blood relations. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Proverbs 14:20

Proverbs has little favorable to say about the rich; its sympathies lie more with the poor people who are so often disadvantaged.

“The poor is disliked even by his neighbor”: “The poor”, as in 10.15, refers to people who lack the material necessities for an adequate standard of living. “Disliked” is literally “hated,” and the literal form may be more appropriate in this context. The poor may be hated because they beg from their neighbors, who may also have little. “Even” serves to focus or intensify the nature of those who hate the poor. For “neighbor” see 3.28. Good News Translation is a good model translation for this line.

“But the rich has many friends”: This line clearly contrasts with the first. “The rich” refers to those who have more than enough material goods. In some languages such people are called “people with many loads,” “the big metal people,” or “people with food on their faces.” “Friends” is literally “lovers” and refers to “fair-weather friends,” that is, persons who attach themselves to someone in order to profit from the relationship as long as the money lasts. See also 19.4.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 14:20

14:20

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

20a
The poor man is hated even by his neighbor,

20b but many are those who love the rich.

This proverb implies that people in general dislike the poor. Even their own neighbors dislike them. It is also implied that the neighbors of rich people are included among their many friends.

14:20a

The poor man is hated: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hated in this context includes a range of meanings, which English versions bring out in various ways. For example:

The poor are rejected (New Century Version)
-or-
The poor are despised (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
The poor are disliked (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
No one likes the poor (Good News Translation)

even by his neighbor: The word neighbor can refer to anyone with whom a person interacts. (See the note on 11:9a.) However, in this context, the word neighbor is clearly not referring to a poor person’s friends, and the word even emphasizes a limited group of people. So the word probably refers here to a person who lives nearby, not just other people in general.

14:20b

but many are those who love the rich: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “but lovers of the rich ⌊are⌋ many.” The verb “love” provides a contrast to “hated” in 14:20a. It refers here to close friends.

Their friendship may or may not be sincere. This proverb merely describes what normally happens in human society. Rich people normally have many friends. Poor people do not have friends. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

but a rich person is loved by many (God’s Word)
-or-
but you have lots of friends if you are rich (Contemporary English Version)

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