Amsal 6:16

6:16 There are six things that the Lord hates,

even ¹  seven ²  things that are an abomination to him: ³ 

Amsal 11:1

11:1 The Lord abhors ⁴  dishonest scales, ⁵ 

but an accurate weight ⁶  is his delight.

Amsal 15:8

15:8 The Lord abhors ⁷  the sacrifices ⁸  of the wicked, ⁹ 

but the prayer ¹⁰  of the upright pleases him. ¹¹ 

Amsal 20:10

20:10 Diverse weights and diverse measures ¹²  –

the Lord abhors ¹³  both of them.

[6:16]  ¹ tn The conjunction has the explicative use here (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 71, §434).

[6:16]  ² sn This saying involves a numerical ladder, paralleling six things with seven things (e.g., also 30:15, 18, 21, 24, 29). The point of such a numerical arrangement is that the number does not exhaust the list (W. M. Roth, “The Numerical Sequence x / x +1 in the Old Testament,” VT 12 [1962]: 300-311; and his “Numerical Sayings in the Old Testament,” VT 13 [1965]: 86).

[6:16]  ³ tn Heb “his soul.”

[11:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) is a subjective genitive.

[11:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “scales of deception.” The genitive is attributive: “deceptive scales.” This refers to dishonesty in the market where silver was weighed in the scales. God condemns dishonest business practices (Deut 25:13-16; Lev 10:35-36), as did the ancient Near East (ANET 388, 423).

[11:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “a perfect stone.” Stones were used for measuring amounts of silver on the scales; here the stone that pleases the Lord is whole, complete, perfect (from שָׁלֵם, shalem). It was one that would give an honest, accurate measurement.

[15:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) functions as a subjective genitive: “the Lord abhors.” Cf. NIV “the Lord detests”; NCV, NLT “the Lord hates”; CEV “the Lord is disgusted.”

[15:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “sacrifice” (so many English versions).

[15:8]  ⁹ sn The sacrifices of the wicked are hated by the Lord because the worshipers are insincere and blasphemous (e.g., Prov 15:29; 21:3; 28:9; Ps 40:6-8; Isa 1:10-17). In other words, the spiritual condition of the worshiper determines whether or not the worship is acceptable to God.

[15:8]  ¹⁰ sn J. H. Greenstone notes that if God will accept the prayers of the upright, he will accept their sacrifices; for sacrifice is an outer ritual and easily performed even by the wicked, but prayer is a private and inward act and not usually fabricated by unbelievers (Proverbs, 162).

[15:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[is] his pleasure.” The 3rd person masculine singular suffix functions as a subjective genitive: “he is pleased.” God is pleased with the prayers of the upright.

[20:10]  ¹² tn The construction simply uses repetition to express different kinds of weights and measures: “a stone and a stone, an ephah and an ephah.”

[20:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The phrase features a subjective genitive: “the Lord abhors.”

[20:10]  sn Behind this proverb is the image of the dishonest merchant who has different sets of weights and measures which are used to cheat customers. The Lord hates dishonesty in business transactions.