Mazmur 37:7

37:7 Wait patiently for the Lord! ¹ 

Wait confidently ²  for him!

Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner, ³ 

a man who carries out wicked schemes!

Mazmur 37:1

Psalm 37 ⁴ 

By David.

37:1 Do not fret ⁵  when wicked men seem to succeed! ⁶ 

Do not envy evildoers!

1 Samuel 1:6-8

1:6 Her rival wife used to upset her and make her worry, ⁷  for the Lord had not enabled her to have children. 1:7 Peninnah ⁸  would behave this way year after year. Whenever Hannah ⁹  went up to the Lord’s house, Peninnah ¹⁰  would upset her so that she would weep and refuse to eat. 1:8 Finally her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and not eat? Why are you so sad? ¹¹  Am I not better to you than ten ¹²  sons?”

Amsal 19:3

19:3 A person’s folly ¹³  subverts ¹⁴  his way,

and ¹⁵  his heart rages ¹⁶  against the Lord.

Amsal 24:1

24:1 Do not envy evil people, ¹⁷ 

do not desire ¹⁸  to be with them;

Amsal 24:19

24:19 Do not fret because of evil people

or be envious of wicked people,

[37:7]  ¹ tn Heb “Be quiet before the Lord!”

[37:7]  ² tc The Hebrew text has וְהִתְחוֹלֵל (vÿhitkholel, Hitpolel of חִיל, khil, “writhe with fear, suffer”) but this idea fits awkwardly here. The text should be changed to וְתוֹחֵל (vÿtokhel; Hiphil of יָחַל, yakhal, “wait”). It appears that the Hebrew text is the product of dittography: (1) the initial וה (vav-he) is accidentally repeated from the preceding word (יְהוָה, yÿhvah) and (2) the final lamed (ל) is accidentally repeated (note the preceding lamed and the initial lamed on the following form, לו).

[37:7]  ³ tn Heb “over one who causes his way to be successful.”

[37:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 37. The psalmist urges his audience not to envy the wicked, but to trust in and obey the Lord, for he will destroy sinners and preserve the godly. When the smoke of judgment clears, the wicked will be gone, but the godly will remain and inherit God’s promised blessings. The psalm is an acrostic; every other verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[37:1]  ⁵ tn The verb form is singular (see vv. 3-10 as well, where the second person verbs and pronouns are also singular). The psalmist’s exhortation has a wisdom flavor to it; it is personalized for each member of his audience.

[37:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “over sinners.” The context indicates that the psalmist has in mind the apparent power and success of sinners. See v. 7b.

[1:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “and her rival wife grieved her, even [with] grief so as to worry her.”

[1:7]  ⁸ tn The MT has a masculine form of the verb here יַעֲשֶׂה (ya’aseh, “he used to do”); the subject in that case would presumably be Elkanah. But this leads to an abrupt change of subject in the following part of the verse, where the subject is the rival wife who caused Hannah anxiety. In light of v. 6 one expects the statement of v. 7 to refer to the ongoing actions of the rival wife: “she used to behave in this way year after year.” Some scholars have proposed retaining the masculine form but changing the vocalization of the verb so as to read a Niphal rather than a Qal (i.e., יֵעֲשֶׂה, ye’aseh, “so it used to be done”). But the problem here is lack of precedent for such a use of the Niphal of this verb. It seems best in light of the context to understand the reference to be to Hannah’s rival Peninnah and to read here, with the Syriac Peshitta, a feminine form of the verb (“she used to do”). In the translation the referent (Peninnah) has been specified for clarity.

[1:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Hannah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Peninnah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “why is your heart displeased?”

[1:8]  ¹² sn Like the number seven, the number ten is sometimes used in the OT as an ideal number (see, for example, Dan 1:20, Zech 8:23).

[19:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “the folly of a man.”

[19:3]  ¹⁴ tn The verb סָלַף (salaf) normally means “to twist; to pervert; to overturn,” but in this context it means “to subvert” (BDB 701 s.v.); cf. ASV “subverteth.”

[19:3]  sn J. H. Greenstone comments: “Man’s own failures are the result of his own folly and should not be attributed to God” (Proverbs, 201).

[19:3]  ¹⁵ tn The clause begins with vav on the nonverb phrase “against the Lord.” While clause structure and word order is less compelling in a book like Proverbs, this fits well as a circumstantial clause indicating concession.

[19:3]  ¹⁶ sn The “heart raging” is a metonymy of cause (or adjunct); it represents the emotions that will lead to blaming God for the frustration. Genesis 42:28 offers a calmer illustration of this as the brothers ask what God was doing to them.

[24:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “evil men,” although the context indicates a generic sense.

[24:1]  ¹⁸ tn The Hitpael jussive is from the verb that means “to crave; to desire.” This is more of a coveting, an intense desire.