complete verse (Proverbs 23:15)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 23:15:

  • Kupsabiny: “My son, you make me happy when/if you become wise,” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “My son, if your heart is filled with wisdom,
    my heart will rejoice.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Child, I will-be- very -happy if you (sing.) will-become wise and speaks right.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “My child, extreme will be my happiness if you (sing.) become-thinking/reflective.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Proverbs 23:15

“My son, if your heart is wise”: The address “My son” gives a note of personal appeal, as in the early chapters of the book (see 1.8). “If your heart is wise” may be expressed as “if you have a wise mind,” “if you show good sense” (Contemporary English Version), or “if you become wise” (Good News Translation). An example from a Pacific language is “if you gain good thinking and understanding.” Compare “wise of heart” in 10.8.

“My heart too will be glad”: This line spells out the consequence that will follow when the condition of the previous line is fulfilled. There is also a clear link with the previous line in Hebrew through the repetition of the word “heart”: “your heart . . . my heart.” Some English versions retain this link, but it will not be possible in every language, and it is not really essential to the meaning. The Hebrew has an expression that is literally “even me” at the end of the line, which adds emphasis to the first person pronoun. Revised English Bible expresses something of this with “my heart in turn.” This line is simply expressed in Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version as “I will be [very] happy.”

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 23:15

Paragraph 23:15–16 Saying 13

This saying focuses on the relationship between the son’s character and the father’s happiness. When the son thinks and speaks in a wise way, the result is that the father is very happy.

23:15–16

The four lines of this saying are arranged in the form of a chiasm (A B B A). The outer “A” lines and the inner “B” lines are parallel to each other. They have similar meanings.

The “A” lines describe the son’s wisdom, using the parallel figures of speech “your heart” and “your lips.” The “B” lines describe the father’s happiness, using the parallel figures of speech “my heart” and “my inmost being.”

(A) 15a My son, if your heart is wise,

(B) 15b my own heart will indeed rejoice.

(B) 16a My inmost being will rejoice

(A) 16b when your lips speak what is right.

If a chiasm is not natural in your language, you may need to change the order of the lines. For example, if an “if/when” clause usually precedes a result clause in your language, you may need to change the order of the lines in 23:16.

16b
When your lips speak what is right,

16a
my inmost being will rejoice.

Use a clause order that is natural in your language.

23:15

My son: From 22:17 to 23:14, the author used “you” (singular) commands and pronouns to address his readers. He spoke as a father who addresses his son, but he did not mention the son explicitly. Here he explicitly directs his advice to the son. See the notes on “my son” in 1:8a for translation advice. In the rest of this section, the same phrase also occurs in 23:19, 26; 24:13, 21.

if your heart is wise, my own heart will indeed rejoice: The phrases your heart and my…heart refer to the center of a person’s inner life, including his thoughts and emotions. Some other ways to translate these two clauses are:

if your mind gets wisdom, my mind, too, will be gladdened (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
-or-
if you become wise, I will be very happy (Good News Translation)

See the note on “mind” in 22:17b for more information and translation suggestions.

my own heart will indeed rejoice: In Hebrew, this clause ends with the words “even/also I.” These words emphasize that the father’s own heart will be glad. They also imply that wisdom will make the son’s heart glad. The Berean Standard Bible expresses this emphasis with the word own. The Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures (quoted above) expresses this emphasis with the word “too.” Other ways to indicate this emphasis are:

my heart in turn will be glad (Revised English Bible)
-or-
My own heart also will be glad (New American Standard Bible)

© 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.