Translation commentary on Proverbs 15:22

This verse is a variant of 11.14.

“Without counsel plans go wrong”: The term “counsel” refers to “advice,” “recommendations,” “suggestions.” “Plans”, as in 6.18, refers to “devices” or “schemes,” but taken here in a good sense. “Go wrong” means “fail” or “fail to succeed.”

“But with many advisers they succeed”: “Many” translates the same word as rendered “multitude” in 14.28. “Advisers”, which is parallel with “counsel” in the first line, is from the same verb as used in 13.10, where “take advice” is used. The reference to “they” in this line is to “plans” made for the community by the members of the community. “Succeed” means to have a satisfactory outcome. In some languages this idea is expressed as “to end off well,” “to finish in a good way,” or “to have a happy end.”

In many languages terms like “counsel” and “plans” must be expressed as what people do or say. One rendering of the verse which does this is: “If you want to do some work, you must first get the ideas of other people, then your work will go ahead well. If you don’t do this, you will work hard for nothing.”

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 15:22)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 15:22:

  • Kupsabiny: “If a person does things alone (he) will not go far,
    but when/if (he) gets advice about those things, they will come to pass.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Take all the advice you can get.
    Only then will you be prepared for work.
    Without taking advice,
    you will not be prepared for work.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “If you (sing.) will- not -ask for guidance about your (sing.) plans, you (sing.) will- not -be-successful, but if you (sing.) will-ask for many advices/counsels, your (sing.) plans will-be-successful.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “There-is-no fulfillment of plans if there-is-no proper advice, but they are fulfilled if there-are-many who give-advice.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “If there is no one to give us good advice, we will not accomplish what we are planning to do;
    but when we have many good advisors, we will succeed.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 15:22

15:22

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

22a
Plans fail for lack of counsel,

22b but with many advisers they succeed.

The parallel parts form a chiasm. The parts in 15:22a occur in the opposite order from the parallel parts in 15:22b. If a chiasm is not natural in your language, you may need to reorder the parts in one of the lines. For example, 15:22a could be reordered as follows:

22a
If counsel is lacking, plans fail

15:22a–b

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed: This proverb gives a general principle. It does not identify the person who makes the plans. In some languages, it will be necessary to make explicit who the planners are. Some ways to do this are:

⌊A person’s⌋ plans
-or-
⌊Our
(incl.)⌋ plans
-or-
⌊Your
(plur)⌋ plans

It is implied that the counsel/advice mentioned here is good advice. Some versions make this explicit in the first line. For example:

Plans fail without good advice, but they succeed with the advice of many others. (New Century Version)

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