wisdom

Click here to view graphically

The Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “wisdom” in English is rendered in various ways:

  • Amganad Ifugao / Tabasco Chontal: “(big) mind”
  • Bulu / Yamba: “heart-thinking”
  • Tae’: “cleverness of heart” (source for this and all above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Palauan: “bright spirit (innermost)” (source: Bratcher / Hatton)
  • 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)
  • Uma: “clearness” (source: Uma 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):


“Wisdom” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )

See also wisdom (Proverbs) and knowledge.

wisdom ("heart wisdom")

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” or “wise” in English. For the verses referenced here, it uses p’ijil-o’tanil or “heart wisdom.”

For the complete story and more background, please see wisdom (Proverbs).

understanding ("head wisdom")

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).

Translation commentary on Proverbs 8:1

“Does not wisdom call”: The whole verse is a rhetorical question in Hebrew, and this feature is reproduced by Revised Standard Version and some others. However, the effect of the rhetorical question is to draw attention to the speaker and the speech that follows in the rest of the chapter; and many languages do this in other ways. In English, for instance, Good News Translation has “Listen! . . .” and Revised English Bible “Hear how wisdom calls. . ..” “Wisdom” is as in 1.2 and is again personified as in 1.20-33. For “call” see 1.21, where Revised Standard Version renders the same Hebrew verb “cries out.” In some languages that require an object for the verb “call,” translators say something like “. . . calls out for us [plural, inclusive] to listen to her.”

“Does not understanding raise her voice?”: “Understanding” is as in 2.2. “Raise her voice” is the same as in 1.20. Since this line is very similar to line 1, some translations combine the two lines to say, for instance, “Everybody, listen! Wisdom is like a woman who stands and calls out to us.”

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 8:1)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 8:1:

  • Kupsabiny: “Please, listen to what wisdom announces/calls out and listen to what understanding/experience says.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Listen! Wisdom has been calling.
    Foresight has been proclaiming loudly.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Wisdom and understanding are like a man who preaches.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Listen because wisdom is calling/inviting, understanding raises (lit. does-strongly) its voice.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 8:1

Section 8:1–36

Wisdom calls out to people and reminds them of the benefits of being wise

In contrast to the previous section describing the adulterous woman, this section describes personified Wisdom. The public setting for Wisdom’s speech is described in 8:1–3. In 8:4–11, she addresses all mankind and describes her own character. In 8:12–21, she provides reasons why people should choose her. Additional motivation is given in 8:22–31: Wisdom was with the LORD when he created the world. The section ends with Wisdom appealing to mankind to follow her teaching (8:32–36).

This section is a speech by personified Wisdom. As in Wisdom’s speech in 1:20–33, the Notes have used a capital letter for Wisdom in most verses. However, in her speech, Wisdom sometimes refers to “wisdom” as an ability that people have or use or should try to obtain. In some of these contexts, the Notes have used small letters for “wisdom.” The Display will often give more than one option. You may use either option in your language, depending on what is appropriate in each context.

Some other headings for this section are:

Wisdom’s Call (New International Version)
-or-
Listen to Wisdom (New Century Version)
-or-
The good qualities of Wisdom
-or-
Wisdom’s second invitation to people

Paragraph 8:1–3

This paragraph describes the setting for Wisdom’s speech. The places mentioned in 8:2–3 are all places where people gathered together, where many people could listen to Wisdom’s words. This setting is similar to the one described in 1:20–21.

8:1

This verse contains parallel rhetorical questions that are similar in meaning.

1a
Does not wisdom call out,

1b
and understanding raise her voice ?

8:1a–b

Does not wisdom call out, and understanding raise her voice?: These are rhetorical questions. The implied answer to both questions is an emphatic “Yes.” In some languages, this emphasis may be better expressed by a positive statement. For example:

Wisdom calls out to you like someone shouting;

understanding raises her voice (New Century Version)

The words wisdom and understanding often occur as a parallel pair in Proverbs. ( For call out, see 2:3a–b, and for the expression raise her voice, see 1:20a–b.

In the verses that follow, wisdom and understanding are treated as a single person/thing. If this is confusing to your readers, you may want to add a footnote that says:

In the following verses, wisdom and understanding are counted/considered as one ⌊person⌋ .

© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.