Proverbs 14 Series, a Postscript

In the preface to this series of posts on Proverbs 14, I said that - among the universal sayings of all that we call proverbs - the very first one I remember hearing is Proverbs 14:29.  In this postscript, may I share with you my very favorite?  As I get ready to do that, I wonder very much how you have read the Proverbs for yourself.  Are you finding that they give you wisdom?  that they guide you?  that they are foreign sounding or are familiar?  or both?  Do they allow you, require you, to read pop psychology into them, as blogger CD-Host comments here (i.e., "I don't like reading pop psychology into the bible, except in books like Proverbs where it can't be avoided.")?  Can you read them and hear them alongside the other proverbs you've heard growing up or that you speak now to children around you growing up?  How different are they for grown ups?  Do they apply more to women than to men or the other way around?  Are they gendered?  Theological?  These questions are ones I have for you and are maybe ones you also have for yourself or for others like me.

For the series here, we asked other questions, some together:

Part I - What's with the womanly imagery in the very first proverb?

Part II - So what's the right way to read Proverbs 14:12?  What way seems right to my evangelical Christian missionary father, to SBC men today?  But what's its end?

Part III - What are the benefits to reading Proverbs 14:32 and 14:33 and 14:34 in both Hebrew and Hellene side by side?

Part V - What differences and similarities can we see between the Hebrew and the Greek of Proverbs when translated literally and individually into 19th-century English?

Part V - How does Proverbs 14:3 in both Hebraic Greek and Hebrew turn the tables on the binary structure of Aristotle's masculinist logic?

Part VI - What's the gender of Proverbs 14 read in English translation in 2011?

Part VII - How can one appreciate Proverbs 14 for its ancient Hebrew poetry?  Does one first need to become one of the "Old Testament scholars" (i.e. a "Biblia Hebraica scholar")?

My favorite proverb of the Hebrew Proverbs is 14:10.  It defies our attempts at conversation about it through blogging or even through our talking together face to face.  It makes us wonder, as we listen to John Balaban's English translation (reading page 25) of a confession by Hồ Xuân Hương; it makes us wonder whether she really is all alone or whether we can feel so much with her.  So listen to her second confession:

Confession (II)

Before dawn, the watch drum rumbles.
Lonely pink face among mountains and streams

addled but alert with a cup of fragrant wine
as the moon sets, just a sliver not yet full.

Moss seems to creep across the earth's face.
Stony peaks pierce the belly of the clouds.

Sick with sadness, spring passes, spring returns.
A bit of love shared, just the littlest bit.

Now back to the Hebrew proverb as Robert Alter brings it to us in our English:

The heart knows its own bitterness,
and in its joy no stranger mingles.

And, on this, we imagine the Hebrew proverb writer composing in her room, and then the copyists and editors all talking about including this set of verses in the whole of the collection of the Proverbs, and then the translator in Alexandria - in Egypt again - choosing clear or tricky Greek words, and now Alter in his office at his computer screen translating and writing in our English, as we here at our screens read (some together, and yet, absolutely alone perhaps with God alone):

Though some of these proverbs may give the impression of the rehearsal of rote learning, many others ... are arresting not just because of the concise poetic wit but also because they appear to derive from shrewd and considered reflection on moral behavior and human nature and sometimes from introspection as well.  If some of these maxims may seem too pat one is startled to come across this proverb:  "The heart knows its own bitterness, / and in its joy no stranger mingles" (14:10).  The book as a whole, after all, works on the assumption that knowledge and experience are eminently transmissible and teachable and that everyone draws on the same fund of set moral principles.  In this instance, however, the anthologists [of proverbs for The Proverbs] have included a very different perception -- that each person's experience is ultimately incommensurable, that one's inward sorrows and delights have no adequate reflection in the lexicon of the social realm.  Occasionally, despite the general adherence of the collection to moral certitude, one encounters a proverb that registers the stubborn ambiguity of human experience, as in this densely packed line:  "like water face to face / thus the heart of man to man" (27:19).  The first verset evidently means to say that water gives back a person his own reflected image, and so the second verset would seem to assert that a man may know the heart of another by pondering what is in his own heart.  But water, after all, is an unstable mirror, its surface liable to be troubled by wind or tide, its chromatic layers darkening or transforming the image, and hence the reflection of heart to heart may be a tricky or undependable business.  [pages 189 - 90]

