Amsal 22:22

22:22 Do not exploit ¹  a poor person because he is poor

and do not crush the needy in court, ² 

Amsal 24:15

24:15 Do not lie in wait like the wicked ³  against the place where the righteous live;

do not assault ⁴  his home.

Amsal 6:4

6:4 Permit no sleep to your eyes ⁵ 

or slumber to your eyelids.

[22:22]  ¹ tn Two negated jussives form the instruction here: אַל־תִּגְזָל (’al-tigzal, “do not exploit”) and וְאַל־תְּדַכֵּא (ve’al-tÿdakke’, “do not crush”).

[22:22]  sn Robbing or oppressing the poor is easy because they are defenseless. But this makes the crime tempting as well as contemptible. What is envisioned may be in bounds legally (just) but out of bounds morally.

[22:22]  ² tn Heb “in the gate” (so KJV); NAB, NASB, NRSV “at the gate.” The “gate” of the city was the center of activity, the place of business as well as the place for settling legal disputes. The language of the next verse suggests a legal setting, so “court” is an appropriate translation here.

[24:15]  ³ tn The word “wicked” could be taken as a vocative (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, “O wicked man”); but since the next line refers to the wicked this is unlikely. It serves better as an adverbial accusative (“like the wicked”).

[24:15]  ⁴ sn The saying warns that it is futile and self-defeating to mistreat God’s people, for they survive – the wicked do not. The warning is against a deliberate, planned assault on their places of dwelling.

[6:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “do not give sleep to your eyes.” The point is to go to the neighbor and seek release from the agreement immediately (cf. NLT “Don’t rest until you do”).