11:5 The righteousness of the blameless will make straight their way, 1
but the wicked person will fall by his own wickedness. 2
11:6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, 3
but the faithless will be captured 4 by their own desires. 5
11:27 The one who diligently seeks 6 good seeks favor,
but the one who searches 7 for evil – it will come to him. 8
1 tn Heb “his way.”
2 sn The righteous will enjoy security and serenity throughout life. Righteousness makes the path straight; wickedness destroys the wicked.
3 sn The contrast is between being rescued or delivered (נָצַל, natsal) and being captured (לָכַד, lakhad). Righteousness is freeing; [evil] desires are enslaving.
4 tn Heb “taken captive” (so NRSV); NIV, TEV “are trapped.”
5 tn Heb “but by the desire of the faithless are they taken captive.”
5 tn Two separate words are used here for “seek.” The first is שָׁחַר (shakhar, “to seek diligently”) and the second is בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek after; to look for”). Whoever is seeking good is in effect seeking favor – from either God or man (e.g., Ps 5:12; Isa 49:8).
6 tn The participle דֹּרֵשׁ (doresh) means “to seek; to inquire; to investigate.” A person generally receives the consequences of the kind of life he seeks.
7 tn The verb is the imperfect tense, third feminine singular, referring to “evil,” the object of the participle.