Proverbs 14 part vi: Gender in 2011

The Gender of Proverbs 14 in 2011

When writing Part II of this series, I had just read the official and public Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) statement against the NIV 2011 denouncing its gender inclusive English.  So we looked at Proverbs 14:12 in the NIV 1984 and also in the NIV 2011; and, in our discussion, we didn't stop short of looking at the proverb's translation from the potentially gender-neutral words of Hebrew and Greek:  ish (אִ֑ישׁ) and anthropois (ἀνθρώποις).   In Part III, we started in with Kristen's suggestion that "Perhaps the NIV 2011 was incorrect in leaving out that the word 'iysh' does appear here."  I'd also suggested that, in a later post, "we may get into the fact that, in Proverbs 14, the Hebraic Hellene translators from the Hebrew have in certain verses have really restricted the translation and have confined the meaning to men only, to males and not to females.  For example, in verses 7, 10, 30, 33 there are the words ἀνδρὶ, ἀνδρὸς, and ἀνὴρ [andri, andros, aner] that are not at all gender neutral or gender universal."  Now, in this Part VI, let's look carefully and closely at gender in all of Proverbs 14, in 2011, in English translation.

Let's do this because the gender words are the now-very-public problem that the official SBC men have with the NIV 2011.  I'm going to ask that you look with me at every English gendered word in five different translations of Proverbs 14.  The five are these:

1. the HCSB, produced by the SBC publishing house;

2. the ESV, which R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, also recommended to the SBC "for serious study" before the HCSB was produced;

3. the NIV1984, the old version which is less of a "profound disappointment" to the SBC men and less of an "inaccurate translation of God’s inspired Scripture" in the eyes of the SBC resolvers because the older Bible did not have so much "use of gender-neutral [English] language";

4. the NIV2011, the newest version that really is now a publicly "profound disappointment" to the SBC men and really does seem to be an "inaccurate translation of God’s inspired Scripture" in the eyes of the SBC resolvers because it really does have the "use of gender-neutral [English] language";

5. the NLT, the newest translation to just narrowly beat out the HCSB in familiarity among SBC pastors and to very widely to beat out the HCSB in familiarity among other Christian ministers in the USA.

So let's read these five English Bibles and compare their gendered words in Proverbs 14.  Let's read each verse, each proverb, below, in this order:  HCSB then ESV then  NIV1984, and then NIV2011 and last NLT.  I've highlighted with various colors the feminine, masculine, neuter (i.e., gender-neutral), and gender-inclusive nouns and pronouns.

I'll let you figure out which Hebrew and Greek nouns and pronouns are being translated from.  But can you also answer these English-only questions?

1.  In which proverbs below do all five translations agree with respect to the gender of the nouns and pronouns? 

2.  Are there any proverbs for which the HCSB does the "profoundly disappointing" thing of making "use of gender-neutral language"?  (Do look below for yourself.  Okay, let me answer:  YES.  Now can you tell me which verses in Proverbs 14 below the HCSB uses gender-neutral language for?)

3.  Are they any proverbs for which the HCSB makes MORE "use of gender-neutral language" than the other four translations?  Does the HCSB really make more "use of gender-neutral language" than the NIV 2011 in some of the proverbs noted below?  (Again, Yes.  So please note which proverbs.)

4.  Is there a proverb for which the HCSB genders "Wisdom" feminine?  Which one?

5.  Are there any proverbs for which the ESV does the profoundly disappointing thing of making "use of gender-neutral language"?  (Do look below for yourself.  Okay, let me answer:  YES.  Now can you tell me which verses in Proverbs 14 below the HCSB uses gender-neutral language for?)

