Why does DRA stand out in so far as the English translation of Proverbs 18:19 is concerned?

Question

Proverbs 18:19 is translated in an identical manner by almost all English Versions , except for just a few like DRA. Please compare:

DRA

A brother that is helped by his brother, is like a strong city: and judgments are like the bars of cities.

ERV

An insulted brother is harder to win back than a city with strong walls. Arguments separate people like the strong bars of a palace gate.

Most translations speak of insulted brother while DRA highlights positive effects of family support in adversity . My question is: Why does DRA stand out in so far as the English translation of Proverbs 18:19 is concerned ?

Answer 1

The simple answer is that the DRA (Douay-Rheims American translation) is a translation of the Latin Bible, while most others translate the Hebrew Bible.

Now, the DRA is an excellent translation of the Latin Bible; BUT the Latin text is NOT a particularly accurate translation (in some places) of the Hebrew text. Therefore, the real question here is why the Latin text does not accurately translate the Hebrew. There are several possible reasons for this:

• the Latin text, at times, is rather interpretive and paraphrastic
• the Latin text used a different Hebrew exemplar which we no longer have

For comparison, we may examine other old translations of the Hebrew Bible:

Latin DRA

• A brother that is helped by his brother, is like a strong city: and judgments are like the bars of cities.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English

• A brother is helped by his brother, like a city by its fortress, and they hold it like the bars of a fortress.

Brenton Septuagint Translation

• A brother helped by a brother is as a strong and high city; and is as strong as a well-founded palace.

The similarity of these other ancient translations suggests that they used a similar Hebrew exemplar that is different from the Hebrew text we now have.