Proverbs 3:10

Months ago, the weekend edition of The Daily Dose of Hebrew went over Proverbs 3:10:

וְיִמָּלְאוּ אֲסָמֶיךָ שָׂבָע וְתִירוֹשׁ יְקָבֶיךָ יִפְרֹֽצוּ׃

As Dr. Howell notes in the video, the word שָׂבָע can mean something like plenty or satiety.  If it's understood as plenty, these barns are redundantly described ("filled with plenty"), but this redundancy does illustrate that abundance.

The ESV and NKJV both have "filled with plenty," and the Vulgate ("et implebuntur horrea tua saturitate") is comparable.  The NIV seems to go a bit further with "filled to overflowing."

My German translation of Proverbs goes the other way and takes שָׂבָע to mean simply satiety:  "so werden deine Scheunen voll werden" ("so your barns will become full").

Proverbs 10:6

When I was flipping to Proverbs 14 in order to reference verse 35 and write this post about it, I ran across an-other significant chiastic structure, this time in Proverbs 10:6.  In the ESV, it's:

Blessings

are on the head of the righteous,

but the mouth of the wicked conceals

violence.

As with the last few chiasms in Proverbs that I've written about, the elements here are a bit more loosely equated, but the structure does highlight the contrasts between "blessings" and "violence" and between "the head of the righteous" and "the mouth of the wicked."

This chiasm is also in the Hebrew:

בְּרָכוֹת

לְרֹאשׁ צַדִּיק

וּפִי רְשָׁעִים יְכַסֶּה

חָמָֽס׃

and the Latin Vulgate:

benedictio

super caput iusti

os autem impiorum operit

iniquitatem

It's also in my German translation of Proverbs, but the meaning is a bit different:

Segen ruht

auf dem Haupt des Gerechten;

aber auf die Gottlosen

wird ihr Frevel fallen.

Something like:

Blessing rests

on the head of the righteous,

but on the wicked

will their iniquity fall.

The second half of this echoes Psalm 7:16:  "His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends."

Proverbs 29:3

Several months ago, I read Proverbs 29 in the ESV and noticed an ambiguity in verse 3:

He who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

It's unclear whether the antecedent of "his" in the second half of the verse ("his wealth") is the father of this "companion" (similar to how the first half mentions the father of "he who loves wisdom") or the "companion" himself.

The connection between this verse and the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15, where the son does squander the father's wealth, suggests that the antecedent is an implied father.  Additionally, in this reading, the two halves of the verse parallel each other:  "he" with "companion," "wisdom" with "prostitutes" (in an inverted sort of way), and "father" with "his."

Alternatively, this "his" could indicate the "companion" himself ("his [own] wealth"), and this understanding results in an-other contrast between these two men.  The first half ("he who loves wisdom makes his father glad") contains three characters:  "he," personified "wisdom," and "father."  If "companion" is the antecedent of "his" in the second half, there are only two entities there (although, admittedly, one is plural):  "companion"/"his" and "prostitutes."  The first man ("he who loves wisdom") maintains his familial relationships, but the second (the "companion of prostitutes") lacks them.

I lookt up this verse in languages that have distinct forms for "his" and "his own" (reflexive possessive) and discovered that both follow this second reading ("his own").

Norwegian:

En mann som elsker visdom, gleder sin far; men den som holder vennskap med skjøger, øder sitt gods.

Esperanto:

Homo, kiu amas saĝon, ĝojigas sian patron; sed kiu komunikiĝas kun malĉastulinoj, tiu disperdas sian havon.

I'm not sure to what degree (if any) all of this applies to the original Hebrew text, though, because it has no "his" in the second clause; it's just "a companion of prostitutes squanders wealth":

אִֽישׁ־אֹהֵב חָכְמָה יְשַׂמַּח אָבִיו וְרֹעֶה זוֹנוֹת יְאַבֶּד־הֽוֹן׃

Proverbs 28:19

A few months ago, I read Proverbs 28 in the ESV and noticed a small feature in verse 19:

Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

The words plenty and poverty alliterate and rhyme, and since these sounds recur, there's a sense of this great degree (although the phrase actually describes a lack).  Of the translations I referenced, this is unique to the ESV.