6.  Are they any proverbs for which the ESV makes MORE "use of gender-neutral language" than the other four translations?  Does the ESV really make more "use of gender-neutral language" than the NIV 2011 in some of the proverbs noted below?  (Again, Yes.  So please note which ones.)

7.  Is there a proverb in which the NIV1984 makes God's gender inclusive?   YES.  And which one is it?

Please have a read for yourself.  Please feel free in comments to share your answers to the above questions or your thoughts about anything else you see here.  (Remember, the order of the trnaslation, verse by verse and proverb by proverb here, is HCSB, ESV,  NIV1984, NIV2011, and NLT.)

 

 

 

So what does the gender-neutral language of Proverbs 14 in the HCSB, the ESV, the NIV1984 and 2011, and the NLT say about the SBC men who have made their targeted resolution?  

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(Now, for anybody wanting it, here's a bit of the background on the controversy surrounding these words in 2011.  If you would like to read the SBC resolution against the NIV 2011 for yourself, Suzanne McCarthy links today to several bloggers who've quoted it directly and have given links to the primary sources.  

Moreover, for more background, since we're getting into the language of Proverbs 14 (language which Robert Alter refers to as ancient "Hebrew" poetry), you may also want to see this.  You may also want to how John Hobbins claims that "Old Testament scholars who blog have expressed dissatisfaction with the new NIV."  He links to 4 bloggers total, unless you also count him with his 2 links to his own blog.  He agrees with 3 and disagrees with the 4th.  However, 1 blogger John agrees with has mainly expressed only dissatisfaction with the advertising of the NIV 2011 and not with the gender-neutral language of the translation.   Likewise, another 1 has expressed dissatisfaction but not so much with the gender-inclusive English "beef" that the SBC has.  Then there's the 1 who does express dissatisfaction with the gender-neutral language of the NIV 2011, as the SBC resolvers have.  As mentioned, John includes himself among the dissatisfied, as 1 who shares the gender "beef" of the SBC men.  To be clear, John only links to 3 other "Old Testament scholars who blog who blog have expressed dissatisfaction" and only 1 of whom [other than himself] actually shares the gender "beef" of the official Southern Baptist men resolving to denounce the NIV 2011.  That John so far finds only 1 in agreement with him as he validates the resolution of the SBC men is important.  It's important because he goes on to mention 1 blogger with whom he has the disagreement, and John puts that this way:

So far as I know, the only blogger/ Biblia Hebraica scholar who offers praise for the new NIV is Joel Hoffman. He expressed satisfaction for the its gender-sensitive modifications of NIV 1984; he describes them as gender-accurate. These kind of changes satisfy some but raise the hackles of others. In Roman Catholic and Southern Baptist contexts – the largest church polities in the US – a reaction against gender-sensitive translation has set in.  Both faith traditions seek to retain a degree of independence from prevailing cultural trends. This is no doubt salutary. At the same time, it would be easy to build bridges across some of the divides if the debate were not dominated by Ninja warrior types on both sides.

It's curious the way John has put this.  He's called "salutary" what he sees as independent "Roman Catholic and Southern Baptist" efforts to resist cultural corruption, suggesting that the SBC resolution against the NIV 2011 and its language and its use and its sales is somehow a resolution against "cultural trends" that ostensibly must be reacted against.   And John has mentioned the "Roman Catholic and Southern Baptist" as if in some contrast to Joel, who self identifies not as a Catholic or a Baptist or even a Christian of any sort but as the child of someone who has built language bridges with Christians.  One of Joel's parents - also a blogger/ Biblia Hebraica scholar - says this:  "I am a liturgist. 'Liturgy' is a common enough word among Christians, but it does not flow trippingly off Jewish tongues, and I am not only Jewish but a rabbi to boot."  Here we have the SBC vs / the NIV2011 and "accurate" vs. / "inaccurate" and a few scholarly bloggers vs / the NIV2011 and John vs / Joel and "the largest church polities in the US" vs  / "prevailing cultural trends."  All these divisions.  These are important background to how we might read Proverbs 14 in 2011.  Sorry for the long digresssion.  [To see John's words here in 2011 on his "beef" with the words of the NIV 2011, go here. ])

