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” 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).
“I, wisdom, dwell in prudence”: “I, wisdom” is Wisdom speaking and identifying herself. This is more naturally expressed in English as “I am Wisdom” or “Wisdom is who I am.” Translations that have expressed this at the beginning of verse 11 often do not repeat it here. “Dwell in prudence”, as the Revised Standard Version footnote shows, is obscure, that is, uncertain as to its meaning. Various attempts have been made to modify the word rendered “dwell”. One change gives the sense of “neighbor” or “companion.” Contemporary English Version follows this and translates “Common Sense is my closest friend.” Another approach is to change the vowels of the word rendered “dwell” to give “I cause to dwell,” which carries the sense “I cause someone to possess.” New English Bible follows this change and translates “I bestow shrewdness. . .,” and this is retained by Revised English Bible. However, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project rates the Hebrew as “B” and recommends keeping “dwell” with the meaning “I am at home with prudence.” “Prudence”, which first appeared in 1.4, refers to the use of good judgment, common sense, or good sense. New Jerusalem Bible follows the recommendation of Hebrew Old Testament Text Project by translating “I, Wisdom, share house with Discretion.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “I, Wisdom, live with intelligence.” If the personification is a problem for the language, it may be possible to shift to a simile and say, for example, “I am called Wisdom, and I live with common sense like two people living together.”
“And I find knowledge and discretion”: “Find” is something of a problem here. Some interpret the Hebrew word as meaning “I have in my power” or “I possess,” a meaning that Whybray claims is not otherwise found in biblical Hebrew. New English Bible changes the vowels of the word translated “find” to give “I cause to find” and translates “[I] show the way to. . .” (also Revised English Bible). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends “I find” or “I find out [discover].” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy offers a model based on Hebrew Old Testament Text Project’s recommendation: “I know how to find the best advice.” “Knowledge” and “discretion” are as in 1.4.
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 .
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 8:12:
Kupsabiny: “I am understanding, I have wisdom and I give advice from experience.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “I am wisdom. I have knowledge and discernment.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I, who is wisdom, know how to weigh where is right or not, and I know how to decide rightly/correctly.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “‘I am Wisdom and Carefulness is my most-proper/best friend. There is also with me knowledge and understanding.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
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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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
After again identifying herself and the qualities that she is associated with (12–13), Wisdom describes why people should choose her. They should choose her because she is the basis of an orderly society (14–16). She is also the source of wealth and other benefits to those who seek and find her (17–21).
8:12
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
12a I, wisdom, dwell together withprudence,
12b and Ifindknowledge and discretion.
8:12a
I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence: Wisdom identifies herself figuratively as someone who lives in the same house as prudence or “shrewdness.” These figures of speech (personification and metaphor) indicate that wisdom is closely associated with shrewdness. Some ways to translate these figures are:
• Keep the figure of personification, but do not use the figure of living together. For example:
I am Wisdom—Common Sense is… (Contemporary English Version)
• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
I am Wisdom. It’s as if I live in the same house as Prudence.
If you identified wisdom with a phrase such as “I, wisdom” or “I am Wisdom” in 8:11, you may not need to repeat it here.
prudence:
8:12b
and I find knowledge and discretion:
Wisdom describes herself as a person who does not automatically possess knowledge but has to gain it.
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