Amsal 11:24

11:24 One person is generous ¹  and yet grows more wealthy, ² 

but another withholds more than he should ³  and comes to poverty. ⁴ 

Amsal 11:29

11:29 The one who troubles ⁵  his family ⁶  will inherit nothing, ⁷ 

and the fool ⁸  will be a servant to the wise person. ⁹ 

Amsal 12:4

12:4 A noble wife ¹⁰  is the crown ¹¹  of her husband,

but the wife ¹²  who acts shamefully is like rottenness in his bones. ¹³ 

Amsal 14:22

14:22 Do not those who devise ¹⁴  evil go astray?

But those who plan good exhibit ¹⁵  faithful covenant love. ¹⁶ 

Amsal 14:31

14:31 The one who oppresses ¹⁷  the poor insults ¹⁸  his Creator,

but whoever shows favor ¹⁹  to the needy honors him.

Amsal 16:22

16:22 Insight ²⁰  is like ²¹  a life-giving fountain ²²  to the one who possesses it,

but folly leads to the discipline of fools. ²³ 

Amsal 17:2

17:2 A servant who acts wisely ²⁴  will rule

over ²⁵  an heir ²⁶  who behaves shamefully, ²⁷ 

and will share the inheritance along with the relatives. ²⁸ 

Amsal 21:17

21:17 The one who loves ²⁹  pleasure ³⁰  will be ³¹  a poor person; ³² 

whoever loves wine and anointing oil ³³  will not be rich.

Amsal 22:16

22:16 The one who oppresses the poor to increase his own gain

and the one who gives to the rich ³⁴  – both end up only in poverty.

Amsal 23:24

23:24 The father of a righteous person will rejoice greatly; ³⁵ 

whoever fathers a wise child ³⁶  will have joy in him.

Amsal 23:31

23:31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,

when it sparkles ³⁷  in the cup,

when it goes down smoothly. ³⁸ 

Amsal 26:17

26:17 Like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears, ³⁹ 

so is the person passing by who becomes furious ⁴⁰  over a quarrel not his own.

Amsal 26:27

26:27 The one who digs a pit ⁴¹  will fall into it;

the one who rolls a stone – it will come back on him.

Amsal 27:12

27:12 A shrewd person sees danger and hides himself,

but the naive keep right on going ⁴²  and suffer for it.

Amsal 29:1

29:1 The one who stiffens his neck ⁴³  after numerous rebukes ⁴⁴ 

will suddenly be destroyed ⁴⁵  without remedy. ⁴⁶ 

[11:24]  ¹ tn Heb “There is one who scatters.” The participle מְפַזֵּר (mÿfazzer, “one who scatters”) refers to charity rather than farming or investments (and is thus a hypocatastasis). Cf. CEV “become rich by being generous”).

[11:24]  ² tn Heb “increases.” The verb means that he grows even more wealthy. This is a paradox: Generosity determines prosperity in God’s economy.

[11:24]  ³ tn Heb “more than what is right.” This one is not giving enough, but saving for himself.

[11:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “comes to lack.” The person who withholds will come to the diminishing of his wealth. The verse uses hyperbole to teach that giving to charity does not make anyone poor, and neither does refusal to give ensure prosperity.

[11:29]  ⁵ tn The verb עָכַר (’akhar, “to trouble”) refers to actions which make life difficult for one’s family (BDB 747 s.v.). He will be cut out of the family inheritance.

[11:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “his house.” The term בֵּית (bet, “house”) is a synecdoche of container (= house) for its contents (= family, household).

[11:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “the wind” (so KJV, NCV, NLT); NAB “empty air.” The word “wind” (רוּחַ, ruakh) refers to what cannot be grasped (Prov 27:16; Eccl 1:14, 17). The figure is a hypocatastasis, comparing wind to what he inherits – nothing he can put his hands on. Cf. CEV “won’t inherit a thing.”

[11:29]  ⁸ sn The “fool” here is the “troubler” of the first half. One who mismanages his affairs so badly so that there is nothing for the family may have to sell himself into slavery to the wise. The ideas of the two halves of the verse are complementary.

[11:29]  ⁹ tn Heb “to the wise of heart.” The noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) is an attributed genitive: “wise heart.” The term לֵב (“heart”) also functions as a synecdoche of part (= heart) for the whole (= person); see BDB 525 s.v. 7.

