faithful

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The Greek, Hebrew, and Ge’ez that is rendered as “faithful” in English is (back-) translated in various ways:

See also faith / believe.

Translation commentary on Proverbs 28:20

This saying should be compared with 13.11 and 20.21.

“A faithful man will abound with blessings”: “A faithful man” here refers to a person who is honorable and trustworthy in his dealings, particularly in business relations. “Blessings” are the good things or rewards of honest work. This line may be translated, for example, “A person who can be trusted will receive many rewards.” They may come from God, as Contemporary English Version says: “God blesses his loyal people.”

“But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished”: As Whybray observes, in the small farming community of ancient Israel there were few honest opportunities to make a fortune. The same is true in other face-to-face societies where nearly all that a person does is known by everyone. “Hastens to be rich” may be expressed as “tries to get rich quick.” “Will not go unpunished”, as in 6.29 and 11.21, is literally “shall not be acquitted,” which may be expressed positively as “will be punished.” In some languages translators supply “God” as the actor: “God will punish those who. . ..” Scott says “will be held accountable,” which may be expressed in some languages as “will have to explain how he got his wealth.”

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 28:20)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 28:20:

  • Kupsabiny: “A person who can be trusted will get a big blessing,
    but the one who wants riches quickly will suffer pain/punishment.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The faithful person will get enough blessing.
    The person who tries to get rich quickly
    will be punished.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “God will- surely -bless a man who can-be-trusted, but a man who is in-a-hurry to get rich will-be-punished.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Many are the blessings of the trustworthy person, but the one who wants to get-rich immediately will certainly be-punished.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “God will greatly bless those who are trustworthy/always do what they say that they will do,
    but he will certainly punish those who try to become rich quickly.” (Source: Translation for Translators)