Translation commentary on Proverbs 20:26

This verse and verse 28 describe the ideal king as one who upholds justice in the community he rules. Here the focus is on his treatment of the wicked. The two lines of this saying are parallel and have essentially the same meaning.

“A wise king winnows the wicked”: For “winnows” see verse 8. The sense in this verse is that the king separates out evildoers from the community; he “sifts out” (Revised English Bible) or “blows away” the wicked.

“And drives the wheel over them”: In this context “the wheel” is probably the wheel of a cart that is used for threshing harvested grain, “the threshing wheel” (New International Version). Threshing is the process of breaking the grain away from the stalks, which comes before winnowing in which the wind blows away the straw and chaff from the good grain. “Drives the wheel over” has practically the same meaning as “winnows” in the first line, separating evildoers from good people in the community. The picture of threshing may also carry a sense of harsh treatment or punishment for the evildoers.

Where other implements are used for threshing, the terms that refer to them may be used here in translation. However, in some cultures and languages the pictures of what happens in ancient harvesting practice may not be very useful in expressing the meaning of this verse. If this is the case, translators may wish to follow the approach of Contemporary English Version, which joins the two lines into a single statement, “A wise ruler severely punishes every criminal,” or Good News Translation, which keeps two lines, “A wise king will find out who is doing wrong, and will punish him without pity.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

king

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Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:

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  • Piro: “a great one”
  • Highland Totonac: “the big boss”
  • Huichol: “the one who commanded” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Ekari: “the one who holds the country” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Una: weik sienyi: “big headman” (source: Kroneman 2004, p. 407)
  • Pass Valley Yali: “Big Man” (source: Daud Soesilo)
  • Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
  • Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))

Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo was determined:

“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”

(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )