complete verse (Proverbs 21:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 21:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “If a person keeps his work in a good way he prospers,
    and/but when he rushes himself (without thinking), he cannot get anything.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Work which carries out well considered plans
    yields abundance.
    Work done in haste makes one a pauper.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “If you (sing.) plan carefully/[lit. good] and be-diligent, surely you (sing.) will-prosper. If you (sing.) act-rashly, surely you (sing.) will-become-poor.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The one-who-hurries will-be-in-need (lit. lack), but the one who is industrious and who thinks properly about what he does will-have-more-than-enough.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “People who plan carefully will surely have plenty of what they need;
    those who act too quickly to become rich will become poor.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Proverbs 21:5

The two lines of this verse are parallel and make a contrast between two approaches to work. The saying recommends thoughtful and constant enterprise against the “get rich quick” attitude.

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance”: “The diligent” person, as in 10.4, is someone who is industrious or in common language “hardworking” (New Jerusalem Bible). The “plans” of such a person must refer to thinking ahead or having long-term goals for his or her enterprise. Contemporary English Version renders the whole expression “If you plan and work hard. . ..” “Lead surely to abundance” is literally “surely to abundance” without any verb. The Hebrew term rendered “surely” in this line and “only” in the next line is a device that emphasizes what follows, that is, it points to the inevitable consequence or outcome of the action in the first part of the line. “Abundance” may be translated as “have plenty” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “profit” (Revised English Bible).

“But everyone who is hasty comes only to want”: “Everyone who is hasty” is literally “all hastening ones.” These first terms of the line are not a complete parallel to the matching terms in the first line. The whole expression “all hastening ones,” however, is clearly in contrast with the person who plans and works hard. Some versions translate this simply as “people who do things in too much of a hurry”; for instance, “rash haste” (Revised English Bible), “too much haste” (New Jerusalem Bible), and “if you act too quickly” (Good News Translation). However, the Hebrew term “hastening” may suggest pushing or pressing to get something or to reach some goal; as Toy says, “Hastes can here be understood to mean only ‘hastes to be rich,’ as in 13.11; 28.20. . ..” This fits the context well here, in the contrast between someone who gains by planning and hard work, and the person whose desire is to “get rich quick.” “Comes only to want” is literally “surely to poverty,” which is parallel in form to “surely to abundance” in the first line. The sense is expressed by Good News Translation “never have enough” and Contemporary English Version “end up poor.”

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 21:5

21:5

This proverb contrasts two different strategies to make a living or develop a business. These different strategies lead to different results. Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

5a
The plans of the diligent bring plenty,

5b as surely as haste leads to poverty.

When a person plans carefully and works hard, the result is financial gain. When a person acts hastily, the result is poverty.

21:5a–b

bring plenty, as surely as haste leads to poverty: In Hebrew, there are no verbs in these two lines. The two lines are more literally “surely/only to profit and/but…surely/only to poverty.” The word “surely/only” in each line emphasizes that a particular result will definitely happen.

The Berean Standard Bible has emphasized this result with the phrase as surely as. The New Revised Standard Version uses an emphatic word such as “surely” or “only” in each line. It has:

lead surely to abundance…comes only to want

Some versions clearly indicate the result but do not emphasize it explicitly. For example, see the New Living Translation (2004) and the Contemporary English Version, quoted below. Emphasize the contrasting results in a way that is natural in your language.

21:5a

The plans of the diligent bring plenty: This line refers to the plans of a hard-working person and their good results. Some other ways to translate this line are:

• Refer to the actions involved. For example:

Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity (New Living Translation (2004))

• Refer to the people who act in these ways. For example:

If you plan and work hard, you will have plenty (Contemporary English Version)

21:5b

haste leads to poverty: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as haste is literally “all who hurry.” It refers to people who act impulsively or rashly, without thinking or planning. It is implied that such people are in a hurry to get rich. As in 21:5a, some other ways to translate this line are:

but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
if you act too quickly, you will never have enough (Good News Translation)

© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.