Sometimes the Septuagint translation of a Hebrew text raises interesting new possibilities about the meaning of a scripture. I was translating Proverbs 11:25 and ran across a good example.
My transliteration from Hebrew (read from right to left):
25aנֶֽפֶשׁ־בְּרָכָ֥ה תְדֻשָּׁ֑ן ׃
(intensive) is-being-fattened/engorged/enriched/anointed blessing/benediction-of-soul
25b: וּ֝מַרְוֶ֗ה גַּם־ה֥וּא יוֹרֶֽא
being-caused-to- cast down/shoot/rain he-of-also/even causes-to-satisfy/fill/drench/intoxicate and/but
Proverbs 11:25 (DCB translated from Hebrew) A soul that is a blessing to others by saying good words of praise will themselves be made fat and engorged with plenty and he who drenches others causing them to drink their fill and be satisfied, he also will receive the rain.
Here are a few modern translations for comparison:
Proverbs 11:25 (NIV) A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
Proverbs 11:25 (NASB) The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered.
Proverbs 11:25 (NASB lit. from footnote) The soul of blessing will be made fat, And he who waters will himself be watered.
These are all fairly similar and speaking of God blessing those who bless others.
It is interesting to realize that our cultural view about obesity colors the way we translate this scripture. A wooden literal transliteration is: “soul of blessing will be made fat” where the clear implication is that to be “made fat” is a blessing from God! Because we do not regularly face famine and scarcity we do not see obesity as a blessing, and thus we do not translate the text literally. Perhaps we need to consider whether we should view obesity more favorably. When is the last time you looked at the roly-poly people around you and at that extra roll around your belly and gave thanks to God for it recognizing it is a sign that God has blessed you with abundance?
There is a dryness that comes, at times, to any who spend their lives trying to bless, encourage and assist others. I find in this verse a wonderful promise that you can trust God to provide the rain that you need when you “water” others first.
The Septuagint was translated from Hebrew texts by Rabbis several hundred years prior to Jesus’ time, and gives us a snapshot of the consensus of how Hebrews from an earlier culture understood the scriptures. That is incredibly valuable. The Septuagint also gives us insight into the Greek used in the New Testament. New Testament authors often quote the Septuagint (for example some commentators suggest that all of the Old Testament quotes in the book of Hebrews are from the Septuagint). Paul seems to quote whichever OT version he likes best, either directly from the Hebrew text or the Greek.
Now let us compare the Hebrew translation above to the LXX Septuagint (Greek) version.
My transliteration from the Greek (read from left to right):
25 ψυχὴ εὐλογουμένη πᾶσα ἁπλῆ,
Soul being-blessing/good-word-speaking each/every single/sincere,
ἀνὴρ δὲ θυμώδης οὐκ εὐσχήμων.
man but given-to-rage not respectable/graceful/proper/honored/noble/prominent.
Proverbs 11:25 (DCB translated from Septuagint LXX Greek) Every sincere soul is being blessed with words of praise, except for the man given to rage who is not honored.
Here is another translation of the LXX to English for comparison:
Proverbs 11:25 (Brenton LXX translation) Every sincere soul is blessed, but a passionate man is not graceful.
So these two translations are fairly similar as well.
I do not think that Benton’s “passionate” really captures the pejorative meaning of θυμώδης. This word speaks of a man given to fits of rage or wrath.
Either my translation or Benton’s of εὐσχήμων is probably acceptable. It can mean honored or respected (specifically by holding a position of prominence) or proper, graceful, modest and respectably behaved. I prefer the former translation because it speaks more directly to the consequences of the uncontrolled anger. The warning is that if you are given to anger you will not find the respect and honor you desire, nor be elevated to positions of authority that you feel you deserve. The scripture translated this way is insightful, not simply descriptive, and thus more helpful in directing a heart to change.
So if you don’t feel blessed by the words people say about you or have been passed over for opportunities for promotion and don’t feel honored or respected, perhaps you need to take a close look at your motives and actions. Are you sincere (single hearted) or are you duplicitous? Are you addicted to alcohol or other substances, or given to rage and have fits of anger or are prone to vengefulness? Do you lack grace for others when you are passionate about something?
If you suspect this is true of you, invite the Lord Jesus to change your heart.
I found both versions, the Greek and the Hebrew of Proverbs 11:25 to be quite insightful. But now we must pause and consider the comparison between the two. It is hard to escape the conclusion that they are very different!!
Why is this? I did some linguistic detective work and can at least shed some light on the reason for the differing translations.
The translators of the Septuagint (LXX) take a negative view of the Hebrew word מַרְוֶ֗ה (marweh) translating it as “intoxicated/drunk”, akin to Lamentations 3:15 where it can be translated “He has made me drunk (intoxicated) with wormwood (bitterness)”, rather than simply “watering, being drenched, or being filled”. The man given to drunkenness, in the LXX translators’ opinion, described a man who was an angry drunk, out of control and given to fits of rage, thus it was then translated into Greek as “given to rage”. This perhaps gives us some insight into the way this word was used commonly when the Septuagint was made and the detrimental behaviors associated with drunkenness in the Jewish culture of that time. Not much has changed in a few thousand years, has it?
The Septuagint authors also translate the final Hebrew word יוֹרֶֽא (Yowreh) quite differently. In our English translations from the Masoretic text it is being translated as “rain” or “is watered” but this word has a much wider range of meanings in Hebrew and is more typically translated elsewhere as “throw down, cast out, shoot (as an arrow), pour down”. It figuratively means to point down and hence can be used abstractly to mean “teach”. The Septuagint translators choose the meaning of “cast down”. In Greek “cast down” is translated with the negation of ευσχήμων. This Greek word means “respected, honored, or prominent” (this same word is used 5 times in the new testament see Mark 15:43 “prominent”, Acts 13:50 “high standing”, Acts 17:12 “prominent”, 1 Corinthians 7:35 “honorably”, 1 Corinthians 12:24 “honor”). So the Septuagint translators’ concept of being “cast down” was that the man given to rage was not respected, honored or made prominent.
For folks who like things to be black and white, and the Bible to be crystal clear, the differences in possible translation of the same Hebrew sentence is a serious problem. I can hear a high school youth exclaiming, “But which one is right? They can’t both be correct!”
From a translators perspective, either one of these translations seems reasonable. While distinctly different, both are also wise words to consider.
As always, when we find curiosities like this in the scripture, it is worth pausing, praying and asking Jesus for clarity. I brought this as a devotion to my small group bible study and a friend pointed me to this verse:
Luke 6: 37-38 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
In my mind’s eye I can see Jesus meditating upon Proverbs 11:25 seeing both the Hebrew and the Greek translations, which were the scripture of his time, and summarizing both possibilities:
If you are sincere and shower others with blessings, you will be blessed.
If you are duplicitous, given to rage and lacking in grace with others you in turn will be cast down and treated without honor.
“For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
As confusing as it may sound, I think that Jesus understood that both thoughts were inspired by God and summarized them succinctly for us.
Isn’t He awesome?
Atheist to Elder 