Amsal 10:15
Konteks10:15 The wealth of a rich person is like 1 a fortified city, 2
but the poor are brought to ruin 3 by 4 their poverty.
Amsal 10:23
Konteks10:23 Carrying out a wicked scheme 5 is enjoyable 6 to a fool,
and so is wisdom for the one who has discernment. 7
Amsal 11:31
Konteks11:31 If the righteous are recompensed on earth, 8
how much more 9 the wicked sinner! 10
Amsal 13:25
Konteks13:25 The righteous has enough food to satisfy his appetite, 11
but the belly of the wicked lacks food. 12
Amsal 15:33
Konteks15:33 The fear of the Lord provides wise instruction, 13
and before honor comes humility. 14
Amsal 16:2
Konteks16:2 All a person’s ways 15 seem right 16 in his own opinion, 17
but the Lord evaluates 18 the motives. 19
Amsal 16:5
Konteks16:5 The Lord abhors 20 every arrogant person; 21
rest assured 22 that they will not go unpunished. 23
Amsal 18:17
Konteks18:17 The first to state his case 24 seems 25 right,
until his opponent 26 begins to 27 cross-examine him. 28
Amsal 19:27
Konteks19:27 If you stop listening to 29 instruction, my child,
you will stray 30 from the words of knowledge.
Amsal 22:17
Konteks22:17 Incline your ear 32 and listen to the words of the wise,
and apply your heart to my instruction. 33
Amsal 23:1
Konteks23:1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
consider carefully 34 what 35 is before you,
Amsal 23:22
Konteks23:22 Listen to your father who begot you,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
Amsal 26:6
Konteks26:6 Like cutting off the feet or drinking violence, 36
so is sending 37 a message by the hand of a fool. 38
Amsal 26:9
Konteks26:9 Like a thorn 39 that goes into the hand of a drunkard,
so is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. 40
Amsal 27:1
Konteks27:1 Do not boast 41 about tomorrow; 42
for you do not know 43 what a day may bring forth.
Amsal 27:16
Konteks27:16 Whoever hides her hides the wind 44
or grasps 45 oil with his right hand. 46
Amsal 28:17
Konteks28:17 The one who is tormented 47 by the murder 48 of another will flee to the pit; 49
let no one support him.
Amsal 28:22
Konteks28:22 The stingy person 50 hastens after riches
and does not know that poverty will overtake him. 51
Amsal 29:13
Konteks29:13 The poor person and the oppressor 52 have this in common: 53
the Lord gives light 54 to the eyes of them both.
[10:15] 1 tn Heb “is.” This expression, “a rich man’s wealth is his strong city,” is a metaphor. The comparative particle “like” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.
[10:15] 2 tn Heb “a city of his strength.” The genitive עֹז (’oz, “strength”) functions as an attributive genitive: “strong city” = “fortified city.” This phrase is a metaphor; wealth protects its possessions against adversity like a fortified city. Such wealth must be attained by diligence and righteous means (e.g., 13:8; 18:23; 22:7).
[10:15] 3 tn Heb “the ruin of the poor.” The term דַּלִּים (dalim, “of the poor”) functions as an objective genitive. Poverty leads to the ruin of the poor. The term “ruin” includes the shambles in which the person lives. This provides no security but only the fear of ruin. This proverb is an observation on life.
[10:15] 4 tn Heb “is their poverty.”
[10:23] 5 tn Heb “doing a plan.” The noun זִמָּה (zimmah, “plan”) is often used pejoratively of a scheme to do wickedness. It is used elsewhere for planning lewdness, murder, incest, adultery, idolatry, and licentiousness. Any planned gross impropriety gives the fool pleasure. The verb עָשָׂה (’asah, “to do”) here means “to carry out (a plan)” (BDB 794 s.v.).
[10:23] 6 tn Heb “like sport” (so NASB, NRSV). The noun שְׂחוֹק (sÿkhoq, “sport”) is used elsewhere to refer to what is exhilarating and pleasurable (BDB 966 s.v.). As W. G. Plaut says, it is like child’s play (Proverbs, 132). For the fool evil brings such enjoyment; for the discerning wisdom does.
[10:23] 7 tn Heb “a man of discernment.”
[11:31] 8 tc The LXX introduces a new idea: “If the righteous be scarcely saved” (reflected in 1 Pet 4:18). The Greek translation “scarcely” could have come from a Vorlage of בַּצָּרָה (batsarah, “deficiency” or “want”) or בָּצַּר (batsar, “to cut off; to shorten”) perhaps arising from confusion over the letters. The verb “receive due” could only be translated “saved” by an indirect interpretation. See J. Barr, “בארץ ~ ΜΟΛΙΣ: Prov. XI.31, I Pet. IV.18,” JSS 20 (1975): 149-64.
[11:31] 9 tn This construction is one of the “how much more” arguments – if this be true, how much more this (arguing from the lesser to the greater). The point is that if the righteous suffer for their sins, certainly the wicked will as well.
[11:31] 10 tn Heb “the wicked and the sinner.” The two terms may form a hendiadys with the first functioning adjectivally: “the wicked sinner.”
