Passage

Proverbs 19.20

Book: Proverbs · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"18. Chasten thy son, seeing there is hope; And set not thy heart on his destruction. 19. A man of great wrath shall bear the penalty; For if thou deliver him, thou must do it yet again."

"20. Hear counsel, and receive instruction, That thou mayest be wise in thy latter end."

"21. There are many devices in a man's heart; But the counsel of Jehovah, that shall stand. 22. That which maketh a man to be desired is his kindness; And a poor man is better than a liar." (Proverbs 19:18-22, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"18. Discipline your son, for there is hope; don’t be a willing party to his death. 19. A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty, for if you rescue him, you must do it again."

"20. Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter end."

"21. There are many plans in a man’s heart, but Yahweh’s counsel will prevail. 22. That which makes a man to be desired is his kindness. A poor man is better than a liar." (Proverbs 19:18-22, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"18. Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. ^{for: or, to his destruction: or, to cause him to die} 19. A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again. ^{do: Heb. add}"

"20. Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end."

"21. There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand. 22. The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar." (Proverbs 19:18-22, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"18. Chastise thy son, for there is hope, And to put him to death lift not up thy soul. 19. A man of great wrath is bearing punishment, For, if thou dost deliver, yet again thou dost add."

"20. Hear counsel and receive instruction, So that thou art wise in thy latter end."

"21. Many [are] the purposes in a man's heart, And the counsel of Jehovah it standeth. 22. The desirableness of a man [is] his kindness, And better [is] the poor than a liar." (Proverbs 19:18-22, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Solomon (principal); Agur; Lemuel; wise men
Audience: young Israelite men in the wisdom tradition
Location: Israel, Solomonic court
Time period: principal composition c. 970-930 BC (Solomon); compilation c. 700 BC (Hezekiah)

Theological reading

Key words

No Strong's-tagged lexicon matches found in this passage. (Lexicon coverage is curated, ~159 of the most apologetically-loaded Greek/Hebrew terms.)

Quoted in

Spirit of Heedlessness

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.