understanding ("head wisdom")

In the Tzeltal translation for the dialectal variant of Highland Tzeltal (Biblia Tzeltal yu’un Oxchuc soc Tenejapa, 2001) the translation team used three different words to translate the Hebrew term that is translated as “wisdom” in English. One of them is p’ijil jol or “word wisdom” which is also used for “understanding,” good sense,” “intelligent,” or “insight.”

For the complete story and more background, please see wisdom (Proverbs).

complete verse (Proverbs 15:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 15:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “A person with understanding searches for wisdom
    but the foolish one focuses on foolish words/matters/deeds.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “A wise person is eager for knowledge,
    but fools love folly.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A man who has understanding really wants to learn, but a foolish man wants more foolishness.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The wise, he wants/likes to learn, but the mindless, he thinks-about what is of no use/purpose.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Those who have good sense want to learn more;
    foolish people are very satisfied with being foolish/ignorant.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Proverbs 15:14

“The mind of him who has understanding seeks knowledge”: This line is very similar to 18.15. “Mind” translates the Hebrew “heart” as the center of thought. “Of him who has understanding” translates a verb form meaning “to be intelligent,” “to have discernment or insight” (see 1.5). “Seeks knowledge” is equivalent to “wants to learn,” “desires to be instructed,” “pursues learning.”

“But the mouths of fools feed on folly”: The written Hebrew text has “face” where Revised Standard Version has “mouths”; but the text to be read has “mouth,” as do also the ancient versions. “Mouths . . . feed” is understood by many interpreters as a rhetorical expression parallel to “mind . . . seeks” in the previous line. “Feed” renders a word used to describe cows and goats eating grass in a field, and so fools nourish or fill themselves with foolishness. Note that Good News Translation avoids both “mouth” and “face” by saying “stupid people are satisfied with. . ..” Contemporary English Version reflects “mouth . . . feed” with “fools are hungry for foolishness.”

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 15:14

15:14

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

14a
A discerning heart seeks knowledge,

14b but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

In this verse, “heart” and “mouth” are figures of speech in which a part of the body represents the entire person. The proverb contrasts the desire of a sensible person to gain more knowledge with the desire of a fool to fill himself with foolishness.

15:14a

A discerning heart seeks knowledge: This line means that a discerning person wants to increase his knowledge. He searches for ways to learn more. Another way to translate this is:

Anyone with good sense is eager to learn more(Contemporary English Version)

It is possible to translate this with an expression for seeks that has to do with hunger. This fits well with the parallel expression “feeds on” in 15:14b. For example:

A wise person is hungry for truth (New Living Translation (1996))

discerning: This word refers to someone who is perceptive, intelligent, or sensible. This word last occurred in 14:33a.

15:14b

but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as feeds on is used elsewhere of animals eating grass in a field. The author may have chosen this word to create a mental picture of a fool who “grazes” like a sheep on foolishness. Here it means that a fool wants to fill his mind with foolishness. Some versions express this meaning directly. For example:

but fools just want more foolishness (New Century Version)

In some languages, it may be possible to use figurative language (as in the New Living Translation (1996) example in 15:14a). For example:

while the fool feeds on trash (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
but fools are hungry for foolishness (Contemporary English Version)

Another way this has been translated is:

stupid people are satisfied with ignorance (Good News Translation)

However, in such a translation, the word “satisfied” may imply “no longer hungry.”

For the words fool and folly, see fool 2 and folly in the Glossary.

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