Amsal 1:29
Konteks1:29 Because 1 they hated moral knowledge, 2
and did not choose to fear the Lord, 3
Amsal 2:6
Konteks2:6 For 4 the Lord gives 5 wisdom,
and from his mouth 6 comes 7 knowledge and understanding.
Amsal 3:19
Konteks3:19 By wisdom the Lord laid the foundation of the earth; 8
he established the heavens by understanding. 9
Amsal 8:22
Konteks8:22 The Lord created 10 me as the beginning 11 of his works, 12
before his deeds of long ago.
Amsal 10:3
Konteks10:3 The Lord satisfies 13 the appetite 14 of the righteous,
but he thwarts 15 the craving 16 of the wicked.
Amsal 11:1
Konteks11:1 The Lord abhors 17 dishonest scales, 18
but an accurate weight 19 is his delight.
Amsal 11:20
Konteks11:20 The Lord abhors 20 those who are perverse in heart, 21
but those who are blameless in their ways 22 are his delight. 23
Amsal 15:3
Konteks15:3 The eyes of the Lord 24 are in every place,
keeping watch 25 on those who are evil and those who are good.
Amsal 15:8
Konteks15:8 The Lord abhors 26 the sacrifices 27 of the wicked, 28
but the prayer 29 of the upright pleases him. 30
Amsal 15:25-26
Konteks15:25 The Lord tears down the house of the proud, 31
but he maintains the boundaries of the widow. 32
15:26 The Lord abhors 33 the plans 34 of the wicked, 35
but pleasant words 36 are pure. 37
Amsal 15:29
Konteks15:29 The Lord is far 38 from the wicked,
but he hears 39 the prayer of the righteous. 40
Amsal 15:33
Konteks15:33 The fear of the Lord provides wise instruction, 41
and before honor comes humility. 42
Amsal 16:5
Konteks16:5 The Lord abhors 43 every arrogant person; 44
rest assured 45 that they will not go unpunished. 46
Amsal 16:11
Konteks16:11 Honest scales and balances 47 are from the Lord;
all the weights 48 in the bag are his handiwork.
Amsal 17:15
Konteks17:15 The one who acquits the guilty and the one who condemns the innocent 49 –
both of them are an abomination to the Lord. 50
Amsal 18:22
Konteks18:22 The one who finds 51 a wife finds what is enjoyable, 52
and receives a pleasurable gift 53 from the Lord. 54
Amsal 22:2
Konteks22:2 The rich and the poor meet together; 55
the Lord is the creator of them both. 56
Amsal 22:4
Konteks22:4 The reward 57 for humility 58 and fearing the Lord 59
is riches and honor and life.
Amsal 28:5
Konteks28:5 Evil people 60 do not understand justice, 61
but those who seek the Lord 62 understand it all.
Amsal 29:26
Konteks29:26 Many people seek the face 63 of a ruler,
but it is from the Lord that one receives justice. 64
[1:29] 1 tn The causal particle תַּחַת כִּי (takhat ki, “for the reason that”) introduces a second accusation of sin and reason for punishment.
[1:29] 2 tn Heb “knowledge.” The noun דָעַת (da’at, “knowledge”) refers to moral knowledge. See note on 1:7.
[1:29] 3 tn Heb “the fear of the
[2:6] 4 tn This is a causal clause. The reason one must fear and know the
[2:6] 5 tn The verb is an imperfect tense which probably functions as a habitual imperfect describing a universal truth in the past, present and future.
[2:6] 6 sn This expression is an anthropomorphism; it indicates that the
[2:6] 7 tn The verb “comes” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.
[3:19] 8 tn Heb “founded the earth.” The verb יָסַד (yasad, “to establish; to found”) describes laying the foundation of a building (1 Kgs 5:31 [HT]; 7:10; 2 Chr 3:3; Ezra 3:10-12; Zech 4:9) and God laying the foundation of the earth (Job 38:4; Pss 24:2; 89:12; 102:26; 104:5; Isa 48:13; 51:13, 16; Zech 12:1).
[3:19] 9 sn The theme of God’s use of wisdom in creation is developed in Prov 8:22-31. Because God established the world to operate according to the principle of wisdom it is impossible for anyone to live successfully in his world apart from the wisdom that only God can give.