[12:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a wife of virtue”; NAB, NLT “a worthy wife.” This noble woman (אֵשֶׁת־חַיִל, ’shet-khayil) is the subject of Prov 31. She is a “virtuous woman” (cf. KJV), a capable woman of noble character. She is contrasted with the woman who is disgraceful (מְבִישָׁה, mÿvishah; “one who causes shame”) or who lowers his standing in the community.

[12:4]  ¹¹ sn The metaphor of the “crown” emphasizes that such a wife is a symbol of honor and glory.

[12:4]  ¹² tn Heb “she”; the referent (the wife) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:4]  ¹³ sn The simile means that the shameful acts of such a woman will eat away her husband’s strength and influence and destroy his happiness.

[14:22]  ¹⁴ sn The verb חָרַשׁ (kharash) means (1) literally: “to cut in; to engrave; to plow,” describing the work of a craftsman; and (2) figuratively: “to devise,” describing the mental activity of planning evil (what will harm people) in the first colon, and planning good (what will benefit them) in the second colon.

[14:22]  ¹⁵ tn The term “exhibit” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[14:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “loyal-love and truth.” The two terms חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת (khesed ve’emet) often form a hendiadys: “faithful love” or better “faithful covenant love.”

[14:31]  ¹⁷ tn The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq) normally means “to oppress” (as in many English versions). However, here it might mean “to slander.” See J. A. Emerton, “Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 20 (1969): 202-22.

[14:31]  ¹⁸ sn In the Piel this verb has the meaning of “to reproach; to taunt; to say sharp things against” someone (cf. NIV “shows contempt for”). By oppressing the poor one taunts or mistreats God because that person is in the image of God – hence the reference to the “Creator.” To ridicule what God made is to ridicule God himself.

[14:31]  ¹⁹ sn The phrase “shows favor” is contrasted with the term “oppresses.” To “show favor” means to be gracious to (or treat kindly) those who do not deserve it or cannot repay it. It is treatment that is gratis. This honors God because he commanded it to be done (Prov 14:21; 17:5; 19:17).

[16:22]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew noun שֵׂכֵל (sekhel, “prudence; insight”; cf. KJV, NASB, NIV “understanding”; NAB, CEV “good sense”) is related to the verb that means “to have insight; to give attention to; to act circumspectly [or, prudently],” as well as “to prosper; to have success.” These words all describe the kind of wise action that will be successful.

[16:22]  ²¹ 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.

[16:22]  ²² tn Heb “fountain of life.” The point of the metaphor is that like a fountain this wisdom will be a constant provision for living in this world.

[16:22]  ²³ tn Heb “the discipline of fools [is] folly.” The “discipline” (מוּסָר, musar) in this proverb is essentially a requital for sin (hence “punishment,” so NIV, NCV, NRSV); discipline which is intended to correct is normally rejected and despised by fools. So the line is saying that there is very little that can be done for or with the fool (cf. NLT “discipline is wasted on fools”).

[17:2]  ²⁴ sn The setting is in the ancient world where a servant rarely advanced beyond his or her station in life. But there are notable exceptions (e.g., Gen 15:3 where the possibility is mentioned, 1 Chr 2:35 where it changed through marriage, and 2 Sam 16:1-4; 19:24-30, with the story of Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth). This proverb focuses on a servant who is wise, one who uses all his abilities effectively – a Joseph figure.

[17:2]  ²⁵ sn The parallelism indicates that “ruling over” and “sharing in the inheritance” means that the disgraceful son will be disinherited.

[17:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “son.”

[17:2]  ²⁷ tn The form מֵבִישׁ (mevish) is a Hiphil participle, modifying בֵן (ben). This original heir would then be one who caused shame or disgrace to the family, probably by showing a complete lack of wisdom in the choices he made.

[17:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “in the midst of the brothers”; NIV “as one of the brothers.”

[21:17]  ²⁹ sn The participle “loves” (אֹהֵב, ’ohev) indicates in this context that more is involved than the enjoyment of pleasure, for which there is no problem. The proverb is looking at “love” in the sense of needing and choosing, an excessive or uncontrolled indulgence in pleasure.

