Translation commentary on Proverbs 9:18

“But he does not know that the dead are there”: “But” introduces the contrast between the invitation and the consequence, which is death. “He” refers to the simple person invited to her feast, but may be expressed as plural. See Good News Translation “her victims.” “Dead” translates the word rendered “shades” in 2.18 and refers to the spirits of the dead gathered in Sheol.

“That her guests are in the depths of Sheol”: “Her guests” is literally “her called ones”; in this context it means those who have accepted her invitation. “In the depths” means in the deepest parts. In 7.27 the house of the adulterous woman is next to “Sheol”, the world of the dead. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates this verse, “But whoever accepts her invitation does not know that inside at her table sit the ghosts of the dead. Whoever crosses her threshold, steps into the world of the dead.” You may find this a helpful model for your translation.

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 9:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 9:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “But the foolish person does not know that he is going to die if he goes there. Her former visitors have died.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “But those who go there do not know
    that the people who go
    to that woman’s house will die,
    and [that] those who have gone [there] before
    are already buried in the grave.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But these people do- not -know that the ones-who-go to her die. The ones who already went to her are already there in the place of the dead.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But they do not know that those who go to her will die and that others, they are already in the location of the dead.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Proverbs 9:18

9:18

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

18a But they do not know that the dead are there,

18b
that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

There is an ellipsis in 9:18b. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the missing words from 9:18a. For example:

18b
⌊they do not know⌋ that her guests are in the depths of the grave

9:18a

But they do not know that the dead are there: In Hebrew, the phrase they do not know is literally “he does not know.” The pronoun “he” refers to any person who responded to Folly’s invitation in 9:16. Many versions translate this pronoun as “they.” Use whatever is more natural in your language.

the dead are there: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the dead was translated as “the departed spirits” in 2:18a–b (see the note there). The word there means inside Folly’s house. If this is translated literally in some languages, it may lead to misunderstanding. People may think that the spirits of dead people have come back to haunt the woman’s house or that the spirits of people who died in the house are still there. What this clause actually means is that those who enter Folly’s house will certainly die. They can be considered dead. For example:

But these people don’t know that everyone who goes there dies (New Century Version)

9:18b

that her guests are in the depths of Sheol: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as her guests is literally “her called ones.” It refers to the people who accepted her invitation. As in 2:18a–b, Sheol is the world of the dead. The word depths does not imply that these guests are in the deepest parts in contrast to others in shallower locations. The whole world of the dead is viewed as being deep under the earth.

The meaning of this line is similar to 9:18a. It does not mean that her current guests are already in the world of the dead. What it means is that her guests will certainly end up in Sheol. This may be expressed in different ways:

that her guests end up deep in the grave (New Century Version)
-or-
that her former guests are now in the grave (New Living Translation (1996))

General Comment on 9:18a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel lines. For example:

None who listen to Stupidity understand that her guests are as good as dead. (Contemporary English Version)

See also 9:18a–b (combined/reordered) in the Display.

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