[8:22] 10 tn There are two roots קָנָה (qanah) in Hebrew, one meaning “to possess,” and the other meaning “to create.” The earlier English versions did not know of the second root, but suspected in certain places that a meaning like that was necessary (e.g., Gen 4:1; 14:19; Deut 32:6). Ugaritic confirmed that it was indeed another root. The older versions have the translation “possess” because otherwise it sounds like God lacked wisdom and therefore created it at the beginning. They wanted to avoid saying that wisdom was not eternal. Arius liked the idea of Christ as the wisdom of God and so chose the translation “create.” Athanasius translated it, “constituted me as the head of creation.” The verb occurs twelve times in Proverbs with the meaning of “to acquire”; but the Greek and the Syriac versions have the meaning “create.” Although the idea is that wisdom existed before creation, the parallel ideas in these verses (“appointed,” “given birth”) argue for the translation of “create” or “establish” (R. N. Whybray, “Proverbs 8:22-31 and Its Supposed Prototypes,” VT 15 [1965]: 504-14; and W. A. Irwin, “Where Will Wisdom Be Found?” JBL 80 [1961]: 133-42).
[8:22] 11 tn Verbs of creation often involve double accusatives; here the double accusative involves the person (i.e., wisdom) and an abstract noun in construct (IBHS 174-75 §10.2.3c).
[8:22] 12 tn Heb “his way” (so KJV, NASB). The word “way” is an idiom (implied comparison) for the actions of God.
[8:22] sn The claim of wisdom in this passage is that she was foundational to all that God would do.
[10:3] 13 tn Heb “does not allow…to go hungry.” The expression “The
[10:3] 14 tn The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) means “soul” but its root meaning is “throat” and it has a broad range of meanings; here it denotes “appetite” (BDB 660 s.v. 5.a; see, e.g., Pss 63:6; 107:9; Prov 27:7; Isa 56:11; 58:10; Jer 50:19; Ezek 7:19). The term could denote “desire” (BDB 660 s.v. 6.a) which would include the inner urge for success. By contrast, the wicked live unfulfilled lives – as far as spiritual values are concerned.
[10:3] 15 tn Heb “thrusts away” (cf. ASV, NASB); NLT “refuses to satisfy.” The verb הָדַף (hadaf) means “to thrust away; to push; to drive,” either to depose or reject (BDB 213 s.v.).
[10:3] 16 tn This verse contrasts the “appetite” of the righteous with the “craving” of the wicked. This word הַוַּה (havvah, “craving”) means “desire” often in a bad sense, as ‘the desire of the wicked,” which could not be wholesome (Ps 52:9).
[11:1] 17 tn Heb “an abomination of the
[11:1] 18 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] 19 tn Heb “a perfect stone.” Stones were used for measuring amounts of silver on the scales; here the stone that pleases the
[11:20] 20 tn Heb “an abomination of the
[11:20] 21 sn The word עִקְּשֵׁי (“crooked; twisted; perverted”) describes the wicked as having “twisted minds.” Their mentality is turned toward evil things.
[11:20] 22 tn Heb “those who are blameless of way.” The noun דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) is a genitive of specification: “blameless in their way.”
[11:20] 23 sn The noun means “goodwill, favor, acceptance, will”; it is related to the verb רָצַה (ratsah) which means “to be pleased with; to accept favorably.” These words are used frequently in scripture to describe what pleases the
[15:3] 24 sn The proverb uses anthropomorphic language to describe God’s exacting and evaluating knowledge of all people.
[15:3] 25 tn The form צֹפוֹת (tsofot, “watching”) is a feminine plural participle agreeing with “eyes.” God’s watching eyes comfort good people but convict evil.
[15:8] 26 tn Heb “an abomination of the
[15:8] 27 tn Heb “sacrifice” (so many English versions).
[15:8] 28 sn The sacrifices of the wicked are hated by the
[15:8] 29 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] 30 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.
[15:25] 31 sn The “proud” have to be understood here in contrast to the widow, and their “house” has to be interpreted in contrast to the widow’s territory. The implication may be that the “proud” make their gain from the needy, and so God will set the balance right.
[15:25] 32 sn The
[15:26] 33 tn Heb “an abomination of the
[15:26] 34 tn The noun מַחְשְׁבוֹת (makhshÿvot) means “thoughts” (so KJV, NIV, NLT), from the verb חָשַׁב (khashav, “to think; to reckon; to devise”). So these are intentions, what is being planned (cf. NAB “schemes”).
[15:26] 35 tn The word רַע (“evil; wicked”) is a genitive of source or subjective genitive, meaning the plans that the wicked devise – “wicked plans.”
[15:26] 36 sn The contrast is between the “thoughts” and the “words.” The thoughts that are designed to hurt people the
[15:26] 37 tc The MT simply has “but pleasant words are pure” (Heb “but pure [plural] are the words of pleasantness”). Some English versions add “to him” to make the connection to the first part (cf. NAB, NIV). The LXX has: “the sayings of the pure are held in honor.” The Vulgate has: “pure speech will be confirmed by him as very beautiful.” The NIV has paraphrased here: “but those of the pure are pleasing to him.”
[15:29] 38 sn To say that the
[15:29] 39 sn The verb “hear” (שָׁמַע, shama’) has more of the sense of “respond to” in this context. If one “listens to the voice of the
[15:29] 40 sn God’s response to prayer is determined by the righteousness of the one who prays. A prayer of repentance by the wicked is an exception, for by it they would become the righteous (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 316).
