חָזִ֡יתָ אִ֤ישׁ ׀ מָ֘הִ֤יר בִּמְלַאכְתּ֗וֹ לִֽפְנֵֽי־מְלָכִ֥ים יִתְיַצָּ֑ב בַּל־יִ֝תְיַצֵּב לִפְנֵ֥י חֲשֻׁכִּֽים׃ פ
29Do you see those who are skillful in their work?
They will serve kings;
they will not serve common people.
The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “serve,” “minister,” “walk with,” or “service” is translated in Igede as myị ẹrụ or “agree with message (of the one you’re serving).” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
In Quetzaltepec Mixe, “serve” is translated as “obey.” (Source: Robert Bascom)
“Do you see a man skilful in his work?”: Although Revised Standard Version and others render this line as a rhetorical question, it does not have a question form in Hebrew. It is simply “You see. . .” (as in Revised English Bible) or “You observe. . .,” inviting the reader to consider a situation or focus on a person. In this case it is “a man skilful in his work”, where “skilful” renders a word meaning “quick” or “skilled.” In some languages this line is expressed as “When a person does good work” or “If there is a person who works well” (compare Contemporary English Version “If you do your job well”).
“He will stand before kings”: This is the reward or recognition for the person who fits the description in the previous line. To “stand before” means to “enter the service of.” So the sense of this line is that the skilful or outstanding workman will “serve kings” (Revised English Bible) or “work for a ruler” (Contemporary English Version).
“He will not stand before obscure men”: This has practically the same meaning as the second line of the verse. Some commentators suggest that this line should not be part of the text, since it is just a variant of the previous line. However, there is no basis for this in the text itself; and when it comes to translation, there are many languages in which people appreciate the repetition of an idea, expressing it first in a positive way and then in a negative way. “Obscure men” are “common people” (New Revised Standard Version) or people who are “low” and count for nothing. Many languages have special terms or idioms to refer to such people. One translation of this line says, “He will never become the worker of a person who has no name.”
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 .
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 22:29:
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Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )
See also king (Japanese honorifics).
Paragraph 22:29 Saying 5
The overall meaning of this saying is that a person who does high quality work can expect to be hired by kings rather than common people.
22:29
Notice the contrasting parallel parts:
29a Do you see a man skilled in his work?
29b He will be stationed in the presence of kings ;
29c he will not stand before obscure men.
22:29a
Do you see a man skilled in his work?: In Hebrew, this clause is a statement. For example:
You see an artisan skillful at his craft (Revised English Bible)
Most versions, including the Berean Standard Bible, translate this clause as a rhetorical question. The purpose of the clause is to encourage the listener to think about a person who has a reputation for doing high-quality work. Some other ways to translate this clause are:
Show me someone who is a truly competent worker
-or-
When a person does his job well
-or-
Think about a person who is very skillful in his work
work: In Hebrew, this word can refer to any kind of work or duties, including the work of a scribe, craftsman, or businessman.
22:29b–c
He will be stationed in the presence of kings; he will not stand before obscure men: These two lines describe a benefit that the skilled worker can expect to receive. He can expect to serve kings (22:29b). By contrast, he will not be employed by ordinary people (22:29c).
He will be stationed in the presence of kings: In Hebrew, this clause is literally, “before kings he will take his stand.” This clause indicates that the skilled worker will enter the service of kings. It may indicate specifically that he will be employed in the king’s court. It may also indicate more generally that he will work for the king.
kings: In some languages, it will be more appropriate to use a general word. For example:
you will work for a ruler (Contemporary English Version)
obscure men: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “the darknesses.” The contrast with “kings” suggests that this unusual phrase refers to people who are insignificant or relatively unknown. Many languages will have idioms that refer to such people.
Some ways to translate these two lines are:
he will serve kings, not common men (Revised English Bible)
-or-
They will work for kings, not for ordinary people. (New Century Version)
-or-
He will serve kings. He will not serve unknown people. (God’s Word)
General Comment on 22:29b–c
In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder these two lines. For example:
The ones he will work for 29c will not be people of low status 29b but rather kings.
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