Proverbs 24:4

When I read Proverbs 24 in the ESV months ago, I noticed a small feature in verse 4:  "by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches."  The words precious and pleasant alliterate, and they have the same number of syllables (with the emphasis falling on the same syllable in each).  To some degree, the euphony of these features matches the meaning.

Proverbs 15:9

When I read Proverbs 15:9 in the ESV a few months ago, I found yet an-other chiastic structure, although the elements are a bit more loosely equated:

The way of the wicked

Is an abomination to the LORD,

but he loves

him who pursues righteousness.

Like other chiasms I've found, this one highlights contrasts:  "the way of the wicked" with "him who pursues righteousness" and "an abomination to the LORD" with "he loves."

This structure is in the Hebrew, too, but in the opposite order:

תּוֹעֲבַת יְהוָה דֶּרֶךְ רָשָׁע וּמְרַדֵּף צְדָקָה יֶאֱהָֽב׃

It's more like "An abomination to the LORD is the way of the wicked, but him who pursues righteousness he loves."  The Latin Vulgate follows roughly the same word order:

abominatio est Domino

via impii

qui sequitur iustitiam

diligetur ab eo

Proverbs 14:35

A few months ago, I read Proverbs 14 in the ESV and noticed a loose chiastic structure in verse 35:

A servant who deals wisely

Has the king's favor,

But his wrath falls on

One who acts shamefully.

Such a structure highlights the opposite nature of how the two servants behave (wisely or shamefully) and of the king's disposition toward them (favor or wrath).

The NIV has a similar structure but in a different order:

A king delights in

A wise servant,

But a shameful servant

Incurs his wrath.

This structure isn't in the Hebrew, though, or in any of the other translations I referenced.

Proverbs 12:20

A few months ago, I read Proverbs 12 and noticed a chiasm in verse 20, although it isn't as precise as others I've found.  In the ESV, it's:

Deceit is in the heart of

those who devise evil,

but those who plan peace

have joy.

In an inverted way, "deceit is in the heart of" almost parallels "have joy," and likewise, "those who devise evil" sort of parallels "those who plan peace."  The opposite order in the structure (deceit | devise evil || plan peace | joy) matches these differences.

This structure is also in the Hebrew:

מִרְמָה בְּלֶב־חֹרְשֵׁי רָע וּֽלְיֹעֲצֵי שָׁלוֹם שִׂמְחָֽה׃

and in the Latin Vulgate:

dolus in corde

cogitantium mala

qui autem ineunt pacis consilia

sequitur eos gaudium

Proverbs 9:11

A few months ago, I read Proverbs 9 in the ESV, and I noticed that a slight difference in the parallelism of verse 11 illustrates the meaning of the verse.

For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.

"Days will be multiplied" and "years will be added" are parallel expressions, but because the scale of the measurements increases ("days" to "years"), there's a picture of this expansion.

Proverbs 1:22

A few months ago, I started reading Proverbs in the ESV again and noticed some significance in the diction of Proverbs 1:22, where Wisdom says, "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?  How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?"  As if to reflect the nature of the "simple ones," the vocabulary of the first clause is somewhat limited, with "simple" being repeated.

This repetition is also in the Hebrew:

עַד־מָתַי ׀ פְּתָיִם תְּֽאֵהֲבוּ פֶתִי

And in my German translation of Proverbs:

Wie lange wollt ihr Unverständigen unverständig sein

Proverbs 29:27

While reading Proverbs in the NKJV a couple months ago, I found yet an-other significant chiasm, this time in Proverbs 29:27:

An unjust man

is an abomination to the righteous,

and he who is upright in the way

is an abomination to the wicked.

