Amsal 17:12

17:12 It is better for a person to meet ¹  a mother bear being robbed of her cubs,

than ²  to encounter ³  a fool in his folly. ⁴ 

Amsal 17:2

17:2 A servant who acts wisely ⁵  will rule

over ⁶  an heir ⁷  who behaves shamefully, ⁸ 

and will share the inheritance along with the relatives. ⁹ 

Kisah Para Rasul 2:24

2:24 But God raised him up, ¹⁰  having released ¹¹  him from the pains ¹²  of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power. ¹³ 

Hosea 13:8

13:8 I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs –

I will rip open their chests.

I will devour them there like a lion –

like a wild animal would tear them apart.

[17:12]  ¹ tn Heb “Let a man meet” (so NASB); NLT “It is safer to meet.” The infinitive absolute פָּגוֹשׁ (pagosh, “to meet”) functions as a jussive of advice. The bear meeting a man is less dangerous than a fool in his folly. It could be worded as a “better” saying, but that formula is not found here.

[17:12]  ² tn The second colon begins with וְאַל (vÿ’al), “and not.” This negative usually appears with volitives, so the fuller expression of the parallel line would be “and let not a fool in his folly [meet someone].”

[17:12]  ³ tn The words “to meet” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied by the parallelism and are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:12]  ⁴ sn The human, who is supposed to be rational and intelligent, in such folly becomes more dangerous than the beast that in this case acts with good reason. As R. L. Alden comments, “Consider meeting a fool with a knife, or gun, or even behind the wheel of a car” (Proverbs, 134). See also E. Loewenstamm, “Remarks on Proverbs 17:12 and 20:27,” VT 37 (1967): 221-24. For a slightly different nuance cf. TEV “some fool busy with a stupid project.”

[17:2]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ sn The parallelism indicates that “ruling over” and “sharing in the inheritance” means that the disgraceful son will be disinherited.

[17:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “son.”

[17:2]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the midst of the brothers”; NIV “as one of the brothers.”

[2:24]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Whom God raised up.”

[2:24]  ¹¹ tn Or “having freed.”

[2:24]  ¹² sn The term translated pains is frequently used to describe pains associated with giving birth (see Rev 12:2). So there is irony here in the mixed metaphor.

[2:24]  ¹³ tn Or “for him to be held by it” (in either case, “it” refers to death’s power).