The Hebrew in Proverbs 14:31 that is translated as “those who oppress the poor” or similar in English is translated in Low German as “those who put their foot on the back of the neck of little (unimportant) people” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1937, republ. 2006).
Translation commentary on Proverbs 14:31
“He who oppresses a poor man insults his Maker”: “He who” is better expressed in many languages as “anyone who,” “whoever,” or “if you.” “Oppresses” refers to the abuse of power or authority of the strong over the weak, or to burdening someone unjustly. “A poor man” in Hebrew is singular but is often expressed as plural in translation. “Insults” renders a form of a verb meaning to “reproach,” “say something bad about,” or “scorn.” “His Maker” is the equivalent of “God his creator,” that is, “the God who made him,” where the pronoun refers back to the poor man, not the person who oppresses.
“But he who is kind to the needy honors him”: “He who” should agree with the subject in the first line. “Is kind” means being caring, helpful, or considerate (see verse 21). “The needy”, which refers to the “poor man” in line 1, is again a singular adjective in Hebrew but must often be rendered in the plural to agree with the rendering of “a poor man” in the first line. “Honors him”, means “honors or respects God.” In some languages this is expressed as “says that God is great.”
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 14:31)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 14:31:
- Kupsabiny: “A person who oppresses the poor, has disobeyed God,
but the one helping those people, respects/obeys God.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation) - Newari: “Whoever oppresses a poor person
belittles God who created him,
whoever honors a poor person,
honors God.” (Source: Newari Back Translation) - Hiligaynon: “The one who oppresses the poor insults God who made/created them, but the one who shows-mercy to the poor honors God.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “The one who hardships poor-people, he mocks/belittles God who created them, but the one who is kind/merciful to them, he honors God.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- English: “Those who oppress poor people are insulting God, the one who made those poor people,
but acting kindly toward them is respecting God.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 14:31
14:31
Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:
31a
Whoever who oppresses the poor taunts their Maker,
31b but whoever is kind to the needy honors Him.
The theme of this proverb is similar to 14:21, 17:5, and 19:17.
14:31a–b
poor…needy: As with the similar pair in 14:20 and 14:21, no contrast is intended here between these two terms. They both refer to the same person or group of people.
their Maker…Him: In Hebrew, these parallel terms are literally “his maker…him.” Some English versions clarify the referent of the pronoun “him.” For example:
whoever is kind to the needy honors God (New International Version)
-or-
if you are kind to helpless people, it shows that you respect God (Easy English Bible)
However, if you decide to clarify the referent of “him,” it is recommended that you use the name of God, “the LORD.” In Hebrew, this name occurs over fifty times in this section (10:1–22:16). The word “God” (ʾelohim in Hebrew) does not occur in this section.
In some languages, a specific term needs to occur before a general term, such as “their maker.” In these languages, it may be necessary to make “the LORD” explicit in the first line. Otherwise, it may imply that “his maker” and “the LORD” are not the same person.
14:31a
Whoever oppresses the poor taunts their Maker: In Hebrew, the word poor is singular, and the phrase their Maker is literally “his maker.” So the phrase “his maker” could refer to the one who made the poor person. It could also refer to the one who made the oppressor. This ambiguity has resulted in different interpretations:
(1) The pronoun refers to the poor. For example:
If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them (Good News Translation)
(2) The pronoun refers to people who oppress the poor. For example:
If you mistreat the poor, you insult your Creator (Contemporary English Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because the poor is the nearest pronoun referent. Also, the advice against oppressing the poor has more weight if it emphasizes the LORD as the creator of the poor.
However, it is true that the LORD created all people, not only the poor. So it is also acceptable if you can translate in a way that allows either meaning. For example:
To oppress the weak insults the Creator (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
He who oppresses a poor man insults his Maker (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker (New Revised Standard Version)
oppresses: This word refers to creating hardship or suffering for people of lower status. A person oppresses others by forcing them to work overly hard or by cheating them by giving them low wages.
the poor: In Hebrew, this word for poor refers to people who lack material things. They belong to one of the lower social classes, so they also lack power and significance. Most versions translate this Hebrew word with the general word “poor.” Some other ways to translate it are:
people who lack possessions/money
-or-
a person who lacks power
-or-
those who have low status
See the note on 10:4a and the footnote there for information on the other words for “poor” in Proverbs.
taunts: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as taunts usually means to mock or belittle someone with words. Here, however, it means to despise, scorn, or treat the LORD as worthless. A person does this by oppressing the poor. Several versions use the verb “insult.” This may be a good choice if it fits with actions as well as words.
14:31b
the needy: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as needy is one of the four Hebrew words that refer to the “poor” in Proverbs. This word emphasizes people who are needy. They may need food, clothing, or protection from people who oppress them. These needy people need to look for work every day. They depend on a daily wage for their survival.
Many English versions translate this word in the same way as the Berean Standard Bible. Some versions use a more general word. For example:
the poor (NET Bible)
See the note on 10:4a and the footnote there for information on the other words for “poor” in Proverbs.
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