complete verse (Proverbs 21:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 21:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “Crooked is the way of a guilty person,
    but straight is the way of an upright person.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The way of those who do evil is crooked,
    the way of the faultless is straight.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “(It is) not straight the ways of a man who has sin, but (it is) straight the ways of a man who has no sin.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The behavior of sinners is crooked, but the one who has no sin is righteous/just (lit. straight).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Guilty people continually do what is evil; it is as though they are walking on a crooked road;
    but righteous/innocent people always do what is right.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Proverbs 21:8

This verse makes a clear contrast between the behavior of evildoers and those who avoid evil. The two lines are parallel in form.

“The way of the guilty is crooked”: As elsewhere in Proverbs, “The way” refers to a person’s style of life and conduct. The meaning of the Hebrew term rendered “the guilty” is disputed since it occurs only here in the Old Testament and the text is regarded as doubtful. As it stands the term is understood from an Arabic root to mean “bearing a burden” and hence “guilty.” The term in the next line that contrasts with it means “pure” or “righteous.” Some translations (New International Version and Good News Translation for instance) have “guilty” in this line and render the contrasting term in the next line as “the innocent.” Some others use a more general term here like “the criminal” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible has “felon,” Contemporary English Version “crooks”). “Is crooked” continues the picture of the path (“. . . walk a crooked path” Good News Translation). English and some other languages use “crooked” as an idiom for behavior that is not right or fair; where this is not the case, however, translators should render the sense of people being underhanded or deceptive in their dealings. A number of English versions use the word “devious” here (New International Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible).

“But the conduct of the pure is straight”: Revised Standard Version “pure” gives the literal meaning of the Hebrew term. Others take this to mean “innocent,” that is, free from evil or guilt. The term “straight” as applied to “conduct” means “upright” (New International Version) or “what is right” (Good News 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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 21:8

21:8

This proverb contrasts the devious conduct of guilty people with the upright conduct of innocent people.

8a
The way of a guilty man is crooked,

8b but the conduct of the innocent is upright.

21:8a–b

The way…the conduct: These parallel terms both refer to conduct, behavior, or way of life. No contrast is intended between them in this context.

a guilty man…the innocent: These two terms identify two types of people who have contrasting character.

is crooked…is upright: These two terms describe the contrasting behavior or conduct of people who are “guilty” and “innocent,” respectively. The first term refers to a way of life that is “devious” (New International Version) or “dishonest” (New Century Version). The second term describes behavior that is “straight” (New Jerusalem Bible), “honest” (New Century Version) or “right” (New American Bible).

Some ways to translate the contrasts in this verse are:

• Use the metaphor of a way or path in one or both lines. For example:

The guilty walk a crooked path; the innocent travel a straight road. (New Living Translation (2004))

• Translate the meaning without using this metaphor. For example:

Guilty people live dishonest lives, but honest people do right. (New Century Version)

21:8a

a guilty man: This term occurs only here in the Old Testament. It refers to a person who is burdened with sin or crime. Most English versions translate it as the Berean Standard Bible does. Here are some other ways to translate this:

criminal (Revised English Bible)
-or-
culprit (New American Bible)
-or-
felon (New Jerusalem Bible)

21:8b

the innocent: In Hebrew, this term refers to a person whose character is “pure” (New Revised Standard Version) in the sense of being “unmixed with evil.” In English, the word innocent provides a good contrast with words such as “guilty” or “criminal.” (See the notes on the same word at 16:2a and 20:11b.)

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