Translation commentary on Proverbs 9:14

“She sits at the door of her house”: The setting of this banquet is simply a house with no elaborations such as those described for Wisdom’s house in verse 1. For “door of her house” see 5.8.

“Takes a seat on the high places of the town” is the same as used in verse 3. By using the connector “or” Good News Translation makes it clear that the two lines refer to different places.

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 9:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 9:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “(She/he/it) sits at the door of his/her house, and goes to sit on a high place in the city.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Sitting at the door of her house,
    or sitting at a high place of the city,” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “She sits at the door of her house or at the high places of the city,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “She sits in the doorway of her house or at the highest part of the city” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 9:14

9:14

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

14a She sits at the door of her house,

14b
on a seat in the heights of the city,

9:14a–b

She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the heights of the city: There are two ways to interpret the place where Folly sits:

(1) Folly sits in one place. Her house is located at the highest point of the city. For example:

She sits at the door of her house at the highest place in the city. (New Century Version)

(2) Folly sits in different places. She sits at her house, and she also sits at the highest point of the city. For example:

She sits at the door of her house or on a seat in the highest part of town (Good News Translation)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions. The Hebrew text here has no conjunctions, such as “and” or “or.” It seems likely that the first line describes Folly’s location in a general way. The second line further specifies the location.

sits at the door of her house, on a seat: These parallel phrases mean that Folly sits in the “doorway” of her house (God’s Word). In some languages, this may be expressed in this way:

in front of her house (Contemporary English Version)

The word translated as seat almost always refers to a throne or seat of honor. This is probably why the New Jerusalem Bible has “on a throne” and God’s Word has “enthroned.” However, most versions prefer the more general term seat or combine it with the verb sits in the first line, as in the New Century Version above.

For the phrase “in the heights of the city,” see the identical phrase in 9:3b.

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