confidence / calm

In Gbaya, the notion of confidence or calm (or the opposite when negated) is emphasized with mgbítíŋ, an ideophone used to express the fact of being calm, secure, confident.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

See also secure / safe.

Translation commentary on Proverbs 14:30

“A tranquil mind gives life to the flesh”: “A tranquil mind” translates an expression that may mean “a healthy mind” (literally “heart”) or “a relaxed mind.” Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation understand it in the latter sense. “Flesh” in this line and “bones” in the next together make up the body or the whole person in Old Testament thinking. The verb “gives” in “gives life to the flesh” is supplied by Revised Standard Version. The thought is that a mind that is at peace results in a healthy body or, as Contemporary English Version says, “It’s healthy to be content.” New Jerusalem Bible has “The life of the body is a tranquil heart.”

“But passion makes the bones rot”: “Passion” translates the word used in 6.34 to refer to “jealousy” of the revengeful husband. Here the word may refer to “anger,” “jealousy,” “zeal,” or “ardor.” In any case this state of mind contrasts with the quiet peace of mind in line 1. It is a mind, heart, or “innermost” that is in turmoil and distress. Its effect on the body is to “make the bones rot”. In 12.4 this expression suggests a disease that weakens the body and leads to death. Some modern translations, like Good News Translation, say “like a cancer.”

In some languages it is not possible to speak of qualities like “A tranquil mind” and “passion” apart from the person who expresses them. Where this is the case, we must say something like the following: “If someone’s inside is at peace, then his body will be well. But if someone is jealous and angry all the time towards others, this behavior will be like a bad sickness that attacks his bones.”

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 14:30)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 14:30:

  • Kupsabiny: “If a person has peace, (he) is happy/rejoices,
    but the one with a black stomach (envious), suffers.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “If one’s heart is satisfied,
    one will have good health,
    if one gets envious, his bones will rot.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A peaceful mind can-make-healthy body, but envy is like a disease that nibbles/rots the bones.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The body is healthy if/when the mind is content, but envy, it is like a sickness of the bones that uses-up strength.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Having a mind that is peaceful results in having a healthy body;
    having a mind that is often in turmoil is like cancer in a person’s bones.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 14:30

14:30

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

30a
A tranquil heart is life to the body,

30b but envy rots the bones.

14:30a

A tranquil heart: In Hebrew, the heart represents mainly the mind and intellect, though here the emotions may be more prominent. See the note on 10:20b.

The phrase translated here as A tranquil heart refers to a calm, contented state of mind. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

A heart at peace (New International Version)
-or-
A calm disposition (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
-or-
A relaxed attitude (New Living Translation (1996))

is life to the body: This phrase refers primarily to improving a person’s physical health. So you may specify body if it is natural in your language. For example:

Peace of mind makes the body healthy (Good News Translation)

But this word also includes a person’s emotional/mental health, so a general expression is also very acceptable. For example:

A calm and contented attitude will improve a person’s health

14:30b

but envy rots the bones: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as envy can mean either “envy/jealousy” or “passionate zeal.” There are two interpretations:

(1) The meaning here is “envy/jealousy.” It refers to a strong desire to have what belongs to someone else. For example:

but jealousy is like bone cancer (God’s Word)

(2) The meaning here is “passionate zeal.” With this sense, it usually refers to a strong desire to do what is right or to defend a cause. That meaning does not fit this context, so versions that follow this interpretation use the more general term “passion.” For example:

but passion makes the bones rot (New Revised Standard Version)

(NASB95, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, New Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions. This is the most common sense of the word and forms a good parallel with 14:30a. Also, the word “passion” often has a sexual connotation. This connotation is quite different from the positive connotation of “passionate zeal.”

rots the bones: For this expression, see the note on the almost identical expression in 12:4b, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as “decay in his bones.” The bones were regarded as the source of the body’s health and strength. So this expression compares envy to a disease which slowly but steadily takes away a person’s health and strength. A modern equivalent of this condition might be cancer.

General Comment on 14:30a–b

In these parallel lines, the words “body” and “bones” function together to describe a person’s overall health. In some languages, it may be more natural and effective to make this explicit. For example:

30a If a person stays calm, it will improve his health.

30b If he is full of envious feelings, his health will steadily be destroyed, just as cancer destroys the bones.

© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.