Translation commentary on Proverbs 7:12

“Now in the street, now in the market”: The restless woman is described as always on the go outside of her house. “Now . . . now” means “at one moment she is in the street and the next moment she is in the market,” because she is looking for her victim. “Street” and “market” are the same as in 1.20. See there for comments.

“Lies in wait” translates a military expression meaning to set up an ambush to take someone by surprise.

You may find it more natural to begin verse 12 with the main subject; for example, “She lies in wait for a man, sometimes in the street and sometimes in the market” or “All the time she is going round in the road and in the marketplace to find [catch] a man.”

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 7:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 7:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “At times this woman is seen in the road/street, in (an) open place or where people are, and she walks restlessly around where the roads meet.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Sometimes she was on the street,
    sometimes in the squares,
    looking for opportunities
    to catch men in a trap.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “She stands-around beside the roads or on the corners, and sometimes in the plazas.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Continually she was walking in the street(s) and gathering-places of people in-order-to look-for men that she-would-deceive.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 7:12

7:12a

Now in the street, now in the squares: Instead of staying at home, the woman spends some of her time in the street and some in the public squares. The New Living Translation (2004) expresses this as:

She is often in the streets and markets. (New Living Translation (2004))

For the meaning of the words translated as street and squares, see the notes on 1:20–21 and 1:20a–b. Both words indicate places where people could be found, and where they gathered for meetings or to do marketing.

7:12b

she lurks at every corner: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lurks (New Revised Standard Version has “lies in wait”) is often used literally to refer to waiting in ambush. See the note on “lie in wait for” in 1:11b–c. Here the word is used figuratively to refer to the way that the woman waits on street corners in order to seduce men. Other ways to translate this idea are:

• Use another expression that refers to ambushing or catching men. For example:

waiting to trap a man (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
she lies in wait (New Revised Standard Version)

• Use a simile. For example:

waiting…as if to ambush men

• Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:

soliciting at every corner (New Living Translation (2004))

If it is necessary to translate without using a figure of speech, it is suggested that you add a footnote that says something like this:

What it literally says in Hebrew is: “she waits in ambush by every corner.” What it means is that the man whom she seduces will be as if caught in a trap and will lose his life (see 7:22–23).

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