Proverbs 13:12 New English Translation

¹²Hope^[a] deferred^[b] makes the heart sick,^[c]
but a longing fulfilled^[d] is like^[e] a tree of life.

Proverbs 13:12 sn The word “hope” (תּוֹחֶלֶת [tokhelet] from יָחַל [yakhal]) also has the implication of a tense if not anxious wait.
Proverbs 13:12 tn The verb is the Pual participle from מָשַׁךְ (mashakh, “to draw; to drag”).
Proverbs 13:12 sn Failure in realizing one’s hopes can be depressing or discouraging. People can bear frustration only so long (W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 153).
Proverbs 13:12 tn Heb “a desire that comes”; cf. CEV “a wish that comes true.”
Proverbs 13:12 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

New English Translation (NET)