pride

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The Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “pride” in English is translated as

  • “continually boasting” (Amganad Ifugao)
  • “lifting oneself up” (Tzeltal)
  • “answering haughtily” (Yucateco) (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • “unbent neck” (like llamas) (Kaqchikel) (source: Nida 1952, p. 151)
  • “praising oneself, saying: I am better” (Shipibo-Conibo) (source: Nida 1964, p. 237).
  • “bigness of head” (existing idiom: girman kai) in the Hausa Common Language Bible it is idiomatically translated as or (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • “trying to make yourself the leader” in Mairasi (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • “make oneself important” (sick upspeeln) in Low German (source: translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006)
  • “a haughty liver” in Yakan (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • “lift head” in Upper Guinea Crioulo (source: Nicoleti 2012, p. 78)

See also proud / arrogant and haughty / proud / heart exalted / exalt oneself above.

Translation commentary on Proverbs 18:12

“Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty”: This line is similar to 16.18a. See there for comments. “Destruction” renders a word meaning “breaking,” “crushing,” “shattering.” The reference is to any experience that threatens to destroy or ruin people, physically or otherwise. To say that “a man’s heart is haughty”, as in 16.18b, means the person is “proud,” “disdainful,” “arrogant.” This line may be taken as a warning not to be proud so as not to be ruined; see the Contemporary English Version rendering below.

“But humility goes before honor”: This line is identical to 15.33b. See there for comments. “Goes before” is often expressed as “leads to.” For the whole verse Contemporary English Version has “Pride leads to destruction; humility leads to honor.” In some languages this may be adjusted to say, for example, “If you are proud you will be destroyed; if you are humble people will show you respect.”

In some languages it may be better to change the order of the lines so that the positive statement comes before the negative. One translation that takes this approach says, “A person must make his thinking go down, so that people will honor him. A person who boasts and is proud is on the way to destruction.” See Good News Translation.

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 18:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 18:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “A proud person decreases,
    but he who humbles himself, (he) will be exalted/raised up.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The humble will be honored.
    The arrogant are moving
    forward towards destruction.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The boasting of a man can-destroy him, but humility can-give- him -honor.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The one who is proud (lit. makes- himself -high), that is the cause-of-his-being-ruined. A person must humble-himself, then he will be praised.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Proud people are on the road to being ruined,
    but being humble leads to being honored.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 18:12

18:12

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

12a
Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud,

12b but humility comes before honor.

The Berean Standard Bible and some English versions have arranged the parallel parts in the form of a chiasm. The parts in 18:12a occur in the opposite order from the parallel parts in 18:12b.

In Hebrew, there is no chiasm. The second line is more literally:

12b but before honor ⌊is⌋ humility.

The New Living Translation (2004) also has no chiasm, but it arranges the parallel parts differently. It has:

12a
Haughtiness goes before destruction ;

12b
humility precedes honor.

You should use whatever order expresses the meaning of the proverb most effectively.

The overall meaning is that a person’s pride causes him to be destroyed, but his humility causes him to be honored. In both lines, the literal meaning is that the character traits (haughtiness/humility) precede the results (destruction/honor). The implied meaning is that the character traits cause or lead to the results.

Verse 18:12 deals with a different theme from 18:10–11. But it repeats the idea of “high” as well as the opposite idea of “low.” A proud person’s heart is literally “high” (18:12a). The Berean Standard Bible tries to express the contrast in 18:12b by using the word “downfall” instead of “destruction.”

Other languages may also be able to express the ideas of humility and honor with words such as “low” or “high.” For example:

12a A person with a high opinion of himself will be brought down to destruction,

12b but a person who lowers himself will be made high in the thoughts of others.

Consider whether this kind of repetition will be effective in your language.

18:12a

Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud: This clause is similar to 16:18a. The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates there as “destruction” is the same word that it translates here as downfall. In both verses, it refers to a person’s ruin or destruction.

The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as proud is literally “high.” It is not the same Hebrew word as the word translated as “pride” in 16:18a, but it has the same meaning. Both words refer to a person who has a high opinion of himself. For more information on these two words, see the notes on 16:18 and 16:18a–b.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty (English Standard Version)
-or-
Pride leads to destruction (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Proud people will be ruined (New Century Version)

18:12b

but humility comes before honor: This clause indicates that if a person is humble, the LORD or other people will honor him as a result. In Hebrew, this clause is identical to 15:33b (see the note there). However, 18:12b contrasts with the preceding line. Verse 15:33b does not introduce a contrast. Because of this difference in context, it may not be possible to translate the two lines the same way.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

humility leads to honor (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
but the humble will be honored (New Century Version)
-or-
but if a person is humble, others will respect him

General Comment on 18:12a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder the parallel lines so that the good result comes before the bad one. For example:

12b No one is respected unless he is humble;

12a arrogant people are on the way to ruin. (Good News Translation)

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