The same structure is present in the ESV:

An unjust man

is an abomination to the righteous,

but one whose way is straight

is an abomination to the wicked.

And, very bluntly, in the NIV:

The righteous

detest the dishonest;

the wicked

detest the upright.

It's also in my German translation of Proverbs:

Ein ungerechter Mensch

ist dem Gerechten ein Greuel;

und wer recht wandelt,

ist dem Gottlosen ein Greuel.

This structure is in the Hebrew but inverted from the above:

תּוֹעֲבַת צַדִּיקִים אִישׁ עָוֶל וְתוֹעֲבַת רָשָׁע יְשַׁר־דָּֽרֶךְ׃

The word order in the Latin Vulgate is comparable:

Abominantur iusti

virum impium

et abominantur impii

eos qui in recta sunt via

Something like:

An abomination to the righteous

is an unjust man

and an abomination to the wicked

are those who are in the straight way.

In the English and German translations, the order is [unjust | righteous || upright | wicked], where in the Hebrew and the Latin Vulgate, it's [righteous | unjust || wicked | upright], but in both, the structure highlights the mutual animosity.

Proverbs 27:6

Last month, I read Proverbs 27 in the NKJV and noticed some significance in the structure of verse 6:

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

The clauses' structures are inversions of each other:  [adjective][implied copulative verb][noun + prepositional phrase] in the first but [noun + prepositional phrase][implied copulative verb][adjective] in the second.  This inversion highlights the opposites "faithful" and "deceitful," "wounds" and "kisses," and "friend" and "enemy."

None of the other translations I referenced have this structure, though, and some even differ in meaning, which I can't account for.  My German translation of Proverbs and the Latin Vulgate have the same basic meaning as the NKJV, but the ESV and NIV go in an-other direction.  In the ESV, this verse is:  "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy," and in the NIV:  "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses."

Proverbs 24:11

Last month, I read Proverbs 24 in the NKJV and noticed some interesting features in verse 11:

Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.

There's parallelism (of both structure and meaning) between "drawn toward death" and "stumbling to the slaughter," and this is highlighted by the alliteration in each phrase and by the balanced number of syllables in the principal words within each phrase ("drawn" and "death" have one syllable each; "stumbling" and "slaughter" two).

I referenced some other translations and the Hebrew text, but these features seem specific to the NKJV.

Proverbs 11:11

About a month ago, I read Proverbs 11 in the NKJV and noticed some significance in the structure of verse 11:  "By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked."  The two clauses' structures are inversions of each other, highlighting the opposites ("upright" & "wicked" and "exalted" & "overthrown").

Of the translations I have, this feature is unique to the NKJV.  It's not in the Hebrew either, where this verse is:

בְּבִרְכַּת יְשָׁרִים תָּרוּם קָרֶת וּבְפִי רְשָׁעִים תֵּהָרֵֽס׃

Following this word order, the verse is something like:  "By the blessing of the upright is exalted a city, but by the mouth of the wicked, it is overthrown."

Proverbs 10:1

A few weeks ago, I read Proverbs 10 in the NKJV and noticed a small feature in the first verse:  "The proverbs of Solomon:  A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the grief of his mother."

In Hebrew, the verse is:

מִשְׁלֵי שְׁלֹמֹה פ בֵּן חָכָם יְשַׂמַּח־אָב וּבֵן כְּסִיל תּוּגַת אִמּֽוֹ׃

If I understand correctly, the word יְשַׂמַּח means "makes glad," so the first clause is something like "A wise son makes glad a father," which the NKJV just shuffles around a bit.

At first, I noticed only that the contrast between "wise" and "foolish" and between "glad" and grief" is further emphasized by the different types of verbs:  "makes" is an active verb, but "is" (which is merely implied in the Hebrew) is a stative verb.

