Translation commentary on Proverbs 17:14

“The beginning of strife is like letting out water”: The meaning of this line is that once a flow of water starts from a source, it is difficult to stop it and the same is true of a quarrel. For “strife” see 15.18. “Letting out water” assumes a supply of water that at first is being released slowly. Contemporary English Version calls it “a water leak,” Good News Translation “the first break in a dam,” and Bible en français courant “opening a dike.” Contemporary English Version expresses the line well: “The start of an argument is like a water leak.”

“So quit before the quarrel breaks out”: This line draws a consequence from the first and is in the form of a warning. “Quit” means to stop or cease. “Quarrel” refers to an argument or dispute. “Breaks out” renders a word meaning to expose or lay bare, snarl or show the teeth. The image is of snarling animals on the verge of combat. Revised English Bible says “abandon a dispute before you come to blows.” Contemporary English Version has “so stop it before real trouble breaks out.” We may also say, for example, “so stop quarreling before you begin to fight.”

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 17:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 17:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “If a person starts/begins a strife/quarrel it is like blazing fire,
    therefore, a person should get rid of things/words of quarrels.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “A dispute is like a burst water pipe,
    so stop it before it spreads.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The beginning of argument is like a leak/hole in a tank of water. Stop that before it becomes big.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The beginning of a quarrel, it is like the beginning of water to come-out through the hole of a dam, therefore it is necessary that it-be-stopped immediately so-that it does not become-worse.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Starting a quarrel is like allowing water to start to leak out of a dam;
    they both need to be stopped before they get worse.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 17:14

17:14

The second line is a warning to avoid the bad consequences of “starting a quarrel” in the first line.

14a To start a quarrel is to release a flood;

14b so abandon the dispute before it breaks out.

17:14a

To start a quarrel is to release a flood: In Hebrew, this line is a metaphor, as in the Berean Standard Bible. The Hebrew is literally “Releasing water—the start of a quarrel.” In this metaphor, To start a quarrel is compared to releasing water. It is implied that:

(a) This water is restrained by a dam or dike.

(b) Someone releases the water by making an opening. The opening will quickly grow larger if the water continues to flow.

Almost all English versions translate this metaphor as a simile. For example:

The beginning of strife is like letting out water (English Standard Version)
-or-
Starting a quarrel is like a leak in a dam (New Century Version)
-or-
The start of an argument is like the first break in a dam (Good News Translation)

17:14b

so abandon the dispute before it breaks out: A leak in a dam will quickly get worse if it is not repaired. Similarly, “a quarrel” (17:14a) will soon lead to something more serious if it is not stopped at once.

abandon: In Hebrew, this word often means “forsake” (see 1:8). Here it probably means to stop or to desist from a quarrel.

dispute: In Hebrew, this word sometimes refers to a legal dispute or court case. Here, it is recommended that you not limit the word to a court context. It probably refers to any situation in which a quarrel intensifies or gets out of control. For example:

so stop it before a fight breaks out (New Century Version)
-or-
so stop before the argument gets out of control (God’s Word)

© 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.