Amsal 18:3

18:3 When a wicked person ¹  arrives, contempt ²  shows up with him,

and with shame comes ³  a reproach.

[18:3]  ¹ tc The MT has “a wicked [person].” Many commentators emend the text to רֶשַׁע (resha’, “wickedness”) which makes better parallelism with “shame” (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 521; R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [AB], 112; C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 355; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). However, there is no external evidence for this emendation.

[18:3]  ² sn “Contempt” (בּוּז, buz) accompanies the wicked; “reproach” (חֶרְפָּה, kherpah) goes with shame. This reproach refers to the critical rebukes and taunts of the community against a wicked person.

[18:3]  ³ tn The term “comes” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.