2 Samuel 1:16

1:16 David said to him, “Your blood be on your own head! Your own mouth has testified against you, saying ‘I have put the Lord’s anointed to death.’”

2 Samuel 1:1

David Learns of the Deaths of Saul and Jonathan

1:1 After the death of Saul, ¹  when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, ²  he stayed at Ziklag ³  for two days.

Kisah Para Rasul 20:1

Paul Travels Through Macedonia and Greece

20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging ⁴  them and saying farewell, ⁵  he left to go to Macedonia. ⁶ 

Mazmur 64:8

64:8 Their slander will bring about their demise. ⁷ 

All who see them will shudder, ⁸ 

Mazmur 140:9

140:9 As for the heads of those who surround me –

may the harm done by ⁹  their lips overwhelm them!

Amsal 10:8

10:8 The wise person ¹⁰  accepts instructions, ¹¹ 

but the one who speaks foolishness ¹²  will come to ruin. ¹³ 

Amsal 10:10

10:10 The one who winks ¹⁴  his ¹⁵  eye causes ¹⁶  trouble,

and the one who speaks foolishness ¹⁷  will come to ruin.

Amsal 10:14

10:14 Those who are wise ¹⁸  store up ¹⁹  knowledge,

but foolish speech ²⁰  leads to imminent ²¹  destruction.

Amsal 18:6-8

18:6 The lips of a fool ²²  enter into strife, ²³ 

and his mouth invites ²⁴  a flogging. ²⁵ 

18:7 The mouth of a fool is his ruin,

and his lips are a snare for his life. ²⁶ 

18:8 The words of a gossip ²⁷  are like choice morsels; ²⁸ 

they go down into the person’s innermost being. ²⁹ 

Amsal 19:5

19:5 A false witness ³⁰  will not go unpunished,

and the one who spouts out ³¹  lies will not escape punishment. ³² 

Amsal 26:9

26:9 Like a thorn ³³  that goes into the hand of a drunkard,

so is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. ³⁴ 

Lukas 19:22

19:22 The king ³⁵  said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, ³⁶  you wicked slave! ³⁷  So you knew, did you, that I was a severe ³⁸  man, withdrawing what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow?

[1:1]  ¹ sn This chapter is closely linked to 1 Sam 31. It should be kept in mind that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally a single book, not separate volumes. Whereas in English Bible tradition the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and Ezra-Nehemiah are each regarded as two separate books, this was not the practice in ancient Hebrew tradition. Early canonical records, for example, counted them as single books respectively. The division into two books goes back to the Greek translation of the OT and was probably initiated because of the cumbersome length of copies due to the Greek practice (unlike that of Hebrew) of writing vowels. The present division into two books can be a little misleading in terms of perceiving the progression of the argument of the book; in some ways it is preferable to treat the books of 1-2 Samuel in a unified fashion.

[1:1]  ² sn The Amalekites were a nomadic people who inhabited Judah and the Transjordan. They are mentioned in Gen 36:15-16 as descendants of Amalek who in turn descended from Esau. In Exod 17:8-16 they are described as having acted in a hostile fashion toward Israel as the Israelites traveled to Canaan from Egypt. In David’s time the Amalekites were viewed as dangerous enemies who raided, looted, and burned Israelite cities (see 1 Sam 30).

[1:1]  ³ sn Ziklag was a city in the Negev which had been given to David by Achish king of Gath. For more than a year David used it as a base from which he conducted military expeditions (see 1 Sam 27:5-12). According to 1 Sam 30:1-19, Ziklag was destroyed by the Amalekites while Saul fought the Philistines.

[20:1]  ⁴ tn Or “exhorting.”

[20:1]  ⁵ tn Or “and taking leave of them.”

[20:1]  ⁶ sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.

[64:8]  ⁷ tc The MT reads literally, “and they caused him to stumble, upon them, their tongue.” Perhaps the third plural subject of the verb is indefinite with the third singular pronominal suffix on the verb being distributive (see Ps 63:10). In this case one may translate, “each one will be made to stumble.” The preposition עַל (’al) might then be taken as adversative, “against them [is] their tongue.” Many prefer to emend the text to וַיַּכְשִׁילֵמוֹ עֲלֵי לְשׁוֹנָם (vayyakhshilemo ’aley lÿshonam, “and he caused them to stumble over their tongue”). However, if this reading is original, it is difficult to see how the present reading of the MT arose. Furthermore, the preposition is not collocated with the verb כָּשַׁל (kashal) elsewhere. It is likely that the MT is corrupt, but a satisfying emendation has not yet been proposed.

[64:8]  ⁸ tn The Hitpolel verbal form is probably from the root נוּד (nud; see HALOT 678 s.v. נוד), which is attested elsewhere in the Hitpolel stem, not the root נָדַד (nadad, as proposed by BDB 622 s.v. I נָדַד), which does not occur elsewhere in this stem.

[140:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “harm of their lips.” The genitive here indicates the source or agent of the harm.

[10:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the wise of heart” (so NASB, NRSV). The genitive noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as an attributive adjective: “the wise heart.” The term לֵב functions as a synecdoche of part (= heart) for the whole person (= person). The heart is emphasized because it is the seat of wisdom (BDB 524 s.v. 3.b).

[10:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “commandments.”

[10:8]  ¹² tn Heb “fool of lips.” The phrase is a genitive of specification: “a fool in respect to lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause (= lips) for effect (= speech). This person talks foolishness; he is too busy talking to pay attention to instruction.