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Proverbs 14 Part IV (Hebrew and/or Greek in translation)

This is Part IV of a series on Proverbs 14. In this particular post, I'm interested in how the Hebrew and the Greek in English translation may compare and contrast. Below is the literal translation of the Hebrew by Julia E. Smith in 1876, and then immediately following verse-by-verse is the more-or-less literal translation of the Greek by Lancelot C. L. Brenton in 1851.  These two literal translations are much different from the ones done by Robert Alter in 2010 and by the Common English Bible translation team in 2011 and by the New International Version team in 2011; our much newer translations consider both the Hebrew and the Greek together, and they seem to use the Greek translation of the Hebrew to correct the Hebrew; and, furthermore, (in the context now of much translation theory and many translation debates about literal vs dynamic equivalence and such) the 21st century English is also much more nuanced and sensitive to gender differences in English and thus in the Hebrew and Greek.

However, the translation by Smith tries only to bring across the meanings of the Hebrew; and the translation by Brenton attempts just to render the meanings of the Greek translation of the Hebrew.  Furthermore, Smith's and Brenton's 19th century translations have English that included gender-neutral or gender-inclusive uses of "man" for "men and women" (without all the added burden of whether a literal translation really gets at the meanings in a dynamic-equivalent way).

I've appreciated all the insights and questions offered in comments made following the first several posts in this series.  (I've also been fascinated elsewhere by the description of the Greek by blogger and UC Berkeley linguist Rich Rhodes:  "the LXX was in Biblish to the writers of the NT," which somehow suggests that the writers of the New Testament did not have access or give much priority to the Hebrew and whether it also seemed "biblish."  In conversation with Rhodes, blogger and Hebrew poetry enthusiast John Hobbins calls the Greek quoted in the NT "Septuagintalisms."  Wonder what they'd make of how Brenton translates the Greek translating the Hebrew compared with how Smith translates the Hebrew?)  To help in reading the two translations side by side, I've now put in bold font the translation of the Hebrew by Smith; the italics in the translation of the Greek by Brenton are his.  Now what do you make of the differences and the similarities of the respective translations of Proverbs 14 by Smith and by Brenton? 

1 THE wise woman built her house: but the foolish will pull it down with her hands.
 Wise women build houses: but a foolish one digs hers down with her hands.

2 He going in his uprightness will fear Jehovah: and he perverted in his ways, despised him.
He that walks uprightly fears the Lord; but he that is perverse in his ways shall be dishonoured.

3 In the mouth of the foolish one a rod of pride; and the lips of the wise shall watch them.
Out of the mouth of fools comes a rod of pride; but the lips of the wise preserve them.

4 In no oxen the stall clean, and much increase in the strength of the ox.
Where no oxen are, the cribs are clean; but where there is abundant produce, the strength of the ox is apparent.

5 A witness of faithfulnesses will not lie: and a witness of falsehood will breathe out lies.
A faithful witness does not lie; but an unjust witness kindles falsehoods.

6 He mocking sought wisdom, and none: and knowledge being easy to him understanding.
Thou shalt seek wisdom with bad men, and shalt not find it; but discretion is easily available with the prudent.
 

7 Go from before to the foolish man and thou knewest not the lips of knowledge.
All things are adverse to a foolish man; but wise lips are the weapons of discretion.
 

8 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: and the folly of the foolish is deceit.
The wisdom of the prudent will understand their ways; but the folly of fools leads astray.
 

9 The foolish will mock at guilt: and between the upright acceptance.
The houses of transgressors will need purification; but the houses of the just are acceptable.
 

10 The heart will know the bitterness of its soul, and in its joys the stranger shall not mingle.
 If a man’s mind is intelligent, his soul is sorrowful; and when he rejoices, he has no fellowship with pride.

