Amsal 2:14

2:14 who delight ¹  in doing ²  evil, ³ 

they rejoice in perverse evil; ⁴ 

Amsal 15:13

15:13 A joyful heart ⁵  makes the face cheerful, ⁶ 

but by a painful heart the spirit is broken.

[2:14]  ¹ tn The articular plural active participle functions as the second attributive adjective for אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) in v. 12b.

[2:14]  ² tn The Qal infinitive construct is the complementary use of the form, expressing the direct object of the participle.

[2:14]  ³ tn Or “harm.”

[2:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “the perversity of evil” (so NASB). The noun רָע (ra’, “evil”) functions as an attributed genitive which is modified by the construct noun תַהְפֻּכוֹת (tahpukhot, “perversity”) which functions as an attributive adjective.

[15:13]  ⁵ tn The contrast in this proverb is between the “joyful heart” (Heb “a heart of joy,” using an attributive genitive) and the “painful heart” (Heb “pain of the heart,” using a genitive of specification).

[15:13]  ⁶ sn The verb יֵיטִב (yetiv) normally means “to make good,” but here “to make the face good,” that is, there is a healthy, favorable, uplifted expression. The antithesis is the pained heart that crushes the spirit. C. H. Toy observes that a broken spirit is expressed by a sad face, while a cheerful face shows a courageous spirit (Proverbs [ICC], 308).