The Hebrew that is typically translated in English as “power” or “might” or “force” is translated in the English translation by Goldingay (2018) as energy or energetic.
Translation commentary on Proverbs 5:10
“Lest strangers take their fill of your strength”: “Strangers”, which refers to aliens, foreigners, non-Israelites, translates a different word than “others” in verse 9. “Take their fill” means to satisfy their desire (for your wealth). In some languages this thought is expressed as “Strangers will eat your money.” “Strength”, as the Revised Standard Version footnote indicates, may refer to a person’s power or might and in this context is best understood as wealth.
“And your labors go to the house of an alien”: “Your labors” means the same as “your strength” in line 1, “all that you have worked for” or “all the money you have saved.” “To the house of an alien” means to the family, household, or hands of a foreigner. One translation that joins the two lines together says for the whole verse: “All the good things you have worked hard to get will go into the hands of other people.”
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 5:10)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 5:10:
- Kupsabiny: “And then strangers/foreigners will be rescued/live by the things they struggled.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
- Newari: “The foreigners will enjoy your wealth.
Your earnings will fall into the hands of others.” (Source: Newari Back Translation) - Hiligaynon: “And all your (sing.) wealth and other which you (sing.) have-toiled/worked-for will- just -be-taken-away by those from-other places.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “Strangers will take/get your (sing.) wealth for-which-you-have-undergone-hardship.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 5:10
5:10
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning. These parts are arranged in the form of a chiasm. The parts in 5:10b occur in the opposite order from the parallel parts in 5:10a.
10a lest strangers feast on your wealth,
10b and your labors enrich the house of a foreigner.
There is an ellipsis in 5:10b. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the missing word from 5:10a. For example:
10b and ⌊lest⌋ your labors enrich the house of a foreigner.
5:10a–b
strangers…the house of a foreigner: The house of a foreigner is parallel to strangers and probably refers to the family or household of that person or persons.
5:10a
feast on your wealth: In some languages, it is not natural to speak figuratively of “feasting” on someone’s wealth. If that is true in your language, it may be better to translate this phrase without using a figure of speech. For example:
enjoy your wealth (New Century Version)
-or-
take all your wealth (Good News Translation)
5:10b
your labors: The phrase your labors is parallel to “your wealth.” It is a figure of speech (metonymy) in which labor represents the wealth that the young man will earn through working. One way to express this idea is:
what you worked so hard for will go to someone else (New Century Version)
General Comment on 5:10a–b
In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts. See the Display for 5:10a–b (combined/reordered).
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