Amsal 16:3

16:3 Commit ¹  your works ²  to the Lord,

and your plans will be established. ³ 

Yeremia 29:11

29:11 For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the Lord. ⁴  ‘I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you ⁵  a future filled with hope. ⁶ 

[16:3]  ¹ tc The MT reads גֹּל (gol, “commit”) from the root גָּלַל (galal, “to roll”). The LXX and Tg. Prov 16:3 have “reveal” as if the root were גָּלָה (galah, “to reveal”).

[16:3]  tn Heb “roll.” The verb גֹּל (“to commit”) is from the root גָּלַל (“to roll”). The figure of rolling (an implied comparison or hypocatastasis), as in rolling one’s burdens on the Lord, is found also in Pss 22:8 [9]; 37:5; and 55:22. It portrays complete dependence on the Lord. This would be accomplished with a spirit of humility and by means of diligent prayer, but the plan must also have God’s approval.

[16:3]  ² tn The suffix on the plural noun would be a subjective genitive: “the works you are doing,” or here, “the works that you want to do.”

[16:3]  ³ tn The syntax of the second clause shows that there is subordination: The vav on וְיִכֹּנוּ (vÿyikonu) coming after the imperative of the first clause expresses that this clause is the purpose or result. People should commit their works in order that the Lord may establish them. J. H. Greenstone says, “True faith relieves much anxiety and smoothens many perplexities” (Proverbs, 172).

[29:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[29:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “I know the plans that I am planning for you, oracle of the Lord, plans of well-being and not for harm to give to you….”

[29:11]  ⁶ tn Or “the future you hope for”; Heb “a future and a hope.” This is a good example of hendiadys where two formally coordinated nouns (adjectives, verbs) convey a single idea where one of the terms functions as a qualifier of the other. For this figure see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 658-72. This example is discussed on p. 661.