Translation commentary on Proverbs 18:9

Like many other sayings in Proverbs, this one attacks laziness.

“He who is slack in his work”: This saying begins in Hebrew with a word meaning “also” or “even,” which probably emphasizes the serious nature of the idea expressed. Most translations do not represent it. “Slack in . . . work” means to be lazy at work. See 10.4 where Revised Standard Version translates another word as “slack hand” with the same sense as here. The word translated “work” may mean occupation, business, or labor, and more generally anything that a person does.

“Is a brother to him who destroys”: “Is a brother” means that the lazy person and the destroyer are of the same nature, the same kind of people. “Him who destroys” is literally “master of destruction.” Bible en français courant translates the whole saying “The person who neglects his task and the one who spoils are of the same family.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “The lazy and the destroyers end up as brothers.”

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 18:9)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 18:9:

  • Kupsabiny: “A idle/lazy person is like one who destroys things.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “A lazy person is like a destroyer.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A lazy man is just as bad as a man who wants to destroy.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The badness of a lazy-person, it has no differentiation from one-who-habitually-ruins his fellows.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “People who are lazy while they work
    are just as bad as those who destroy things.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 18:9

18:9

In this proverb, the first line is the topic of a metaphor. The second line is the image.

9a Whoever is slothful in his work

9b is brother to him who destroys.

18:9a–b

Whoever is slothful in his work is brother to him who destroys: This metaphor compares a lazy person to a person who destroys things. It does this by calling them “brothers” in a figurative sense. Two brothers are related to each other. Similarly, a lazy person and a destructive person resemble each other in certain ways. Some ways that they are similar are:

(a) Both are harmful to society.

(b) Both ruin their own livelihood by their behavior.

In some languages, a literal translation of this metaphor may be difficult to understand. It may or may not be possible to use a kinship term such as brother. Some other ways to translate the metaphor are:

• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:

A person who doesn’t work hard is just like someone who destroys things. (New Century Version)

• Change the metaphor to a simile and make one or more of the similarities explicit. For example:

A lazy person is as bad as someone who is destructive. (Good News Translation)

18:9a

Whoever is slothful in his work: This phrase refers to a person who is lazy or careless or neglectful of his work. The word work is a general term that can refer to manual labor or to running a business. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

The lazy worker (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Whoever is idle at work (New Jerusalem Bible)

18:9b

him who destroys: This phrase refers to someone who is habitually destructive. Several English versions translate it with the word “vandal.” This word refers primarily to someone who destroys property. It is recommended that you use a general term that can refer to destruction of various kinds. For example:

someone who destroys things (New Century Version)

General Comment on 18:9a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder some of the phrases in this comparison. For example:

A person who fails to do his work and a person who destroys things are like siblings.

See also 18:9a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.

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