steadfast love

The Hebrew that is translated as “steadfast love,” “lovingkindness” (Goldingay 2018: “commitment”) or similar in English is translated in a number of ways:

  • Vidunda: “love of enduring” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Bura-Pabir: “love which cannot be-changed” (hyirkur na a palidzi wa)
  • Hausa Common Language Bible “his love without changing” (kaunarsa marar canjawa) (source for this and above: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Elhomwe: “love that does not finish” (echikondi yoohisintheya) (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Nyamwezi: chelu, combining “love,” “faithfulness,” “loyalty,” and “kindness” (source: James Lundeen)
  • Newari: dayāmāyā (दयामाया), a compound word made from two Sanskrit-derived terms: dayā (दया) or “compassion, mercy, kindness” and māyā (माया) or “love, affection” (source: Newari Back Translation)

In Pijin tinghevi long or “think heavy about” is used. “The Pijin expression ‘think heavy about’ is very much within the domain of committed relationships. The relationship between father and child, husband and wife, God and His people. There is a very strong element of ‘loyalty’ in this expression.” (Source: Bob Carter)

In Latvian the term žēlastība is used both for “steadfast love” and grace.

In a number of languages, the terms for for “steadfast love” and mercy are used interchangeably.

mercy

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin terms that are typically translated as “mercy” (or “compassion” or “kindness”) in English are translated in various ways. Bratcher / Nida classify them in (1) those based on the quality of heart, or other psychological center, (2) those which introduce the concept of weeping or extreme sorrow, (3) those which involve willingness to look upon and recognize the condition of others, or (4) those which involve a variety of intense feelings.

While the English mercy originates from the Latin merces, originally “price paid,” Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, Corsican, Catalan, Friulian) and other Germanic languages (German, Swedish, Danish — Barmherzigkeit, barmhärtighet and barmhjertighed, respectively) tend to follow the Latin misericordia, lit. “misery-heart.”

Here are some other (back-) translations:

See also steadfast love and Seat of the Mind / Seat of Emotions.

complete verse (Proverbs 19:22)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 19:22:

  • Kupsabiny: “A friendly/trustworthy person is loved,
    and it is better to be poor than to be a liar.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “It is a shameful matter to be a greedy person.
    It is better to be a poor person than a liar.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “What we (incl.) want from a person is faithfulness. A poor man is still better than a liar.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The loyalty of a person is what is valuable. A poor-person is better than the liar.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “People want others to be loyal to them;
    it is better to be poor than to tell a lie to a judge in court in order to get money.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Proverbs 19:22

“What is desired in a man is loyalty”: This line says “The desire of a man is his chesed,” which can mean “kindness,” “love,” or “loyalty.” “Desire of a man” is ambiguous since it can mean what the man desires in himself or others, or what others desire in a man. Contemporary English Version attempts to avoid the ambiguity by translating “What matters most is loyalty.” The Good News Translation footnote translation “Loyalty is what is desired in a person” agrees with Revised Standard Version.

Some interpreters take chesed to be a different word than the one most often rendered as “loyalty.” This word occurs in 14.34, where Revised Standard Version translates it “reproach,” but it can also be rendered “disgrace” or “humiliation.” If “desire” is taken as “greed” (see the Good News Translation text), then this line may be translated, for example, “A person’s greed is a disgrace” or “Greedy people are a disgrace.”

“And a poor man is better than a liar”: Whybray observes that the word rendered “liar” here is also used in 6.19; 14.5, 25; 19.5, 9; and in each case it refers to a lying witness. If that is true, then the thought expressed in this line is that it is better to be poor than to gain money or other advantages by lying in court. We may then translate, for example, “Greedy people are a disgrace, and it is better to be poor than to lie to a judge.

Or: “People who are loyal cause others to like them. It is better to be poor than to win a case by lying.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 19:22

19:22

This verse does not have parallel parts.

22a The desire of a man is loving devotion;

22b better to be poor than a liar.

The overall meaning is that people desire faithful love in their relationships with one another. Therefore, it is better to be poor ⌊and maintain a loving relationship⌋ than to tell lies ⌊in order to gain wealth, thereby breaking that relationship⌋ .

19:22a

The desire of a man is loving devotion: In Hebrew, this clause is literally “the desire of a man ⌊is⌋ his ḥesed.” This clause has at least two ambiguities:

(a) The word desire can be understood with a good meaning or with a bad meaning.

(b) Hebrew has two words spelled as ḥesed. The more common word means “unfailing love.” The other means “disgrace.”

These ambiguities have resulted in two main interpretations of this clause:

(1) The word desire has a good meaning. The word ḥesed that is used here means “unfailing love.” For example:

What is desired in a man is steadfast love (English Standard Version)

(2) The word desire has a bad meaning. The word ḥesed that is used here means “disgrace.” For example:

Greed is a disgrace to a man (Revised English Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions and scholars.

If you use footnotes, you may want to put the other interpretation in a footnote. It is very possible that the author used the two words with double meanings intentionally. Both have an implied connection with 19:22b. A suggested footnote is:

Two of the Hebrew words in this verse have more than one meaning. Another way to translate this verse is: “It is disgraceful for a man to be greedy.”

There are two main ways to translate interpretation (1):

• Focus on the love/loyalty that others desire in a person. For example:

What is desired in a man is steadfast love (English Standard Version)
-or-
What is desirable for a person is to show loyal love (NET Bible)
-or-
People want others to be loyal (New Century Version)

• Focus on the unfailing love/loyalty that a person desires in himself or other people. For example:

Everyone desires that his companions show love and loyalty

Both of these options are acceptable. They both emphasize the importance of mutual love and loyalty in relationships.

loving devotion: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as loving devotion has three aspects of meaning: steadfastness/loyalty, love, and kindness. The last occurrence of this word was in 16:6a. See the note on “loving devotion” in 3:3a.

19:22b

better to be poor than a liar: The connection of this statement to 19:22a is based on implied reasoning. It is implied that a person may tell lies in order to get a bribe or gain wealth in some other way. A person who does that violates the faithful, loving relationship that he should have with other members of his community. Maintaining that relationship is more important than escaping poverty. Therefore, it is better to remain poor.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

so it is better to be poor than to be a liar (New Century Version)
-or-
so it is better to be a ⌊faithful⌋ poor person than to be dishonest

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