Translation commentary on Proverbs 22:18

As the opening word “for” indicates, this verse explains the reward for obeying the command to listen and learn in verse 17: the learner will have taken in the knowledge and will know it “by heart,” and this will bring pleasure.

“For it will be pleasant”: This refers to the good feeling that the learner will have. Other fairly literal renderings of the Hebrew are “will be a delight” (New Jerusalem Bible) and “will give pleasure” (Revised English Bible). “You will be glad” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) expresses the thought well.

“If you keep . . .”: Revised Standard Version “if” (ki in Hebrew) may be misunderstood in English in the rather complex structure of this sentence. The Hebrew ki generally means “that. . .,” “when. . .,” or “because. . .”; translations that use these terms are, for instance, “. . . glad that you know these sayings” (Contemporary English Version) and “. . . pleasing when you keep them in your heart” (New International Version). The sequence of thought in verses 17 and 18 may be expressed as follows:

(17) Pay attention . . . listen . . . apply . . . — (commands)
(18) because keeping these words in mind — (outcome 1 of obeying commands)

• and being able to say them — (outcome 2 of obeying commands)

• will give you pleasure. — (result of outcomes 1 and 2)

Revised English Bible restructures the first line of verse 18 in this way: “To keep them in your heart will give pleasure.”

“Keep them within you”: “Them” refers back to “words” and “knowledge” in the previous verse. “Within you” is literally “in your belly,” where “belly” is used in the same sense as “heart” in the previous verse, that is, to refer to the person’s mind or thoughts. In some languages an idiom like that in Hebrew may be used here; for example, “keep them in your insides”; but in many languages this is best expressed as “[these words] stay in your thinking.” Good News Translation “if you remember them” gets the sense well in English.

“If all of them are ready on your lips”: This line is the second outcome of obeying the command in the previous verse. It is literally “they are ready together on your lips.” “All of them” again refers back to the “words” in verse 17. “Lips” is a figure of speech for speaking; and although a number of English versions retain the literal “ready on your lips”, the sense is better expressed as “you can say them,” “can recite them” (Contemporary English Version), or “can quote them” (Good News Translation). Other translation models are “you can say them by heart” and “you can tell them to others.”

A typical translation that restructures the whole verse following the outline given above says, “When you think about them all the time and you can say them by heart, you will have a good feeling.”

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 22:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 22:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “It is good if you fix (them) in your stomach (mind) and share/speak those words.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “When you keep these things in your heart
    and speak of them with your mouth
    it will give you joy.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “for you (sing.) will-be- very -happy if you (sing.) will-know and memorize it.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “You (sing.) will be-made-happy if you (sing.) place- these-things -inside your (sing.) minds and are-capable-to tell-(them).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 22:18

22:18

This verse gives a reason for following the commands in 22:17. If the listener obeys those commands, it will naturally lead to his following the last two steps in the learning process (underlined). When he does this, the overall result will be pleasant.

18a for it is pleasing when you keep them in you

18b and they are constantly on your lips.

See the General Comment on 22:18a–b after the notes on 22:18b for a way to reorder these two lines.

22:18a

for it is pleasing: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for introduces the reason for listening to the speaker’s wise words and thinking about them. Some versions do not introduce the reason with an explicit word such as for. For example:

It is pleasant (God’s Word)

Introduce this reason in a way that is natural in your language.

The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as pleasing refers here to an action or situation that is pleasant or agreeable. It gives a person pleasure or happiness. For example:

it will be a delight (New Jerusalem Bible)

In this context, the person who experiences this good result is probably the obedient listener. Some versions make this explicit. For example:

You will be glad (Contemporary English Version)

when you keep them within you: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as within you is literally “stomach” or “belly.” In this context, it refers figuratively to a person’s inner being, where he stores his thoughts. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

if you keep them in mind (God’s Word)
-or-
to keep them deep within you (New Jerusalem Bible)

In some languages, it may be more natural to leave the location implied. For example:

that you know these sayings (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
if you remember them (Good News Translation)

22:18b

and they are constantly on your lips: This clause indicates that the listener is prepared to tell someone else what he has learned. The word lips is a figure of speech (metonymy) that refers to the action of speaking. In some languages, there may be a natural expression that uses a part of the body, such as the lips or tongue. For example:

they will be on the tip of your tongue (God’s Word)

In other languages, it may be more natural to translate this clause without using a figure of speech. For example:

and can quote them (Good News Translation)
-or-
you are ready to repeat them (New Century Version)

General Comment on 22:18a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to put the result at the end of these two lines. For example:

When you remember them and are able to tell them to others, it will give you much happiness.

© 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.