The two lines of this verse are parallel in both form and meaning. Without praising or condemning what is done, the saying notes the power of a gift or bribe to overcome a dangerous situation.

“A gift in secret averts anger”: The word “gift” translates the normal neutral Hebrew term for giving (see 18.16). People in every culture understand about giving; however, in some languages the verb form is normally used, and this may require naming the person who gives and possibly also the person who receives. It seems clear in this context that the person who gives the “gift” is the one likely to be hurt by another person’s “anger”. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version make this clear by using the pronoun “you.” But who is the gift given to? Good News Translation suggests that it is given to the angry person, so that it “will calm him down”; but this is not the only possibility. Scott says that the verse is “possibly a reference to settling a case out of court, or to bribing a judge who is about to condemn the offender,” and Toy says that “the reference is to dealing with judges and other great men.” The expression “gift in secret”, along with the parallel expression in the next line, suggests that the reference is to a bribe, that is, a gift intended to influence someone to change their course of action. “Averts” is a rare Hebrew term that may have the sense of “subduing” or “turning aside” the person’s anger. In this context “soothes” (New International Version) and “appeases” (Revised English Bible) are both quite appropriate in English.

“And a bribe in the bosom, strong wrath”: There is no verb in this line, and we should understand the verb from the previous line here also. “A bribe” is definitely not a neutral term, but one that has a bad sense; it means giving money or some other gift, usually in a secret way, in order to get someone to act in a way that may not be right or fair. The element of secrecy is expressed by the figurative “in the bosom”, meaning “hidden under the clothing.” See comments at 17.23. “Strong wrath” is the parallel expression to “anger” in the first line; but as is often the case in this type of parallelism, it is more powerful or intense than the term it matches. It may be expressed in English as “fierce rage” or “raging fury” (New Jerusalem Bible).

Since the two lines are very similar in meaning, and since there is only one verb in the verse, it is possible to express the thought in a single sentence; for example, Contemporary English Version has “A secret bribe will save you from someone’s fierce anger.” Another way of expressing this is “If someone is angry with you, you can give him a present when no one is looking, and his anger will finish.”

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 .