Amsal 5:21

5:21 For the ways of a person ¹  are in front of the Lord’s eyes,

and the Lord ²  weighs ³  all that person’s ⁴  paths.

Amsal 6:26

6:26 for on account ⁵  of a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread,

but the wife of another man ⁶  preys on your precious life. ⁷ 

Amsal 12:14

12:14 A person will be satisfied with good from the fruit of his words, ⁸ 

and the work of his hands ⁹  will be rendered to ¹⁰  him.

Amsal 18:4

18:4 The words of a person’s mouth are like ¹¹  deep waters, ¹² 

and ¹³  the fountain of wisdom ¹⁴  is like ¹⁵  a flowing brook. ¹⁶ 

Amsal 20:6

20:6 Many people profess their loyalty, ¹⁷ 

but a faithful person ¹⁸  – who can find? ¹⁹ 

Amsal 21:17

21:17 The one who loves ²⁰  pleasure ²¹  will be ²²  a poor person; ²³ 

whoever loves wine and anointing oil ²⁴  will not be rich.

Amsal 21:29

21:29 A wicked person ²⁵  shows boldness with his face, ²⁶ 

but as for the upright, ²⁷  he discerns ²⁸  his ways.

Amsal 22:24

22:24 Do not make friends with an angry person, ²⁹ 

and do not associate with a wrathful person,

Amsal 22:29

22:29 Do you see a person skilled ³⁰  in his work?

He will take his position before kings;

he will not take his position ³¹  before obscure people. ³² 

Amsal 24:30

24:30 I passed by the field of a sluggard,

by the vineyard of one who lacks wisdom. ³³ 

Amsal 25:18

25:18 Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow, ³⁴ 

so is the one who testifies against ³⁵  his neighbor as a false witness. ³⁶ 

Amsal 25:28

25:28 Like a city that is broken down and without a wall,

so is a person who cannot control his temper. ³⁷ 

Amsal 26:19

26:19 so is a person ³⁸  who deceives his neighbor,

and says, “Was I not only joking?” ³⁹ 

Amsal 28:22

28:22 The stingy person ⁴⁰  hastens after riches

and does not know that poverty will overtake him. ⁴¹ 

Amsal 29:3

29:3 The man ⁴²  who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, ⁴³ 

but whoever associates ⁴⁴  with prostitutes wastes ⁴⁵  his wealth. ⁴⁶ 

[5:21]  ¹ tn Heb “man.”

[5:21]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:21]  ³ tn BDB 814 s.v. פָּלַס 2 suggests that the participle מְפַּלֵּס (mÿpalles) means “to make level [or, straight].” As one’s ways are in front of the eyes of the Lord, they become straight or right. It could be translated “weighs” since it is a denominative from the noun for “balance, scale”; the Lord weighs or examines the actions.

[5:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “all his”; the referent (the person mentioned in the first half of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:26]  ⁵ tn The word בְעַד (bÿ’ad) may be taken either as “on account of” (= by means of a) prostitute (cf. ASV, NASB), or “for the price of” a prostitute (cf. NAB). Most expositors take the first reading, though that use of the preposition is unattested, and then must supply “one is brought to.” The verse would then say that going to a prostitute can bring a man to poverty, but going to another man’s wife can lead to death. If the second view were taken, it would mean that one had a smaller price than the other. It is not indicating that one is preferable to the other; both are to be avoided.

[6:26]  ⁶ tn Heb “the wife of a man.”

[6:26]  ⁷ tn These two lines might be an example of synthetic parallelism, that is, “A, what’s more B.” The A-line describes the detrimental moral effect of a man going to a professional prostitute; the B-line heightens this and describes the far worse effect – moral and mortal! – of a man committing adultery with another man’s wife. When a man goes to a prostitute, he lowers himself to become nothing more than a “meal ticket” to sustain the life of that woman; however, when a man commits adultery, he places his very life in jeopardy – the rage of the husband could very well kill him.