[15:33] 41 tn Heb “[is] instruction of wisdom” (KJV and NASB similar). The noun translated “wisdom” is an attributive genitive: “wise instruction.”
[15:33] sn The idea of the first line is similar to Prov 1:7 and 9:10. Here it may mean that the fear of the
[15:33] 42 tn Heb “[is] humility” (so KJV). The second clause is a parallel idea in that it stresses how one thing leads to another – humility to honor. Humble submission in faith to the
[16:5] 43 tn Heb “an abomination of the
[16:5] 44 tn Heb “every proud of heart”; NIV “all the proud of heart.” “Heart” is the genitive of specification; the phrase is talking about people who have proud hearts, whose ideas are arrogant. These are people who set themselves presumptuously against God (e.g., 2 Chr 26:16; Ps 131:1; Prov 18:12).
[16:5] 45 tn Heb “hand to hand.” This idiom means “you can be assured” (e.g., Prov 11:21).
[16:5] 46 tc The LXX has inserted two couplets here: “The beginning of a good way is to do justly, // and it is more acceptable with God than to do sacrifices; // he who seeks the
[16:5] tn The B-line continues the A-line, but explains what it means that they are an abomination to the
[16:11] 47 tn Heb “a scale and balances of justice.” This is an attributive genitive, meaning “just scales and balances.” The law required that scales and measures be accurate and fair (Lev 19:36; Deut 25:13). Shrewd dishonest people kept light and heavy weights to make unfair transactions.
[17:15] 49 tn Heb “he who justifies the wicked and and he who condemns the righteous” (so NASB). The first colon uses two Hiphil participles, מַצְדִּיק (matsdiq) and מַרְשִׁיעַ (marshia’). The first means “to declare righteous” (a declarative Hiphil), and the second means “to make wicked [or, guilty]” or “to condemn” (i.e., “to declare guilty”). To declare someone righteous who is a guilty criminal, or to condemn someone who is innocent, are both abominations for the Righteous Judge of the whole earth.
[17:15] 50 tn Heb “an abomination of the
[18:22] 51 tn The verb מָצָא (matsa’, translated “finds”) is used twice in the first colon. It is paralleled by the verb פּוּק (puq, translated “receives”) in the second colon, which carries the same nuance as the preceding verbs. The first perfect tense verb might function in a hypothetical or conditional sense: “If a man finds…then he finds.” But taken as a principle the nuances of the verbs would be gnomic or characteristic.
[18:22] 52 tn Heb “good.” The term טוֹב (tov, “good; enjoyable; fortune”) might be an allusion to Gen 2:18, which affirms that it is not good for man to be alone. The word describes that which is pleasing to God, beneficial for life, and abundantly enjoyable.
[18:22] 53 tn Heb “what is pleasant.” The noun רָצוֹן (ratson, “what is pleasing”) is often interpreted in a religious-theological sense here: “receives favor from the
[18:22] sn The parallelism is formal; the second line of the verse continues the first but explains it further: Finding a spouse, one receives a pleasurable gift from God.
[18:22] 54 tc The LXX adds this embellishment to complete the thought: “Whoever puts away a good wife puts away good, and whoever keeps an adulteress is foolish and ungodly.”
[22:2] 55 tn The form of the verb is the Niphal perfect of פָּגַשׁ (pagash); it means “to meet together [or, each other]” (cf. KJV, ASV). The point is that rich and poor live side by side in this life, but they are both part of God’s creation (cf. NAB, NASB “have a common bond”). Some commentators have taken this to mean that they should live together because they are part of God’s creation; but the verb form will not sustain that meaning.
[22:2] 56 tn Heb “all.” The
[22:4] 57 tn The Hebrew term עֵקֶב (’eqev, “reward”) is related to the term meaning “heel”; it refers to the consequences or the reward that follows (akin to the English expression “on the heels of”).
[22:4] 58 tn “Humility” is used here in the religious sense of “piety”; it is appropriately joined with “the fear of the
[22:4] 59 tn Heb “the fear of the
[28:5] 60 tn Heb “men of evil”; the context does not limit this to males only, however.
[28:5] 61 tn The term translated “justice” is מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat); it refers to the legal rights of people, decisions that are equitable in the community. W. G. Plaut observes that there are always those who think that “justice” is that which benefits them, otherwise it is not justice (Proverbs, 282).
[28:5] 62 sn The contrast (and the difference) is between the wicked and those who seek the
[29:26] 63 sn The idiom seek the face means to try to obtain favor from someone. According to the proverb, many people assume that true justice depends on the disposition of some earthly ruler.
[29:26] 64 tn Heb “but from the