Translation commentary on Proverbs 8:32

“And now”: This is not a reference to time but a transition to the conclusion. Some translations indicate that this is a continuation of Wisdom’s speech by words like “And Wisdom went on to say this. . ..”

“My sons, listen to me”: “My sons” is strange in that Wisdom nowhere else addresses people in this way. “My sons” is one of the forms of address used by the teacher of wisdom. See also 5.7 and 7.24. Although the form is odd in this context, it is in the text and must be translated. In a number of languages something like Good News Translation “young people” will be appropriate. “Listen to me” is also a common expression of the teacher. See 5.7; 7.24.

“Happy are those who keep my ways”: “Happy” is the same as in 3.13. See comments there. “Keep my ways” is the equivalent of “keep my words” as in 7.1, meaning “do what I say,” “obey my teachings,” or “follow in my paths.” The “way” of wisdom is, according to verse 20, “righteousness,” that is, fairness, justice, doing what is right. The whole line may also be translated as a conditional sentence: “If you do what I tell you, you will be happy.”

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 8:32)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 8:32:

  • Kupsabiny: “And so now my children, listen to me. Blessed is the person who will follow my ways.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “O my son, Listen!
    Those who follow my way
    will be rejoicing.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Therefore now children, [you (plur.)] listen to me,
    for it is blessed for the ones who follow what I am saying.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘Listen my children. Fortunate is the one who obeys my advice.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 8:32

Paragraph 8:32–36

This paragraph concludes Wisdom’s speech with a final appeal that people follow her teaching. If they do, they will be blessed with life and with the LORD’s favor. If they refuse, the result will be harm and death.

8:32a

Now therefore, my sons, listen to me: In giving her concluding appeal, Wisdom addresses her audience as my sons. The phrase Now therefore introduces a conclusion that is based on the preceding description of Wisdom’s good qualities and high status. Another way to introduce this conclusion is:

And so, my children (New Living Translation (2004))

listen: See the note on 1:8a.

8:32b

for blessed are those who keep my ways: In this line Wisdom introduces the motivation or reason for listening to her appeal. It is because those who follow her advice are blessed. In some languages, the relationship between 8:32a and 8:32b may be clear without an explicit conjunction. In other languages, a word such as “because/for” may need to be made explicit.

The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as blessed more accurately means “happy,” as in the New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and several other English versions. It is not the same Hebrew word that is used when a person is blessed by the LORD.

© 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.