Amsal 11:15

11:15 The one who puts up security for a stranger ¹  will surely have trouble, ² 

but whoever avoids ³  shaking hands ⁴  will be secure.

Amsal 14:10

14:10 The heart knows its own bitterness, ⁵ 

and with its joy no one else ⁶  can share. ⁷ 

Amsal 20:16

20:16 Take a man’s ⁸  garment ⁹  when he has given security for a stranger, ¹⁰ 

and when he gives surety for strangers, ¹¹  hold him ¹²  in pledge.

Amsal 27:2

27:2 Let another ¹³  praise you, and not your own mouth; ¹⁴ 

someone else, ¹⁵  and not your own lips.

Amsal 27:13

27:13 Take a man’s ¹⁶  garment when he has given security for a stranger,

and when he gives surety for a stranger, ¹⁷  hold him in pledge. ¹⁸ 

[11:15]  ¹ sn The “stranger” could refer to a person from another country or culture, as it often does; but it could also refer to an unknown Israelite, with the idea that the individual stands outside the known and respectable community.

[11:15]  ² tn The sentence begins with the Niphal imperfect and the cognate (רַע־יֵרוֹעַ, ra’-yeroa’), stressing that whoever does this “will certainly suffer hurt.” The hurt in this case will be financial responsibility for a bad risk.

[11:15]  ³ tn Heb “hates.” The term שֹׂנֵא (shoneh) means “to reject,” and here “to avoid.” The participle is substantival, functioning as the subject of the clause. The next participle, תֹקְעִים (toq’im, “striking hands”), is its object, telling what is hated. The third participle בּוֹטֵחַ (boteakh, “is secure”) functions verbally.

[11:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “striking.” The imagery here is shaking hands to seal a contract. The term “hands” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[14:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “bitterness of its soul.”

[14:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “stranger” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[14:10]  ⁷ tn The verb is the Hitpael of II עָרַב (’arav), which means “to take in pledge; to give in pledge; to exchange.” Here it means “to share [in].” The proverb is saying that there are joys and sorrows that cannot be shared. No one can truly understand the deepest feelings of another.

[20:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “his garment.”

[20:16]  ⁹ sn Taking a garment was the way of holding someone responsible to pay debts. In fact, the garment was the article normally taken for security (Exod 22:24-26; Deut 24:10-13). Because this is a high risk security pledge (e.g., 6:1-5), the creditor is to deal more severely than when the pledge is given by the debtor for himself.

[20:16]  ¹⁰ tc The Kethib has the masculine plural form, נָכְרִים (nakhrim), suggesting a reading “strangers.” But the Qere has the feminine form נָכְרִיָּה (nakhriyyah), “strange woman” or “another man’s wife” (e.g., 27:13). The parallelism would suggest “strangers” is the correct reading, although theories have been put forward for the interpretation of “strange woman” (see below).

[20:16]  sn The one for whom the pledge is taken is called “a stranger” and “foreign.” These two words do not necessarily mean that the individual or individuals are non-Israelite – just outside the community and not well known.

[20:16]  ¹¹ tn M. Dahood argues that the cloak was taken in pledge for a harlot (cf. NIV “a wayward woman”). Two sins would then be committed: taking a cloak and going to a prostitute (“To Pawn One’s Cloak,” Bib 42 [1961]: 359-66; also Snijders, “The Meaning of זָר,” 85-86). In the MT the almost identical proverb in 27:13 has a feminine singular form here.

[20:16]  ¹² tn Or “hold it” (so NIV, NCV).

[27:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “a stranger.” This does not necessarily refer to a non-Israelite, as has been demonstrated before in the book of Proverbs, but these are people outside the familiar and accepted circles. The point is that such a person would be objective in speaking about your abilities and accomplishments.

[27:2]  ¹⁴ sn “Mouth” and “lips” are metonymies of cause; they mean “what is said.” People should try to avoid praising themselves. Self praise can easily become a form of pride, even if it begins with trivial things. It does not establish a reputation; reputation comes from what others think about you.

[27:2]  ¹⁵ tn “a foreigner”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV “a stranger.”

[27:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his garment.”

[27:13]  ¹⁷ tn Or “for a strange (= adulterous) woman.” Cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NLT; NIV “a wayward woman.”

[27:13]  ¹⁸ tn This proverb is virtually identical to 20:16.