complete verse (Proverbs 20:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 20:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “A person scrutinizes a matter before settling (it),
    and investigates/seeks omens before going for a raid.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Get good advice and then you will succeed,
    Don’t go to battle without getting advice.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “[You (sing.)] ask for advice in your (sing.) planning or before you (sing.) go to war.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “A plan is-accomplished if there is proper/correct advice, so if you (sing.) join-in-battle, first rely-on the advice of the wise.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “When people give you good advice, if you do what they suggest, your plans will succeed;
    so be sure to get good advice from wise people before you start fighting a war.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Proverbs 20:18

The theme of this saying is that it is wise to take advice when making plans or considering an undertaking as serious as going to war. The verse consists of two parallel lines that express similar thoughts; the individual terms of the two lines match each other, although their order is different in the Hebrew. For similar thoughts to those here, see 11.14 and 15.22.

“Plans are established by counsel”: “Plans”, as in 15.22, means the ideas or thoughts that someone proposes to act on. For “counsel” see 1.25. As the Hebrew stands the line is a statement, an observation of what holds true in life, namely that “counsel” or advice is necessary if a person is to be successful in what he or she “Plans” to do. There is a suggestion that the verb “established” should be taken as an imperative, “Make your plans by seeking advice” (New International Version); and in any case the intention of the statement is to advise readers what they should do if they are wise, so an imperative is quite appropriate in translation. Contemporary English Version expresses the sense well: “Be sure you have sound advice before making plans.” :Another way to render the line is to use a conditional clause: “If you want to succeed in what you do, get good advice first.”

“By wise guidance wage war”: The term translated “wise guidance”, which is parallel to “counsel” in the first line, is derived from the action of steering or directing a ship, and has the sense of (wise) advice about the way to go in an undertaking. In “wage war” the verb is the imperative of the common verb “do” or “make.” As in the first line the sense here is that getting wise advice is necessary if a leader is to be successful in war. However, we may note that there is a movement from the more general term “Plans” in the first line to a particular instance of planning in the second line, namely the dangerous undertaking of making “war”. There may therefore be a progression of thought in the whole saying: “While it is necessary to get sound advice when making all kinds of plans, it is most necessary in the case of going to war.” Some interpreters believe that “wage war” is to be understood as a metaphor for succeeding in the struggle of life, in which case the two lines both refer to life in general.

Most English versions maintain the structure of two parallel lines. Contemporary English Version avoids the repetition, however, by saying “Be sure you have sound advice before making plans or starting a war.”

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 20:18

20:18

This parable applies to anyone who makes a plan. But the parallelism indicates that it is directed particularly to kings or others who are responsible for planning a war.

In this proverb, the parallel parts are similar in meaning. The first line gives a general principle: Good advice is needed for plans to be successful. The second line applies this principle to the specific example of waging war.

18a
Plans are established by seeking advice ;

18b if you wage war, obtain guidance. (New International Version (2011))

The New International Version (2011) has been used as the source line for 20:18a, because it follows the recommended interpretation.

In Hebrew, the parallel parts occur in the opposite order in 20:18b. For example:

by wise guidance wage war (English Standard Version)

Use whatever order expresses the meaning more effectively in your language.

20:18a–b

(New International Version (2011)) advice…guidance: These parallel terms are close synonyms. Both refer here to wise advice or counsel that helps a person to make an effective plan or strategy. In this context, both terms probably refer to advice from a group of trusted advisers. For more information on the first word, see advice in the Glossary. See how you translated the second word at 1:5b and 11:14a.

20:18a

(New International Version (2011)) Plans are established by seeking advice: There are two ways to interpret this clause:

(1) This clause is a statement, as in the Hebrew. It describes plans that are made by getting advice. It says that these plans will be successful. For example:

Plans laid in council will succeed (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

(2) This clause is a command. It tells a person to make plans by getting advice. It does not indicate whether these plans will be successful. For example:

Prepare plans by consultation (New American Standard Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most scholars. The Hebrew verb that the New International Version (2011) translates as are established rarely means simply “make.” In the context of plans, it implies that the plans will be achieved or fulfilled. In 16:3b, the Berean Standard Bible translated an almost identical phrase as “your plans will succeed.” Some other ways to translate 20:18a are:

Plans made after advice succeed (New American Bible)
-or-
Plans succeed through good counsel (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
If there is good advice, plans will be fulfilled.

20:18b

(New International Version (2011)) so if you wage war, obtain guidance: In Hebrew, this clause is more literally “and/so by guidance wage war.” This specific command is a conclusion based on the principle that successful plans require good advice. In some languages, it may be more natural to introduce this conclusion with a word like so (as in the New International Version (2011)) or “therefore.” For example:

so with wise guidance wage your war (New American Bible)
-or-
so make war with guidance (NET Bible)

Another way to translate this clause is to use a negative command. For example:

don’t go to war without wise advice (New Living Translation (2004))

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