Translation commentary on Proverbs 17:20

“A man of crooked mind does not prosper”: “Crooked mind” is literally “crooked heart,” the same Hebrew expression used in 11.20 and translated by Revised Standard Version as “perverse mind.” See the comments there. “Does not prosper” is literally “does not find good” and is used in 16.20 without the use of “not.” See there for its sense.

“And one with a perverse tongue falls into calamity”: “A perverse tongue”, as in 10.31, refers to a liar, someone who does not speak the truth. “Calamity” refers to “trouble,” “misfortune,” or “distress.” To “fall into calamity” means to be ruined or to meet with disaster. For a model translation see Good News Translation. A rendering that displays more of the parallelism is: “A person whose heart is rotten will never succeed. A person who lies will surely find disaster.”

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 17:20)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 17:20:

  • Kupsabiny: “A person whose thoughts have gone astray (in a bad way) is in a bad position
    and a lying person falls into suffering/trouble.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “People who have evil thoughts
    and who lie will never prosper.
    They will be destroyed.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A man whose thinking is crooked will- never -succeed, and a liar man can-obtain destruction.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “There-is-no benefit that is gained by a person who thinks and speaks evil. Only/All hardship is what will arrive to him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Those who have perverse minds/are always thinking about doing evil things will not prosper,
    and disasters will happen to those who always tell lies.” (Source: Translation for Translators)