The theme of verses 30-34 is the same as in 6.6-11. They are a warning to avoid poverty through a life of self-discipline and working to provide for the necessities of life. They begin with an observation about the state of a lazy person’s land (verses 30-32) and then repeat the words of 6.10-11.

“I passed by the field of a sluggard”: “I passed by” may also be translated “I went through.” This should be expressed in a way that is appropriate in the translator’s culture. In some languages, for example, this verse begins “I was walking around, and I saw. . ..” A “field”, as in verse 27, is an area of land where someone grows crops for food, called a “garden” in some parts of the world. “A sluggard” is an English term rarely used today referring to a lazy person, “one who was lazy” (New Revised Standard Version), “an idle fellow” (Revised English Bible); see 6.6.

“By the vineyard of a man without sense”: This line is parallel with part of the previous line. In Revised Standard Version and some other translations it seems that “the vineyard”, an area of land where someone grows grapes, is the same as “the field”; however, the Hebrew “and the vineyard” suggests that it is a different place. This is made clear in Contemporary English Version “the field and the vineyard” and Good News Translation “the fields and vineyards.” For “a man without sense”, refer to “has no sense” in 6.32. All versions take “a man without sense” to refer to the same person as “a sluggard”, although this is clearer in some versions than in others. Contemporary English Version combines the two terms into “a lazy fool” and Good News Translation is similar.

In verse 31 we have a description of the state of the lazy person’s farmland, introduced by the words “and lo” (New Revised Standard Version “and see”). Some versions do not translate this marker, but others render it as “I looked” (Revised English Bible) or “[I] found them” (Scott). Translators should consider using an exclamation or expression that calls for the reader’s attention, if that would be natural in their language at this point.

“It was all overgrown with thorns”: This is literally “grew up all of it thistles.” New International Version expresses this as “thorns had come up everywhere” and Good News Translation “They were full of thorn bushes”; most others use the expression “overgrown with. . .,” which is commonly used for this situation in English.

“The ground was covered with nettles”: “The ground” is literally “its face” or “its surface.” Some versions omit the term and allow “it” from the previous line to serve as the subject of this clause. The term translated “nettles” refers to a kind of weed, but it is not clear which type of weed this is. Most versions use the general term “weeds”: “covered with weeds.” For both “thorns” and “nettles” translators are encouraged to use the names of weed plants known to their readers or to use more general terms meaning “weeds.”

“And its stone wall was broken down”: The “stone wall” is a fence made of stones that is intended to keep animals and intruders out of the crops. In some languages people say “the wall of stones that goes round it.” “Was broken down” is a passive form, but we cannot say that someone caused this, since the wall had become broken through lack of care. In English Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version both say the wall “had fallen down,” while New International Version says “the stone wall was in ruins.” These are both good models for translators in other languages.

The two lines of verse 32 are parallel and very similar in meaning.

“Then I saw and considered it”: “I saw” refers back to the previous two verses and does not mean that the speaker went and looked a second time. Some versions say “When I saw this” (Contemporary English Version) or “as I looked” (New Living Translation). “Considered” is literally “put my heart [or, mind].” Good News Translation renders this as “thought about it” and Revised English Bible “took it to heart.” A Pacific expression of it is “When I saw this I thought a lot about it.”

“I looked and received instruction”: “I looked” means the same as “I saw”. “Instruction” is the term that basically means “discipline” or “correction”; in Proverbs it is “instruction in wisdom” (15.33). It is the partner of “wisdom” in 1.2 and 1.7. In Revised Standard Version it is usually rendered “instruction”; in this context, however, the most common translation is “learned a lesson” (Scott, New International Version, Good News Translation). Contemporary English Version, which combines the two lines of this verse, says “When I saw this, it taught me a lesson.”

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 .