Translation commentary on Proverbs 19:20

“Listen to advice and accept instruction”: For “Listen to advice” see 12.15. “Instruction” is as in 1.2. “Listen” and “accept” mean “heed” or “pay attention.” Note Good News Translation.

“That you may gain wisdom for the future”: This line is the desirable consequence of obeying the command(s) in line 1. It is uncertain if the expression rendered “the future” means at some indefinite time still ahead or at the end of life. New English Bible says “and you will die a wise man.” However, Revised English Bible has revised this to say “and in the end you will be wise.” This may be taken to refer to the final stage of acquiring wisdom. Good News Translation is an adequate model 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 19:20)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 19:20:

  • Kupsabiny: “Listen to the words you are being told and accept the teachings,
    if you do like that, you will become wise.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The one who listens to advice
    and acts accordingly will later be wise.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Listen to advices for you (sing.) and accept the straightening of your (sing.) behavior so-that in the end you (sing.) will-become wise.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Listen-to and obey advice so-that you (sing.) will-become-wise/intelligent at its end.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Pay attention when people give you good advice and learn from them,
    in order that you will become wise for the rest of your life.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 19:20

19:20

The second line of this proverb gives the purpose or intended result of obeying the similar commands in the first line.

20a Listen to counsel and accept discipline,

20b that you may be wise the rest of your days.

19:20a

Listen to counsel: The word counsel refers here to someone’s recommendation or plan about what a person should do or how he should act.

and accept discipline: The command to accept discipline is similar. The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as discipline was also translated as “Discipline” in 19:18a. In that verse the focus was primarily on punishment. Here the word refers more generally to moral instruction or verbal correction.

Another way to translate these commands is:

Pay attention to advice and accept correction (Contemporary English Version)

In some languages, it may be more natural to use an “if” clause rather than a command. For example:

If you listen to advice and are willing to learn (Good News Translation)

19:20b

that: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as that indicates here the purpose or intended result of obeying the commands in 19:20a. In English, a phrase such as “in order that” or “so that” is often used to introduce this relationship. See the examples in the next note.

you may be wise the rest of your days: This phrase is literally “in your end.” It probably refers to a later period of time in the person’s life.

Some other ways to translate 19:20b are:

in order that you may be wise in the end (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
-or-
that you may eventually become wise (New American Bible)
-or-
and in the end you will be wise (New International Version)

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