Translation commentary on Proverbs 19:13

Verses 13-14 speak about wives.

“A foolish son is ruin to his father”: This line is similar to 10.1b and 17.21a. See those lines for comments. “Son” is a masculine singular noun in Hebrew, but it may, as in many other sayings, include daughters. Note Good News Translation “children.” “Ruin” translates a different word than those with this meaning elsewhere in Proverbs; but the sense is the same as in, for example, 10.14 and 13.3. New English Bible/Revised English Bible say “calamity.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “causes his father to suffer.”

“And a wife’s quarreling” “is a continual dripping of rain”: “Quarreling” is used also in 18.19. “A wife’s quarreling” refers to the contention, strife, or trouble stirred up endlessly by a woman. The point of comparison is the annoying quality of the “quarreling” and the “dripping”. The saying does not make clear if she quarrels with her family or with neighbors. Her troublesome behavior is compared to the “dripping of rain”. This may refer to a bothersome leak in a roof. In some languages it will be necessary to express this thought as a simile; for example, “and a wife who quarrels with others is like the endless dripping of water” or “and a troublemaker for a wife is like the constant patter of rain.”

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 19:13)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 19:13:

  • Kupsabiny: “A foolish son disturbs his father,
    and a quarrelsome woman, is like a house where rain always comes in.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “A foolish child is [his] father’s downfall.
    A quarrelsome wife
    is like constantly dripping water.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A foolish child can-bring destruction to his father. A wife who always argues with her husband is annoying/irritating like a leaking roof.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The foolish child, he shames his father. The quarrelsome spouse who is a female, she can-be-illustrated by water that repeatedly-drips.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Foolish children can cause disasters to happen to their parents.
    A wife who constantly nags/quarrels with her husband is as annoying as water that continually drips.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 19:13

19:13

This proverb describes the destructive effect of two important family relationships on a father and husband. The underlined parallel parts identify the family relationships. The parts in bold print describe their destructive effect.

13a
A foolish son is his father’s ruin,

13b and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.

19:13a

A foolish son is his father’s ruin: This proverb focuses on the effect of a son’s foolish behavior on his father. However, it does not imply that his mother was not affected. It also does not imply that foolish daughters did not ruin their parents. In some languages, it may be more appropriate to use gender-neutral terms such as child/children and parents. For example:

Stupid children can bring their parents to ruin. (Good News Translation)
-or-
A foolish child is a calamity to a father (New Living Translation (2004))

A foolish son: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as foolish refers to a person who does what is stupid and wrong because he is mentally lazy. See also 17:21 and 17:25, which have a similar theme.

is his father’s ruin: This phrase indicates here that the foolish son causes his father to experience severe troubles, disaster or calamity.

Some other ways to translate 19:13a are:

A foolish son ruins his father (God’s Word)
-or-
When a son does foolish things, his father will experience disaster.

19:13b

and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping: In Hebrew, this is a metaphor. The Berean Standard Bible has changed the metaphor to a simile by supplying the word like. In either of these figures of speech, a quarrelsome wife is compared to a constant dripping from a leaking roof. Some ways that they are similar are:

(a) Both cause damage to a home.

(b) Both are very irritating.

Some ways to translate the Hebrew metaphor are:

• Keep the metaphor. For example:

a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain (English Standard Version)

• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:

a quarrelsome wife is like the constant dripping of a leaky roof (New International Version (2011))
-or-
A nagging wife is like water going drip-drip-drip. (Good News Translation)

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

a quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping (New Living Translation (2004))

a quarrelsome wife: In Hebrew, this phrase refers to a woman who constantly quarrels with her husband. She also causes serious disagreements with people in the community. Because of her behavior, she is definitely annoying. She also ruins the relationship with her husband and makes her home difficult to live in.

a constant dripping: This phrase refers specifically to “the constant dripping of a leaky roof” (New International Version (2011)). A constant leak damages a house. It does not only make an irritating noise.

In some areas, the sound of dripping rain is not irritating. People are happy to hear it. If that is true in your area, it may be better to emphasize the damage caused by a leak in the roof. For example:

a persistent leak (New American Bible)
-or-
a serious leak in the roof ⌊that ruins the house⌋

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