Amsal 1:16

1:16 for they ¹  are eager ²  to inflict harm, ³ 

and they hasten ⁴  to shed blood. ⁵ 

Amsal 2:14

2:14 who delight ⁶  in doing ⁷  evil, ⁸ 

they rejoice in perverse evil; ⁹ 

Amsal 10:31

10:31 The speech ¹⁰  of the righteous bears the fruit of wisdom, ¹¹ 

but the one who speaks perversion ¹²  will be destroyed. ¹³ 

Amsal 14:11-12

14:11 The household ¹⁴  of the wicked will be destroyed,

but the tent ¹⁵  of the upright will flourish.

14:12 There is a way that seems right to a person, ¹⁶ 

but its end is the way that leads to death. ¹⁷ 

Amsal 16:25

16:25 There is a way that seems right to a person, ¹⁸ 

but its end is the way that leads to death. ¹⁹ 

Amsal 18:9

18:9 The one who ²⁰  is slack ²¹  in his work

is a brother ²²  to one who destroys. ²³ 

Amsal 19:18

19:18 Discipline your child, for ²⁴  there is hope,

but do not set your heart ²⁵  on causing his death. ²⁶ 

Amsal 24:2

24:2 for their hearts contemplate violence,

and their lips speak harm. ²⁷ 

Amsal 24:8

24:8 The one who plans to do evil

will be called a scheming person. ²⁸ 

[1:16]  ¹ tn Heb “their feet.” The term “feet” is a synecdoche of the part (= their feet) for the whole person (= they), stressing the eagerness of the robbers.

[1:16]  ² tn Heb “run.” The verb רוּץ (ruts, “run”) functions here as a metonymy of association, meaning “to be eager” to do something (BDB 930 s.v.).

[1:16]  ³ tn Heb “to harm.” The noun רַע (ra’) has a four-fold range of meanings: (1) “pain, harm” (Prov 3:30), (2) “calamity, disaster” (13:21), (3) “distress, misery” (14:32) and (4) “moral evil” (8:13; see BDB 948-49 s.v.). The parallelism with “swift to shed blood” suggests it means “to inflict harm, injury.”

[1:16]  ⁴ tn The imperfect tense verbs may be classified as habitual or progressive imperfects describing their ongoing continual activity.

[1:16]  ⁵ tc The BHS editors suggest deleting this entire verse from MT because it does not appear in several versions (Codex B of the LXX, Coptic, Arabic) and is similar to Isa 59:7a. It is possible that it was a scribal gloss (intentional addition) copied into the margin from Isaiah. But this does not adequately explain the differences. It does fit the context well enough to be original.

[2:14]  ⁶ tn The articular plural active participle functions as the second attributive adjective for אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) in v. 12b.

[2:14]  ⁷ tn The Qal infinitive construct is the complementary use of the form, expressing the direct object of the participle.

[2:14]  ⁸ tn Or “harm.”

[2:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “the perversity of evil” (so NASB). The noun רָע (ra’, “evil”) functions as an attributed genitive which is modified by the construct noun תַהְפֻּכוֹת (tahpukhot, “perversity”) which functions as an attributive adjective.

[10:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the mouth.” The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech.

[10:31]  ¹¹ tn Heb “bears wisdom.” The verb נוּב (nuv) means “to bear fruit.” It is used figuratively of the righteous; they produce wisdom and righteousness. The term חָכְמָה (khokhmah, “wisdom”) represents the “fruit” that the righteous bear: “they bear the fruit of wisdom” (BDB 626 s.v.).

[10:31]  ¹² tn Heb “the tongue of perversions.” The noun תַּהְפֻּכוֹת (tahpukhot, “perversions”) functions as a genitive of content; it refers to what the tongue says – perverse things. The plural form depicts a plural of character. The term לָשׁוֹן (lashon, “tongue”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= tongue) for the whole person (= the speaker). The tongue is emphasized because this person is characterized by perverse speech. The term תַּהְפֻּכוֹת (“perversions”) refers to those who turn things upside down, overthrow, or pervert what is right.

[10:31]  ¹³ tn Heb “will be cut off” (so NAB, NRSV, NLT); cf. KJV, NASB, NIV “cut out.” Their tongue will be cut off, a hyperbole meaning to bring to an end the evil that they speak.

[14:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “house.” The term “house” is a metonymy of subject, referring to their contents: families and family life.

[14:11]  sn Personal integrity ensures domestic stability and prosperity, while lack of such integrity (= wickedness) will lead to the opposite.

[14:11]  ¹⁵ tn The term “tent” is a metonymy here referring to the contents of the tent: families.

[14:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “which is straight before a man.”

[14:12]  sn The proverb recalls the ways of the adulterous woman in chapters 1-9, and so the translation of “man” is retained. The first line does not say that the “way” that seems right is “vice,” but the second line clarifies that. The individual can rationalize all he wants, but the result is still the same. The proverb warns that any evil activity can take any number of ways (plural) to destruction.

[14:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the ways of death” (so KJV, ASV). This construct phrase features a genitive of destiny: “ways that lead to [or, end in] death.” Here death means ruin (e.g., Prov 7:27; 16:25). The LXX adds “Hades,” but the verse seems to be concerned with events of this life.

[16:25]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “There is a way that is right before a man [to the face of a man].”

[16:25]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the ways of death” (so KJV, ASV). This construct phrase features a genitive of destiny: “ways that lead to [or, end in] death.”This proverb is identical to 14:12.

[18:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Also, the one who.” Many commentators and a number of English versions omit the word “also.”

[18:9]  ²¹ tn The form מִתְרַפֶּה (mitrappeh) is the Hitpael participle, “showing oneself slack.” The verb means “to sink; to relax,” and in the causative stem “to let drop” the hands. This is the lazy person who does not even try to work.

[18:9]  ²² sn These two troubling types, the slacker and the destroyer, are closely related.

[18:9]  ²³ tn Heb “possessor of destruction.” This idiom means “destroyer” (so ASV); KJV “a great waster”; NRSV “a vandal.”

[19:18]  ²⁴ tn The translation understands כִּי (ki) as causal. Some prefer to take כִּי as temporal and translate, “while there is hope” (so KJV, NASB, NCV, NRSV, NLT), meaning that discipline should be administered when the child is young and easily guided. In the causal reading of כִּי, the idea seems to be that children should be disciplined because change is possible due to their youth and the fact that they are not set in their ways.

[19:18]  ²⁵ tn The expression “do not lift up your soul/life” to his death may mean (1) “do not set your heart” on his death (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV), or it may mean (2) “do not be a willing partner” (cf. NIV). The parent is to discipline a child, but he is not to take it to the extreme and destroy or kill the child.

[19:18]  ²⁶ tn The Hiphil infinitive construct הֲמִיתוֹ (h^amito) means “taking it to heart” in this line. The traditional rendering was “and let not your soul spare for his crying.” This involved a different reading than “causing his death” (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 206-7).

[24:2]  ²⁷ sn This nineteenth saying warns against evil associations. Evil people are obsessed with destruction and trouble. See on this theme 1:10-19; 3:31 and 23:17. D. Kidner observes that a close view of sinners is often a good antidote to envying them (Proverbs [TOTC], 153).

[24:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “possessor of schemes”; NAB “an intriguer.” The picture of the wicked person is graphic: He devises plans to do evil and is known as a schemer. Elsewhere the “schemes” are outrageous and lewd (e.g., Lev 18:7; Judg 20:6). Here the description portrays him as a cold, calculating, active person: “the fool is capable of intense mental activity but it adds up to sin” (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 399).