When I started looking at other translations, I found more to comment on.  The ESV is basically the same as the NKJV (it has "sorrow to" instead of "grief of"), but the NIV is different:  "A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother."  Here, these contrasts are highlighted by the omission of the verb in the second clause ("a foolish son [brings] grief to his mother").

Either of these constructions (the contrasting active and stative verbs or the elliptical phrasing) may hint at laziness on the part of the foolish son, who merely exists instead of actively doing or whose efforts are lacking.  The following verses, which continue to compare sons, comment plainly on laziness:  "4 Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.  5 He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son."

In the Latin Vulgate, the verse is comparable to the NKJV and ESV translations:  "Parabolae Salomonis Filius sapiens laetificat patrem filius vero stultus maestitia est matris suae."

Proverbs 2:6

A few weeks ago, I started reading Proverbs in the NKJV.  I noticed a minor feature in the second half of Proverbs 2:6:  "from His [the LORD's] mouth come knowledge and understanding."  The sentence structure is inverted so that the source (the LORD's mouth) precedes that which comes from it (knowledge and understanding), which obviously mirrors the meaning.

The ESV and NIV translations are the same as the NKJV, and this structure is also in the Hebrew:

מִפִּיו דַּעַת וּתְבוּנָֽה׃

the Latin Vulgate:

ex ore eius [veniunt] scientia et prudentia

and my German translation of Proverbs, albeit with a subject-verb disagreement:

aus seinem Munde kommt Erkenntnis und Einsicht

Proverbs 12:13

A few weeks ago, I read Proverbs 12 and noticed something in verse 13 that's similar to what I noted in Proverbs 11:6 last year.  In the ESV, it's "An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble."  I still don't know enough about Hebrew verbs to be able to comment on whether this is the case in the original language, but in English, at least, there's a contrast between the passive voice of "is ensnared" and the active voice of "escapes."  The ensnared man has a lack of agency, and this is mirrored by the passive voice, in which the subject is acted upon.

This is also the case in my German translation of Proverbs:  "Der Böse wird gefangen in seinen eigenen falschen Worten; aber der Gerechte entgeht der Not."

Proverbs 11:6

Earlier this month, I read Proverbs 11, and I noticed a contrast in verse 6:  "The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust" [ESV].  Obviously, there's a difference between "the upright" and "the treacherous," but to some degree, this contrast is also shown by the voices of the verbs:  "delivers" is in the active voice while "are taken captive" is in the passive voice.

I don't know enough about Hebrew to comment on the original forms, but this distinction is also present in my German translation:

Die Gerechtigkeit der Frommen wird sie erretten*; aber die Verächter werden gefangen durch ihre Gier.

And in the Latin Vulgate:

iustitia rectorum liberabit* eos et in insidiis suis capientur iniqui

I also noticed how appropriate the passive voice is for being "taken captive."  In the same way that the subject in a passive voice construction is acted upon, those who are captive lack agency.

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*The German and Latin verbs are both in the future tense:  righteousness "will save" or "will free" the upright.

Proverbs 15:29

Last month, I read Proverbs 15, and I found an-other instance where two nouns are placed at opposite ends of a clause, which results in a sense of the distance that's mentioned in the verse.  In both the NIV and the ESV, Proverbs 15:29 is translated as:  "The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous."  The structure highlights the distance between "the LORD" and "the wicked."

This feature isn't in the Hebrew or the Latin Vulgate, but it is in my German translation of Proverbs:  "Der HERR ist ferne von den Gottlosen; aber der Gerechten Gebet erhört er."

Proverbs 14:25

After I finished reading the Psalms in the NIV, I continued on into Proverbs.  A couple weeks ago, I read chapter 14, and I noticed a contrast in verse 25:  "A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceitful."  (The ESV is similar:  "A truthful witness saves lives, but one who breathes out lies is deceitful.")  Obviously, "truthful" and "false" are opposites, and to some degree, these are mirrored by the different types of verbs:  "saves" is an active verb, but "is" is merely a stative verb.