Ixcatlán Mazatec: “with your best/biggest thinking” (source: Robert Bascom)
Noongar: dwangka-boola, lit. “ear much” (source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018 — see also remember)
Kwere “to know how to live well” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Dobel: “their ear holes are long-lasting” (in Acts 6:3) (source: Jock Hughes)
Gbaya: iŋa-mgbara-mɔ or “knowing-about-things” (note that in comparison to that, “knowledge” is translated as iŋa-mɔ or “knowing things”) (source: Philip Noss in The Bible Translator 2001, p. 114ff. )
Chichewa: nzeru, meaning both “knowledge” and “wisdom” (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Kako: “heart thinking” (source: Reyburn 2002, p. 190)
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a hand gesture referring to God to indicate a human quality to communicate that wisdom does not originate from man but is linked to and connected with the fear of God (source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group):
In the Tzeltal translation for the dialectal variant of Highland Tzeltal (Biblia Tzeltal yu’un Oxchuc soc Tenejapa, 2001) the translation team used three different words to translate the Hebrew term that is translated as “wisdom” in English. For the verses referenced here, it uses p’ijil jol or “head wisdom.”
For the complete story and more background, please see wisdom (Proverbs).
In the Tzeltal translation for the dialectal variant of Highland Tzeltal (Biblia Tzeltal yu’un Oxchuc soc Tenejapa, 2001) the translation team used three different words to translate the Hebrew term that is translated as “wisdom” in English. One of them is p’ijil jol or “word wisdom” which is also used for “understanding,” good sense,” “intelligent,” or “insight.”
For the complete story and more background, please see wisdom (Proverbs).
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way to do this is through the usage of lexical honorific forms, i.e., completely different words, as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
In these verses, itadaku (いただく), a respectful form of morau (もらう) or “receive” is used. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Wisdom is valuable and is useful for both people and the LORD
This section teaches the value of wisdom by showing its usefulness to people and the LORD. It is useful to people, because it results in long life, wealth, honor, pleasantness, and peace (3:13–18). It is useful to the LORD, because he used it to create the world (3:19–20).
Another heading for this section is:
The Value of Wisdom (Contemporary English Version)
Paragraph 3:13–18
3:13
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
13a Blessed is the manwho finds wisdom,
13b the manwho acquires understanding,
There is an ellipsis of the phrase “Blessed is” in 3:13b. In many languages, this phrase will need to be supplied from 3:13a. For example:
13b
⌊blessed is⌋ the manwho acquires understanding,
3:13a–b
Blessed: The Hebrew word ʾašre translated here as Blessed is not related to the verb “to bless,” but is close in meaning. Literally it means “The good fortune (of the person)” or “How fortunate (is the person)!” It describes the happiness or condition of well-being that comes from being right with the LORD. Many English versions translate this word as “happy.” The word or expression you use in your translation should not imply luck or chance.
finds wisdom…acquires understanding: The parallel verbs used here indicate habitual action. They do not imply that wisdom and understanding were lost and have now been found by chance. Instead, they imply deliberate effort to obtain these qualities. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this information explicit. For example:
⌊searches for and⌋ finds wisdom
In some languages, it may be unnatural to speak of “finding” wisdom or “acquiring” understanding. If this is true in your language, it may be possible to translate this verse as the Good News Translation has done:
Happy is anyone who becomes wise—who comes to have understanding. (Good News Translation)
3:13b
understanding: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as understanding means “good sense” or “competence.”
General Comment on 3:13a–b
In some languages, it may be preferable to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts so that the readers clearly understand that “the man who finds wisdom” is not different from “the man who acquires understanding.” See 3:13a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display for two ways to do this.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.