Proverbs 27:19

New English Translation

¹⁹As in water the face is reflected as a face,^[a]
so a person’s heart^[b] reflects the person.

Proverbs 27:19 tn The verse is somewhat cryptic and so has prompted many readings. The first line in the MT has “As water the face to the face.” The simplest and most probable interpretation is that clear water gives a reflection of the face (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). One creative but unconvincing suggestion is that of L. Kopf, who suggests the idea is “water of face” (a construct) and that it means shame or modesty, i.e., a face is not really human without shame, and a man without a heart is not human (“Arabische Etymologien und Parallelen zum Bibelwörterbuch,” VT 9 [1959]: 260-61).
Proverbs 27:19 tn The second line has “so the heart of a man to a man” (cf. KJV, ASV). The present translation (along with many English versions) supplies “reflects” as a verb in the second line to emphasize the parallelism. sn In the parallelism this statement means that a person’s heart is the true reflection of that person. It is in looking at the heart, the will, the choices, the loves, the decisions, the attitudes, that people come to self-awareness.

Proverbs 27:19

Lexham English Bible

¹⁹As the waters reflect face to face,^[a]
so the heart of a person reflects the person.

¹⁴Blessed is the one who is always cautious,^[a]
but whoever hardens his heart^[b] will fall into evil.

Proverbs 28:14 tn Most commentators (and some English versions, e.g., NIV) assume that the participle מְפַחֵד (m^efakhed, “fears”) means “fears the Lord,” even though “the Lord” is not present in the text. Such an assumption would be more convincing if the word יִרְאַת (yirʾat) had been used. It is possible that the verse refers to fearing sin or its consequences. In other words, the one who is always apprehensive about the nature and consequences of sin will avoid sin and find God’s blessing. Of course the assumption that the phrase means “fear the Lord” could be correct as well. There would be little difference in the outcome; in either case sin would be avoided.
Proverbs 28:14 sn The one who “hardens his heart” in this context is the person who refuses to fear sin and its consequences. The image of the “hard heart” is one of a stubborn will, unyielding and unbending (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT). This individual will fall into sin.

¹⁴Happy is the person who fears continuously,
but he who is stubborn of heart,^[a] will fall into calamity.

29 The one who stiffens his neck^[a] after numerous rebukes^[b]
will suddenly be destroyed^[c] without remedy.^[d]

Proverbs 29:1 tn The idiom “to harden the neck” (מַקְשֶׁה־עֹרֶף, maqsheh ʿoref) is the idea of resisting the rebukes and persisting in obstinacy (e.g., Exod 32:9). The opposite of a “stiff neck” would be the bending back, i.e., submission.
Proverbs 29:1 tn The Hebrew construction is אִישׁ תּוֹכָחוֹת (ʾish tokhakhot, “a man of rebukes”), meaning “a man who has (or receives) many rebukes.” This describes a person who is deserving of punishment and who has been given many warnings. The text says, then, “a man of rebukes hardening himself.”
Proverbs 29:1 sn The stubborn person refuses to listen; he will suddenly be destroyed when the calamity strikes (e.g., Prov 6:15; 13:18; 15:10).
Proverbs 29:1 tn Or “healing” (NRSV).

29 A man who is reproved, being stubborn of neck—
suddenly he will be broken, and there will not be healing.

New English Translation (NET)

Lexham English Bible (LEB)

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