[12:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “fruit of the lips.” The term “fruit” is the implied comparison, meaning what is produced; and “lips” is the metonymy of cause, referring to speech. Proper speech will result in good things.

[12:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “the work of the hands of a man.”

[12:14]  ¹⁰ tc The Kethib has the Qal imperfect, “will return” to him (cf. NASB); the Qere preserves a Hiphil imperfect, “he/one will restore/render” to him (cf. KJV, ASV). The Qere seems to suggest that someone (God or people) will reward him in kind. Since there is no expressed subject, it may be translated as a passive voice.

[18:4]  ¹¹ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[18:4]  ¹² sn The metaphor “deep waters” indicates either that the words have an inexhaustible supply or that they are profound.

[18:4]  ¹³ tn There is debate about the nature of the parallelism between lines 4a and 4b. The major options are: (1) synonymous parallelism, (2) antithetical parallelism (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV) or (3) formal parallelism. Normally a vav (ו) would begin an antithetical clause; the structure and the ideas suggest that the second colon continues the idea of the first half, but in a parallel way rather than as additional predicates. The metaphors used in the proverb elsewhere describe the wise.

[18:4]  ¹⁴ sn This is an implied comparison (hypocatastasis), the fountain of wisdom being the person who speaks. The Greek version has “fountain of life” instead of “wisdom,” probably influenced from 10:11.

[18:4]  ¹⁵ 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.

[18:4]  ¹⁶ sn The point of this metaphor is that the wisdom is a continuous source of refreshing and beneficial ideas.

[20:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “many a man calls/proclaims a man of his loyal love.” The Syriac and Tg. Prov 20:6 render the verb as passive: “many are called kind.” Other suggestions include: “most men meet people who will do them occasional kindnesses” (RSV); “many men profess friendship” (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 384); “many men invite only the one who has shown them kindness.” The simplest interpretation in this context is “many proclaim [themselves to be] a kind person (= a loyal friend).” The contrast is between many who claim to be loyal friends and the one who actually proves to be faithful.

[20:6]  ¹⁸ tn The shift to the expression “a man of faithfulness[es]” in the second line indicates that of all those who claim to show faithful love, it is rare to find one who is truly reliable (as the word אֱמוּנִים [’emunim] indicates clearly); cf. NAB, NRSV “one worthy of trust.”

[20:6]  ¹⁹ sn The point of the rhetorical question is that a truly faithful friend is very difficult to find.

[21:17]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn The phrase “will be” is supplied in the translation.

[21:17]  ²³ tn Heb “a man of poverty”; NRSV “will suffer want.”

[21:17]  ²⁴ 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).

[21:29]  ²⁵ tn Heb “a wicked man.”

[21:29]  ²⁶ tn Heb “he hardens his face.” To make the face firm or hard means to show boldness (BDB 738 s.v. עָזַז Hiph); cf. NRSV “put on a bold face.”

[21:29]  ²⁷ tn The “upright” is an independent nominative absolute; the pronoun becomes the formal (emphatic) subject of the verb.

[21:29]  ²⁸ tc The Kethib is the imperfect of כּוּן (kun), “he establishes.” This reading has the support of the Syriac, Latin, and Tg. Prov 21:29, and is followed by ASV. The Qere is the imperfect tense of בִּין (bin), “he understands; he discerns.” It has the support of the LXX and is followed by NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT. The difficulty is that both make good sense in the passage and both have support. The contrast is between the wicked who shows a bold face (reflecting a hardened heart) and the upright who either gives thought to his ways (or solidifies his ways). The sense of the Qere may form a slightly better contrast, one between the outer appearance of boldness and the inner discernment of action.

[22:24]  ²⁹ tn Heb “possessor of anger.” This expression is an idiom for “wrathful person” or “an angry person” (cf. NAB “a hotheaded man”; NLT “short-tempered people”). These are people characterized by anger, meaning the anger is not a rare occurrence with them.