[21:17]  ³⁰ sn “Pleasure” is actually the Hebrew word “joy” (שִׂמְחָה, simkhah). It is a metonymy of effect, the cause being the good life that brings the joy. In the second colon, “wine” and “oil” would be metonymies of cause, the particular things in life that bring joy. Therefore the figures in the lines work together to give the complete picture.

[21:17]  ³¹ tn The phrase “will be” is supplied in the translation.

[21:17]  ³² tn Heb “a man of poverty”; NRSV “will suffer want.”

[21:17]  ³³ sn In elaborate feasts and celebrations the wine was for drinking but the oil was for anointing (cf. NAB, NCV “perfume”). Both of these characterize the luxurious life (e.g., Ps 23:5; 104:15; Amos 6:6).

[22:16]  ³⁴ tn Heb “oppressing the poor, it is gain; giving to the rich, it is loss.” The Hebrew is cryptic, but two sins are mentioned here that will be punished by poverty: extortion and bribery. Perhaps the proverb is simply saying it is easy to oppress the poor for gain, but it is a waste of money to try to buy or bribe a patron (D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 149).

[23:24]  ³⁵ tc The Qere reading has the imperfect יָגִיל (yagil) with the cognate accusative גִּיל (gil) which intensifies the meaning and the specific future of this verb.

[23:24]  ³⁶ tn The term “child” is supplied for the masculine singular adjective here.

[23:31]  ³⁷ tn Heb “its eye gives.” With CEV’s “bubbling up in the glass” one might think champagne was in view.

[23:31]  ³⁸ tn The expression is difficult, and is suspected of having been added from Song 7:10, although the parallel is not exact. The verb is the Hitpael imperfect of הָלַךְ (halakh); and the prepositional phrase uses the word “upright; equity; pleasing,” from יָשָׁר (yashar). KJV has “when it moveth itself aright”; much more helpful is ASV: “when it goeth down smoothly.” Most recent English versions are similar to ASV. The phrase obviously refers to the pleasing nature of wine.

[26:17]  ³⁹ tn Heb “grabs the ears of a dog. The word “wild” has been supplied in the translation to make clear that these were not domesticated pets. CEV, to accomplish the same point, has “a mad dog,” but there is no indication of that in context.

[26:17]  sn Someone who did this ran a serious risk of injury or harm. Dogs were not domestic pets in the ancient Near East; they were scavengers that ran in packs like jackals.

[26:17]  ⁴⁰ tn The word מִתְעַבֵּר (mit’abber) means “to put oneself in a fury” or “become furious” (BDB 720 s.v.). The Latin version apparently assumed the verb was עָרַב (’arav), for it has the sense of “meddle” (so also NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). However, the MT reading could easily fit the verse, referring to anyone passing by who gets furious over a fight that is not his.

[26:27]  ⁴¹ sn The verse is teaching talionic justice (“an eye for an eye,” etc.), and so the activities described should be interpreted as evil in their intent. “Digging a pit” would mean laying a trap for someone (the figure of speech would be a metonymy of cause for the effect of ruining someone, if an actual pit is being dug; the figure would be hypocatastasis if digging a pit is being compared to laying a trap, but no pit is being dug). Likewise, “rolling a stone” on someone means to destroy that individual.

[27:12]  ⁴² tn Heb “go on”; the word “right” is supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning: The naive person, oblivious to impending danger, meets it head on.

[29:1]  ⁴³ tn The idiom “to harden the neck” (מַקְשֶׁה־עֹרֶף, maqsheh-’oref) is the idea of resisting the rebukes and persisting in obstinacy (e.g., Exod 32:9). The opposite of a “stiff neck” would be the bending back, i.e., submission.

[29:1]  ⁴⁴ tn The Hebrew construction is אִישׁ תּוֹכָחוֹת (’ish tokhakhot, “a man of rebukes”), meaning “a man who has (or receives) many rebukes.” This describes a person who is deserving of punishment and who has been given many warnings. The text says, then, “a man of rebukes hardening himself.”

[29:1]  ⁴⁵ sn The stubborn person refuses to listen; he will suddenly be destroyed when the calamity strikes (e.g., Prov 6:15; 13:18; 15:10).

[29:1]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “healing” (NRSV).