11 The house of the unjust shall be destroyed: and the tent of the upright shall nourish.
 The houses of ungodly men shall be utterly destroyed; but the tabernacles of them that walk uprightly shall stand.

12 There is a way straight before man, and its latter state the ways of death.
 There is a way which seems to be right with men, but the ends of it reach to the depths of hell.

13 Also in laughter the heart shall have pain, and its latter state of joy, grief.
 Grief mingles not with mirth; and joy in the end comes to grief.

14 He drawing back the heart shall be filled from his ways: and a good man from above him.
 A stout-hearted man shall be filled with his own ways; and a good man with his own thoughts.

15 The simple will believe to every word: and the prudent will understand to his going.
 The simple believes every word: but the prudent man betakes himself to after-thought. 

16 The wise one feared and departed from evil: and the foolish overflowing, and being confident.
A wise man fears, and departs from evil; but the fool trusts in himself, and joins himself with the transgressor.

17 He reaping anger will do folly: and a man of mischiefs will be hated.
 A passionate man acts inconsiderately; but a sensible man bears up under many things.

18 The simple inherit folly: and the prudent shall be surrounded with knowledge.
 Fools shall have mischief for their portion; but the prudent shall take fast hold of understanding.

19 The evil bowed before the good, and the unjust at the gates of the just one.
 Evil men shall fall before the good; and the ungodly shall attend at the gates of the righteous.

20 Also the poor shall be hated by his neighbor: and many loving the rich one.
Friends will hate poor friends; but the friends of the rich are many.
 

21 He despising to his neighbor, sins: and he compassionating the poor, he is happy.
He that dishonours the needy sins: but he that has pity on the poor is most blessed.
 

22 Shall they not go astray, seeking evil? and mercy, and truth to those seeking good.
They that go astray devise evils: but the good devise mercy and truth. The framers of evil do not understand mercy and truth: but compassion and faithfulness are with the framers of good.
 

23 In all labor will be profit: and the word of the lips only to want.
With every one who is careful there is abundance: but the pleasure-taking and indolent shall be in want.
 

24 The crown of the wise is their riches: the folly of the foolish, folly.
A prudent man is the crown of the wise: but the occupation of fools is evil.

25 A witness of truth delivers souls and deceit will breathe out lies.
A faithful witness shall deliver a soul from evil: but a deceitful man kindles falsehoods.

26 In the fear of Jehovah the trust of strength, and to his sons a refuge.
In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and he leaves his children a support.

27 The fear of Jehovah a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
The commandment of the Lord is a fountain of life; and it causes men to turn aside from the snare of death.

28 In a multitude of people the king's decoration: and in the cessation of the people the destruction of the prince.
In a populous nation is the glory of a king: but in the failure of people is the ruin of a prince.
 

29 The slow to anger of much under standing: and the short of spirit exalts folly.
A man slow to wrath abounds in wisdom: but a man of impatient spirit is very foolish.
 

30 A heart of healing, the life of the flesh: and jealousy the rottenness of the bones.
A meek-spirited man is a healer of the heart: but a sensitive heart is a corruption of the bones.

31 He oppressing the poor reproached him making him: and he honoring him compassionated the needy.

He that oppresses the needy provokes his Maker: but he that honours him has pity upon the poor.

32 The unjust one shall be driven away in his evil: and the just one trusted in his death.

The ungodly shall be driven away in his wickedness: but he who is secure in his own holiness is just. 

33 In the heart of him understanding, wisdom shall rest: and in the midst of fools it shall be made known.

There is wisdom in the good heart of a man: but in the heart of fools it is not discerned.

34 Justice will exalt a nation: and sin a reproach to nations.

Righteousness exalts a nation: but sins diminish tribes.

35 The acceptance of the king to a servant of understanding: and his wrath shall be to him causing shame.

An understanding servant is acceptable to a king; and by his good behaviour he removes disgrace.