[22:29]  ³⁰ sn The word translated “skilled” is general enough to apply to any crafts; but it may refer to a scribe or an official (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 134).

[22:29]  ³¹ tn The verb form used twice here is יִתְיַצֵּב (yityatsev), the Hitpael imperfect of יָצַב (yatsav), which means “to set or station oneself; to take one’s stand” in this stem. With the form לִפְנֵי (life) it means “to present oneself before” someone; so here it has the idea of serving as a courtier in the presence of a king.

[22:29]  ³² sn The fifth saying affirms that true skill earns recognition and advancement (cf. Instruction of Amenemope, chap. 30, 27:16-17 [ANET 424]).

[24:30]  ³³ tn Heb “lacks heart”; KJV “understanding”; NAB, NASB, NLT “sense.”

[25:18]  ³⁴ sn The first line identifies the emblem of the proverb: False witnesses are here compared to deadly weapons because they can cause the death of innocent people (e.g., Exod 20:16; Deut 5:20; and Prov 14:5).

[25:18]  ³⁵ tn The verb עָנָה (’anah) followed by the preposition בְּ (bet) with its object means “to testify against” (answer against someone). With the preposition לְ (lamed) it would mean “to testify for” someone. Here the false witness is an adversary, hence the comparison with deadly weapons.

[25:18]  ³⁶ tn While עֵד (’ed) could be interpreted as “evidence” (a meaning that came from a metonymy – what the witness gives in court), its normal meaning is “witness.” Here it would function as an adverbial accusative, specifying how he would answer in court.

[25:28]  ³⁷ tn Heb “whose spirit lacks restraint” (ASV similar). A person whose spirit (רוּחַ, ruakh) “lacks restraint” is one who is given to outbursts of passion, who lacks self-control (cf. NIV, NRSV, CEV, NLT). This person has no natural defenses but reveals his true nature all the time. The proverb is stating that without self-control a person is vulnerable, like a city without defenses.

[26:19]  ³⁸ tn Heb “man.”

[26:19]  ³⁹ sn The subject of this proverb is not simply a deceiver, but one who does so out of jest, or at least who claims he was joking afterward. The participle מְשַׂחֵק has the idea of “laughing, mocking”; in this context it might convey the idea of “kidding” or “joking.” The point is that such practical joking is immature and often dangerous. To the foolish deceiver it might all seem like fun, like sport; but it can destroy people. One cannot trifle with dangerous weapons, or put them in irresponsible hands; likewise one cannot trifle with human relationships. W. G. Plaut notes, “The only worthwhile humor is that which laughs with, not at others” (Proverbs, 270).

[28:22]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ 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.

[29:3]  ⁴² tn Heb “a man.” Here “man” is retained in the translation because the second colon mentions prostitutes.

[29:3]  ⁴³ tn Or “causes his father to rejoice”; NAB “makes his father glad.”

[29:3]  ⁴⁴ tn The active participle רֹעֶה (ro’eh) is from the second root רָעָה (ra’ah), meaning “to associate with.” The verb occurs only a few times, and mostly in the book of Proverbs. It is related to רֵעֶה (re’eh, “friend; companion; fellow”). To describe someone as a “companion” or “friend” of prostitutes is somewhat euphemistic; it surely means someone who is frequently engaging the services of prostitutes.

[29:3]  ⁴⁵ tn The Hebrew verb יְאַבֶּד (yÿ’abbed) means “destroys”; it is the Piel imperfect of the verb that means “to perish.”

[29:3]  ⁴⁶ sn Wealth was seen as a sign of success and of God’s blessings, pretty much as it always has been. To be seen as honorable in the community meant one had acquired some substance and kept his reputation. It would be a disgrace to the family to have a son who squandered his money on prostitutes (e.g., Prov 5:10; 6:31).