[13:25] 11 tn The noun נֶפֶשׁ (traditionally “soul”; cf. KJV, ASV) here means “appetite” (BDB 660 s.v. 5.a).
[13:25] 12 tn Heb “he will lack.” The term “food” is supplied in the translation as a clarification. The wicked may go hungry, or lack all they desire, just as the first colon may mean that what the righteous acquire proves satisfying to them.
[15:33] 13 tn Heb “[is] instruction of wisdom” (KJV and NASB similar). The noun translated “wisdom” is an attributive genitive: “wise instruction.”
[15:33] sn The idea of the first line is similar to Prov 1:7 and 9:10. Here it may mean that the fear of the
[15:33] 14 tn Heb “[is] humility” (so KJV). The second clause is a parallel idea in that it stresses how one thing leads to another – humility to honor. Humble submission in faith to the
[16:2] 15 tn Heb “ways of a man.”
[16:2] 16 sn The Hebrew term translated “right” (z~E) means “innocent” (NIV) or “pure” (NAB, NRSV, NLT). It is used in the Bible for pure oils or undiluted liquids; here it means unmixed actions. Therefore on the one hand people rather naively conclude that their actions are fine.
[16:2] 17 tn Heb “in his eyes.”
[16:2] 18 tn The figure (a hypocatastasis) of “weighing” signifies “evaluation” (e.g., Exod 5:8; 1 Sam 2:3; 16:7; Prov 21:2; 24:12). There may be an allusion to the Egyptian belief of weighing the heart after death to determine righteousness. But in Hebrew thought it is an ongoing evaluation as well, not merely an evaluation after death.
[16:2] 19 tn Heb “spirits” (so KJV, ASV). This is a metonymy for the motives, the intentions of the heart (e.g., 21:2 and 24:2).
[16:2] sn Humans deceive themselves rather easily and so appear righteous in their own eyes; but the proverb says that God evaluates motives and so he alone can determine if the person’s ways are innocent.
[16:5] 20 tn Heb “an abomination of the
[16:5] 21 tn Heb “every proud of heart”; NIV “all the proud of heart.” “Heart” is the genitive of specification; the phrase is talking about people who have proud hearts, whose ideas are arrogant. These are people who set themselves presumptuously against God (e.g., 2 Chr 26:16; Ps 131:1; Prov 18:12).
[16:5] 22 tn Heb “hand to hand.” This idiom means “you can be assured” (e.g., Prov 11:21).
[16:5] 23 tc The LXX has inserted two couplets here: “The beginning of a good way is to do justly, // and it is more acceptable with God than to do sacrifices; // he who seeks the
[16:5] tn The B-line continues the A-line, but explains what it means that they are an abomination to the
[18:17] 24 tn Heb “in his legal case”; NAB “who pleads his case first.”
[18:17] 25 tn The term “seems” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness (cf. KJV “seemeth”).
[18:17] 26 tn Heb “his neighbor”; NRSV “the other.”
[18:17] 27 tn Heb “comes and.” The Kethib is the imperfect יָבֹא (yavo’), and the Qere is the conjunction with the participle/perfect tense form וּבָא (uva’). The latter is reflected in most of the ancient versions. There is not an appreciable difference in the translations, except for the use of the conjunction.
[18:17] 28 sn The proverb is a continuous sentence teaching that there must be cross-examination to settle legal disputes. There are two sides in any disputes, and so even though the first to present his case sounds right, it must be challenged. The verb הָקַר (haqar, translated “cross-examines”) is used for careful, diligent searching and investigating to know something (e.g., Ps 139:1).
[19:27] 29 tn Heb “Stop listening…!” The infinitive construct לִשְׁמֹעַ (lishmoa’) functions as the direct object of the imperative: “stop heeding [or, listening to].” Of course in this proverb which shows the consequences of doing so, this is irony. The sage is instructing not to stop. The conditional protasis construction does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation.
[19:27] 30 tn The second line has an infinitive construct לִשְׁגוֹת (lishgot), meaning “to stray; to go astray; to err.” It indicates the result of the instruction – stop listening, and as a result you will go astray. The LXX took it differently: “A son who ceases to attend to discipline is likely to stray from words of knowledge.” RSV sees the final clause as the purpose of the instructions to be avoided: “do not listen to instructions to err.”
[22:17] 31 sn A new collection of sayings begins here, forming the fourth section of the book of Proverbs. This collection is not like that of 1:1–9:18; here the introductory material is more personal than 1:1-7, and the style differs, showing great similarity to the Instruction of Amenemope in Egypt (especially the thirty precepts of the sages in 22:17–24:22). Verses 17-21 form the introduction, and then the sayings begin in v. 22. After the thirty sayings are given, there are further sayings in 24:23-34. There is much literature on this material: see W. K. Simpson, ed., Literature of Ancient Egypt; ANET 412-425; and A. Cody, “Notes on Proverbs 22:21 and 22:23b,” Bib 61 (1980): 418-26.
[22:17] 32 sn To “incline the ear” means to “listen carefully” (cf. NCV); the expression is metonymical in that the ear is the instrument for hearing. It is like telling someone to lean over to hear better.