[10:8]  ¹³ tn The Niphal verb לָבַט (lavat) means “to be thrust down [or, away]”; that is, “to be ruined; to fall” or “to stumble” (e.g., Hos 4:14). The fool who refuses to listen to advice – but abides by his own standards which he freely expresses – will suffer the predicaments that he creates.

[10:10]  ¹⁴ tn The term (קָרַץ, qarats) describes a person who habitually “winks” his eye maliciously as a secretive sign to those conspiring evil (Prov 6:13). This is a comparison rather than a contrast. Devious gestures are grievous, but not as ruinous as foolish talk. Both are to be avoided.

[10:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the eye.”

[10:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “gives.”

[10:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the fool of lips”; cf. NASB “a babbling fool.” The phrase is a genitive of specification: “a fool in respect to lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause (= lips) for effect (= speech). The word for fool (אֶוִיל, ’evil) refers to someone who despises knowledge and discernment.

[10:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “wise men.”

[10:14]  ¹⁹ sn The verb צָפַן (tsafan, “to store up; to treasure”) may mean (1) the wise acquire and do not lose wisdom (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV), or (2) they do not tell all that they know (cf. NCV), that is, they treasure it up for a time when they will need it. The fool, by contrast, talks without thinking.

[10:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the mouth of foolishness”; cf. NRSV, NLT “the babbling of a fool.” The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech. The genitive אֶוִיל (’evil, “foolishness”) functions as an attributive adjective: “a foolish mouth” = foolish speech.

[10:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “near destruction.” The words of the fool that are uttered without wise forethought may invite imminent ruin (e.g., James 3:13-18). See also Ptah-hotep and Amenemope in ANET 414 and 423.

[18:6]  ²² sn The “lips” is a metonymy of cause, meaning what the fool says. The “mouth” in the second colon is likewise a metonymy for speech, what comes out of the mouth.

[18:6]  ²³ sn “Strife” is a metonymy of cause, it is the cause of the beating or flogging that follows; “flogging” in the second colon is a metonymy of effect, the flogging is the effect of the strife. The two together give the whole picture.

[18:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “calls for.” This is personification: What the fool says “calls for” a beating or flogging. The fool deserves punishment, but does not actually request it.

[18:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “blows.” This would probably be physical beatings, either administered by the father or by society (e.g., also 19:25; Ps 141:5; cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT). Today, however, “a beating” could be associated with violent criminal assault, whereas the context suggests punishment. Therefore “a flogging” is used in the translation, since that term is normally associated with disciplinary action.

[18:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “his soul” (so KJV, NASB, NIV).

[18:7]  sn What a fool says can ruin him. Calamity and misfortune can come to a person who makes known his lack of wisdom by what he says. It may be that his words incite anger, or merely reveal stupidity; in either case, he is in trouble.

[18:8]  ²⁷ tn Or “slanderer”; KJV, NAB “talebearer”; ASV, NRSV “whisperer.”

[18:8]  ²⁸ tn The word כְּמִתְלַהֲמִים (kÿmitlahamim) occurs only here. It is related to a cognate verb meaning “to swallow greedily.” Earlier English versions took it from a Hebrew root הָלַם (halam, see the word לְמַהֲלֻמוֹת [lÿmahalumot] in v. 6) meaning “wounds” (so KJV). But the translation of “choice morsels” fits the idea of gossip better.

[18:8]  ²⁹ tn Heb “they go down [into] the innermost parts of the belly”; NASB “of the body.”

[18:8]  sn When the choice morsels of gossip are received, they go down like delicious food – into the innermost being. R. N. Whybray says, “There is a flaw in human nature that assures slander will be listened to” (Proverbs [CBC], 105).

[19:5]  ³⁰ tn Heb “a witness of lies.” This expression is an attributive genitive: “a lying witness” (cf. CEV “dishonest witnesses”). This is paralleled by “the one who pours out lies.”

[19:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “breathes out”; NAB “utters”; NIV “pours out.”

[19:5]  ³² tn Heb “will not escape” (so NAB, NASB); NIV “will not go free.” Here “punishment” is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:5]  sn This proverb is a general statement, because on occasion there are false witnesses who go unpunished in this life (e.g., Prov 6:19; 14:5, 25; 19:9). The Talmud affirms, “False witnesses are contemptible even to those who hire them” (b. Sanhedrin 29b).

[26:9]  ³³ sn The picture is one of seizing a thornbush and having the thorn pierce the hand (עָלָה בְיַד־, ’alah vÿyad). A drunk does not know how to handle a thornbush because he cannot control his movements and so gets hurt (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 599). C. H. Toy suggests that this rather means a half-crazy drunken man brandishing a stick (Proverbs [ICC], 475). In this regard cf. NLT “a thornbush brandished by a drunkard.”

[26:9]  ³⁴ sn A fool can read or speak a proverb but will be intellectually and spiritually unable to handle it; he will misapply it or misuse it in some way. In doing so he will reveal more of his folly. It is painful to hear fools try to use proverbs.

[19:22]  ³⁵ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the nobleman of v. 12, now a king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:22]  ³⁶ tn Grk “out of your own mouth” (an idiom).

[19:22]  ³⁷ tn Note the contrast between this slave, described as “wicked,” and the slave in v. 17, described as “good.”

[19:22]  ³⁸ tn Or “exacting,” “harsh,” “hard.”