Translation commentary on Proverbs 5:23

“He dies for lack of discipline”: For a similar thought see 1.30-32. The possession of wisdom promises the learner a long life in 3.16. Here it is the absence of “discipline”, that is, lack of self-control, inability to say no to desires, that leads to a shortened life and premature death.

“Because of his great folly he is lost”: Again the sense is almost the same as in the first line. “Folly” translates the same word as used in Psa 69.5 (Hebrew verse 6), “thou knowest my folly.” In 22.15 “folly” is “bound up in the heart of a child” and is driven out by the “rod of discipline.” This kind of foolishness or lack of thought is sometimes expressed as having a narrow heart or a mindless head. Note Good News Translation “utter stupidity.”

“Lost” renders a word that means to go astray and is used here in a moral sense. It may also refer to death. Some translators make a slight change in the Hebrew to get a word meaning “he will perish.” However, “go astray” seems to give a clear meaning and can be used in parallel with the first line. New Jerusalem Bible says, “For want of discipline, he dies, led astray by his own excessive folly.” Contemporary English Version restructures these lines to say, “They get lost and die because of their foolishness and lack of self control.” Both of these are good models for translators.

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 5:23)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 5:23:

  • Kupsabiny: “That person will die with his own foolishness having killed (him) because he refused to keep/guard himself!” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Not being able to control himself, he will be destroyed.
    By his own foolishness he will die.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He will-lead-astray because of his foolishness, and he will-die because he would- not -cause-to-become-correct/[lit. straight] his behavior.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “He will die since he will- not -be-able-to-control himself, he will-be-lost because-of his excessive foolishness.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 5:23

5:23

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning. In both lines the underlined parts express the result of the young man’s sin.

23a
He dies for lack of discipline,

23b
led astray by his own great folly.

5:23a–b

He dies for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly: Since going astray logically precedes dying, the relationship between the parallel parts of this verse may be expressed as follows: The wicked person’s great folly and lack of discipline cause him to be led astray, and he dies.

5:23a

lack of discipline: The usual meaning of discipline (Hebrew: musar) is moral instruction or training. Here, the word probably refers to the result of such training—self-control. So in this context, the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lack of discipline refers to the absence of self-control. For example:

They die because they have no self-control (Good News Translation)
-or-
He will die because he does not control himself (New Century Version)

5:23b

led astray by his own great folly: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as led astray was translated as “captivated” in 5:19–20. Here in 5:23b, it has the sense of going astray from the safe or right path. Another way to translate this phrase is:

Because he is very foolish, he will wander off the right path and get lost.

folly: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as folly means moral foolishness. It refers to the inability or refusal to do what is right or to avoid what is wrong. It is not mental stupidity.

General Comment on 5:23a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder these two lines. For example:

23b His extreme ⌊moral⌋ foolishness will cause him to stray ⌊from the right path⌋ .

23a His absence of self-control will result in his death.

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts. See the Display for 5:23a–b (combined/reordered).

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