Amsal 13:6

13:6 Righteousness ¹  guards the one who lives with integrity, ² 

but wickedness ³  overthrows the sinner.

Amsal 23:17

23:17 Do not let your heart envy ⁴  sinners,

but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord ⁵  all the time.

[13:6]  ¹ sn Righteousness refers to that which conforms to law and order. One who behaves with integrity will be safe from consequences of sin.

[13:6]  ² tn Heb “blameless of way.” The term דָּרֶךְ (darekh) is a genitive of specification: “blameless in respect to his way.” This means living above reproach in their course of life. Cf. NASB “whose way is blameless”; NAB “who walks honestly.”

[13:6]  ³ sn Righteousness and wickedness are personified in this proverb to make the point of security and insecurity for the two courses of life.

[23:17]  ⁴ tn The verb in this line is אַל־יְקַנֵּא (’al-yÿqanne’), the Piel jussive negated. The verb means “to be jealous, to be zealous”; it describes passionate intensity for something. In English, if the object is illegitimate, it is called “envy”; if it is correct, it is called “zeal.” Here the warning is not to envy the sinners. The second colon could use the verb in the positive sense to mean “but rather let your passion burn for the fear of the Lord.”

[23:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This expression features an objective genitive: “fearing the Lord.”