[22:17] 33 tn Heb “knowledge” (so KJV, NASB); in this context it refers to the knowledge that is spoken by the wise, hence “instruction.”
[23:1] 34 tn The construction uses the imperfect tense of instruction with the infinitive absolute to emphasize the careful discernment required on such occasions. Cf. NIV “note well”; NLT “pay attention.”
[23:1] 35 tn Or “who,” referring to the ruler (so ASV, NAB, TEV).
[26:6] 36 sn Sending a messenger on a mission is like having another pair of feet. But if the messenger is a fool, this proverb says, not only does the sender not have an extra pair of feet – he cuts off the pair he has. It would not be simply that the message did not get through; it would get through incorrectly and be a setback! The other simile uses “violence,” a term for violent social wrongs and injustice. The metaphorical idea of “drinking” violence means suffering violence – it is one’s portion. So sending a fool on a mission will have injurious consequences.
[26:6] 37 tn The participle could be taken as the subject of the sentence: “the one who sends…cuts off…and drinks.”
[26:6] 38 sn The consequence is given in the first line and the cause in the second. It would be better not to send a message at all than to use a fool as messenger.
[26:9] 39 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] 40 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.
[27:1] 41 tn The form אַל־תִּתְהַלֵּל (’al-tithallel) is the Hitpael jussive negated; it is from the common verb “to praise,” and so in this setting means “to praise oneself” or “to boast.”
[27:1] sn The verse rules out one’s overconfident sense of ability to control the future. No one can presume on the future.
[27:1] 42 sn The word “tomorrow” is a metonymy of subject, meaning what will be done tomorrow, or in the future in general.
[27:1] 43 sn The expression “you do not know” balances the presumption of the first line, reminding the disciple of his ignorance and therefore his need for humility (e.g., Matt 6:34; Luke 12:20; Jas 4:13-16).
[27:16] 44 tn The participle and verb both are from the root צָפַן (tsafan, “to hide”). This combination could be translated “hiding her is [like] hiding the wind.”
[27:16] sn A contentious woman is uncontrollable. The wind can gust at any moment; so too the contentious woman can nag or complain without warning. If anyone can hide the wind he can hide her.
[27:16] 45 sn The verb is the Qal imperfect of קָרָא (qara’); BDB 895 s.v. 5.b defines it here as “call for = demand, require,” but acknowledge that it is probably corrupt. R. B. Y. Scott interprets it to mean “grasping” oil in the hand, an expression he compares to the modern “butterfingers” (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [AB], 163). Others have interpreted it to mean “betrays” – “ointment of his right hand betrays itself,” meaning its smell persists. However, the connection to the proverb does not seem obvious with that interpretation.
[27:16] 46 tc The LXX took an etymologizing approach to the whole verse and translated it “the north wind is a severe wind, but by its name is termed auspicious.” In this rendering the Hebrew text’s “oil” became “its name,” “right hand” became “auspicious,” and “grasp” became “called.”
[28:17] 47 tn The form is the Qal passive participle. The verb means “to oppress; to wrong; to extort”; here the idea of being “oppressed” would refer to the burden of a guilty conscience (hence “tormented”; cf. NAB, NRSV “burdened”). Some commentators have wanted to emend the text to read “suspected,” or “charged with,” or “given to,” etc., but if the motive is religious and not legal, then “oppressed” or “tormented” is preferred.
[28:17] 48 sn The text has “the blood of a life”; blood will be the metonymy of effect for the murder, the shedding of blood.
[28:17] 49 tn The verse is cryptic; it simply says that he will “flee to the pit.” Some have taken the “pit” to refer to the place of detention for prisoners, but why would he flee to that place? It seems rather to refer to death. This could mean that (1) since there is no place for him to go outside of the grave, he should flee to the pit (cf. TEV, NLT), or (2) he will be a fugitive until he goes to the grave (cf. NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, CEV). Neither one of these options is easily derived from the text. The verse seems to be saying that the one who is guilty of murder will flee, and no one should assist him. The meaning of “the pit” is unresolved.
[28:22] 50 tn Heb “a man with an evil eye” (as opposed to the generous man who has a “good” eye). This individual is selfish, unkind, unsympathetic to others. He looks only to his own gain. Cf. NAB “The avaricious man”; NLT “A greedy person.”
[28:22] 51 sn The one who is hasty to gain wealth is involved in sin in some way, for which he will be punished by poverty. The idea of “hastening” after riches suggests a dishonest approach to acquiring wealth.
[29:13] 52 tn Heb “a man of oppressions”; KJV “the deceitful man.” The noun תֹּךְ (tokh) means “injury; oppression” (BDB 1067 s.v.). Such men were usually the rich and powerful. The Greek and the Latin versions have “the debtor and creditor.”
[29:13] 53 tn The verb פָּגַשׁ (pagash) means “to meet; to encounter.” In the Niphal it means “to meet each other; to meet together” (cf. KJV, ASV). The focus in this passage is on what they share in common.
[29:13] 54 sn The expression gives light to the eyes means “gives them sight” (cf. NIV). The expression means that by giving them sight the
