AboutGaddy Yaari Expertise What I do: I'll help you understand Hebrew phrases or single words, as well as answer questions about Jewish practices.
What I don't do: Tattoo translations. For that, try http://www.stars21.com/translator/english_to_hebrew.html
Experience I am a columnist for a Hebrew-language newspaper, and a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Education/Credentials MBA
BA in the US,
Grade school and high school in Israel
The verse above comes from Proverbs 16:9. Most English translations that I read use the word “but” rather than the word “and” when connecting the first part “In their hearts human beings plan their course,” with the second part, “but the LORD establishes their steps.”
27 English translations use “but” while only Young’s and Amplified translations use “and”.
I’m frustrated because from my studies I feel the meaning of this verse is: “With your heart first, continually, repeatedly, think to do, creatively and inventively devise and plan your hearts desires, and Yahweh will direct your steps.”
If I wrote my own amplified translations I’d write it like this: “With your heart, continually, think to do, devise and plan, and Yahweh will direct your steps.”
I used the word “continually” because, unless I’m wrong, the third word, יְחַשֵּׁ֣ב (ḥāšab) has an “imperfect” use, which is supposed to represent “continuous” and “repeating”…is this correct?
Thank you in advance for any help.
Mark
Answer Mark,
The problem with any ancient texts is that we are far removed from the period in which they were written, and therefore we can only hope to be able to understand the original intent.
Your argument is quite cogent, yet I prefer the 'but' translation. Here is why:
The book, after all, is the book of Proverbs. As a casual reader, that is precisely what I would expect to find in it - proverbs. The 'but' translation retains the flavor of a proverb, saying in essence, that you can do all the planning that you want, but nothing will come of it without God's help.
By replacing the 'but' with 'and' you are taking a proverb and turning it into a nicely-written descriptive sentence, but it no longer has the punchline of a proverb.
As to the imperfect tense, that is not the case with יְחַשֵּׁ֣ב. In this instance it appears in future tense (it needs a vav as a prefix to become imperfect).
