Amsal 6:14

6:14 he plots evil with perverse thoughts ¹  in his heart,

he spreads contention ²  at all times.

Amsal 6:19

6:19 a false witness who pours out lies, ³ 

and a person who spreads discord ⁴  among family members. ⁵ 

Amsal 9:3

9:3 She has sent out her female servants;

she calls out on the highest places ⁶  of the city.

Amsal 10:26

10:26 Like vinegar to the teeth and like smoke to the eyes, ⁷ 

so is the sluggard to those ⁸  who send him.

Amsal 16:28

16:28 A perverse person ⁹  spreads dissension,

and a gossip separates the closest friends. ¹⁰ 

Amsal 17:11

17:11 An evil person seeks only rebellion, ¹¹ 

and so ¹²  a cruel messenger ¹³  will be sent against him.

Amsal 22:21

22:21 to show you true and reliable words, ¹⁴ 

so that you may give accurate answers ¹⁵  to those who sent you?

Amsal 26:6

26:6 Like cutting off the feet or drinking violence, ¹⁶ 

so is sending ¹⁷  a message by the hand of a fool. ¹⁸ 

Amsal 29:15

29:15 A rod and reproof ¹⁹  impart ²⁰  wisdom,

but a child who is unrestrained ²¹  brings shame ²²  to his mother. ²³ 

[6:14]  ¹ tn The noun is an adverbial accusative of manner, explaining the circumstances that inform his evil plans.

[6:14]  ² tn The word “contention” is from the root דִּין (din); the noun means “strife, contention, quarrel.” The normal plural form is represented by the Qere, and the contracted form by the Kethib.

[6:19]  ³ sn The Lord hates perjury and a lying witness (e.g., Ps 40:4; Amos 2:4; Mic 1:4). This is a direct violation of the law (Exod 20).

[6:19]  ⁴ sn Dissension is attributed in Proverbs to contentious people (21:9; 26:21; 25:24) who have a short fuse (15:8).

[6:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “brothers,” although not limited to male siblings only. Cf. NRSV, CEV “in a family”; TEV “among friends.”

[6:19]  sn These seven things the Lord hates. To discover what the Lord desires, one need only list the opposites: humility, truthful speech, preservation of life, pure thoughts, eagerness to do good, honest witnesses, and peaceful harmony. In the NT the Beatitudes present the positive opposites (Matt 5). It has seven blessed things to match these seven hated things; moreover, the first contrasts with the first here (“poor in spirit” of 5:5 with “haughty eyes”), and the seventh (“peacemakers” of 5:7) contrasts with the seventh here (“sows dissension”).

[9:3]  ⁶ tn The text uses two synonymous terms in construct to express the superlative degree.

[10:26]  ⁷ sn Two similes are used to portray the aggravation in sending a lazy person to accomplish a task. Vinegar to the teeth is an unpleasant, irritating experience; and smoke to the eyes is an unpleasant experience that hinders progress.

[10:26]  ⁸ tn The participle is plural, and so probably should be taken in a distributive sense: “to each one who sends him.”

[16:28]  ⁹ tn Heb “a man of perverse things”; NAB “an intriguer.” This refers to someone who destroys lives. The parallelism suggests that he is a “slanderer” or “gossip” – one who whispers and murmurs (18:8; 26:20, 22).

[16:28]  ¹⁰ tn The term אַלּוּף (’aluf) refers to a “friend” or “an intimate associate.” The word has other possible translations, including “tame” or “docile” when used of animals. Rashi, a Jewish scholar who lived a.d. 1040-1105, took it in the later sense of “prince,” saying that such speech alienates the Prince, namely God. But that is a forced interpretation of the line.

[17:11]  ¹¹ sn The proverb is set up in a cause and effect relationship. The cause is that evil people seek rebellion. The term מְרִי (mÿri) means “rebellion.” It is related to the verb מָרָה (marah, “to be contentious; to be rebellious; to be refractory”). BDB 598 s.v. מְרִי translates the line “a rebellious man seeketh only evil” (so NASB).

[17:11]  ¹² tn The parallelism seems to be formal, with the idea simply continuing to the second line; the conjunction is therefore translated to reflect this. However, the proverb could be interpreted as antithetical just as easily.

[17:11]  ¹³ sn Those bent on rebellion will meet with retribution. The messenger could very well be a merciless messenger from the king; but the expression could also figuratively describe something God sends – storms, pestilence, or any other misfortune.

[22:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “to cause you to know the truth of words of truth” (NASB similar).

[22:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to return true words”; NAB “a dependable report”; NIV “sound answers.”

[26:6]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn The participle could be taken as the subject of the sentence: “the one who sends…cuts off…and drinks.”

[26:6]  ¹⁸ 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.

[29:15]  ¹⁹ tn The word “rod” is a metonymy of cause, in which the instrument being used to discipline is mentioned in place of the process of disciplining someone. So the expression refers to the process of discipline that is designed to correct someone. Some understand the words “rod and reproof” to form a hendiadys, meaning “a correcting [or, reproving] rod” (cf. NAB, NIV “the rod of correction”).

[29:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “gives” (so NAB).

[29:15]  ²¹ tn The form is a Pual participle; the form means “to let loose” (from the meaning “to send”; cf. KJV, NIV “left to himself”), and so in this context “unrestrained.”

[29:15]  ²² sn The Hebrew participle translated “brings shame” is a metonymy of effect; the cause is the unruly and foolish things that an unrestrained child will do.

[29:15]  ²³ sn The focus on the mother is probably a rhetorical variation for the “parent” (e.g., 17:21; 23:24-25) and is not meant to assume that only the mother will do the training and endure the shame for a case like this (e.g., 13:24; 23:13).