A Little Different Kind of Proverb of the Week

 

Proverb of the Week

Like an archer who wounds everyone is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.              – Proverbs 26:10 (ESV)

The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors. - Proverbs 26:10 (KJV)

This Proverb of the Week will depart from my normal practice of commenting on its content to explain the very different rendering of the same Hebrew text by various Bible translations.

So what’s going on here? The issue comes down the fact that words in Hebrew have a range of use and meaning which often depends on the context in which they are used, just as words in English do. As it turns out, two of the key Hebrew words in this proverb have a wide range of possible meaning. Keep in mind that the word “God” is not in the original Hebrew of this proverb as indicated by it being shown in italics in the KJV to indicate it was added to help clarify meaning. The word translated as “great” in the KJV is translated as “one who hires” in the ESV, both representing someone in authority. Likewise, the Hebrew word translated as “formed” in the KJV is translated as “wounds” in the ESV, both legitimate translations.

The difference in how the proverb is translated largely comes down to whether the translators understood the authority mentioned to be the great God, as the KJV does, or merely an employer as the ESV and many other translations render it.  It’s important to note that the truth of both translations of this proverb can be supported by other passages of scripture, and though only one of them can properly reflect the intention of the inspired author, this should not be cause for alarm over the trustworthiness of the Bible.

Most important of all is to note that there are only a handful of verses in the Bible that fall into this category of being this difficult to translate, and none of them, in any way, effect any major Christian doctrine or belief.  

 

Consider Your Motivation

 

So You Think You're All That

 

Proverb of the Week

Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.  – Proverbs 25:6-7 (ESV)

In the book of Luke, Jesus tells a parable which mirrors this proverb.  He ends the parable with this warning: For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.  (Luke 14:11)

Just as the Pharisees loved the uppermost seats in the synagogues to be honored by men, and even Jesus’ disciples who at one point argued as to which of them would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven, one of the temptations that we are all subject to is thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought. On the contrary, we should be humble for as scripture says: What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?  (1 Corinthians 4:7)