2 Samuel 3:27

3:27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gate as if to speak privately with him. Joab then stabbed him ¹  in the abdomen and killed him, avenging the shed blood of his brother Asahel. ² 

2 Samuel 13:26-28

13:26 Then Absalom said, “If you will not go, ³  then let my brother Amnon go with us.” The king replied to him, “Why should he go with you?” 13:27 But when Absalom pressed him, he sent Amnon and all the king’s sons along with him.

13:28 Absalom instructed his servants, “Look! When Amnon is drunk ⁴  and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ kill him then and there. Don’t fear! Is it not I who have given you these instructions? Be strong and courageous!” ⁵ 

2 Samuel 20:9-10

20:9 Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” With his right hand Joab took hold of Amasa’s beard as if to greet him with a kiss. 20:10 Amasa did not protect himself from the knife in Joab’s other hand, and Joab ⁶  stabbed him in the abdomen, causing Amasa’s ⁷  intestines to spill out on the ground. There was no need to stab him again; the first blow was fatal. ⁸  Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bicri.

Nehemia 6:2

6:2 Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me saying, “Come on! Let’s set up a time to meet together at Kephirim ⁹  in the plain of Ono.” Now they intended to do me harm.

Mazmur 36:3

36:3 The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful;

he does not care about doing what is wise and right. ¹⁰ 

Mazmur 55:21

55:21 His words are as smooth as butter, ¹¹ 

but he harbors animosity in his heart. ¹² 

His words seem softer than oil,

but they are really like sharp swords. ¹³ 

Amsal 26:24-26

26:24 The one who hates others disguises ¹⁴  it with his lips,

but he stores up ¹⁵  deceit within him. ¹⁶ 

26:25 When ¹⁷  he speaks graciously, ¹⁸  do not believe him, ¹⁹ 

for there are seven ²⁰  abominations ²¹  within him.

26:26 Though his ²²  hatred may be concealed ²³  by deceit,

his evil will be uncovered ²⁴  in the assembly.

Mikha 7:6

7:6 For a son thinks his father is a fool,

a daughter challenges ²⁵  her mother,

and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law;

a man’s enemies are his own servants. ²⁶ 

Lukas 22:48

22:48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” ²⁷ 

[3:27]  ¹ tn Heb “and he struck him down there [in] the stomach.”

[3:27]  ² tn Heb “and he [i.e., Abner] died on account of the blood of Asahel his [i.e., Joab’s] brother.”

[13:26]  ³ tn Heb “and not.”

[13:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “when good is the heart of Amnon with wine.”

[13:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “and become sons of valor.”

[20:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Amasa) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he did not repeat concerning him, and he died.”

[6:2]  ⁹ tn It is not entirely clear whether the Hebrew word כְּפִירִים (kÿfirim) is a place-name not mentioned elsewhere in the OT (as indicated in the present translation; so also NAB, NASB) or whether it means “in [one of] the villages” (so, e.g., NIV, NRSV, NLT; see BDB 499 s.v.; HALOT 493 s.v.). The LXX and Vulgate understand it in the latter sense. Some scholars connect this term with the identically spelled word כּפירים (“lions”) as a figurative description of princes or warriors (e.g., Pss 34:11; 35:17; 58:7; Jer 2:15; Ezek 32:2, 13; Nah 2:14; see HALOT 493 s.v.): “let us meet together with the leaders in the plain of Ono.”

[36:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he ceases to exhibit wisdom to do good.” The Hiphil forms are exhibitive, indicating the outward expression of an inner attitude.

[55:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the butter-like [words] of his mouth are smooth.” The noun מַחְמָאֹת (makhma’ot, “butter-like [words]”) occurs only here. Many prefer to emend the form to מֵחֶמְאָה (mekhem’ah, from [i.e., “than”] butter”), cf. NEB, NRSV “smoother than butter.” However, in this case “his mouth” does not agree in number with the plural verb חָלְקוּ (kholqu, “they are smooth”). Therefore some further propose an emendation of פִּיו (piv, “his mouth”) to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”). In any case, the point seems to that the psalmist’s former friend spoke kindly to him and gave the outward indications of friendship.

[55:21]  ¹² tn Heb “and war [is in] his heart.”

[55:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “his words are softer than oil, but they are drawn swords.”

[26:24]  ¹⁴ tn The Niphal imperfect from נָכַר (nakhar) means “to act [or, treat] as a foreigner [or, stranger]; to misconstrue; to disguise.” The direct object (“it”) is not present in the Hebrew text but is implied. In this passage it means that the hater speaks what is “foreign” to his thought; in other words, he dissembles.

[26:24]  ¹⁵ tn Or “places; puts; lays up” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB).

[26:24]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “within him” (so KJV, ASV) or “in his midst”; NAB “in his inmost being.”

[26:24]  sn Hypocritical words may hide a wicked heart. The proverb makes an observation: One who in reality despises other people will often disguise that with what he says.

[26:25]  ¹⁷ tn The particle כִּי (ki) is here interpreted with a temporal nuance. It is also possible that it could be read as concessive (so NIV, NLT “Though”).

[26:25]  ¹⁸ tn The meaning of the rare Piel form of חָנַן (khanan) is “to make gracious; to make favorable.” The subject is קוֹלוֹ (qolo, “his voice”), a metonymy of cause for what he says. The idea is that what he says is very gracious in its content and its effect.

[26:25]  ¹⁹ sn It may be that the placing of this proverb in this setting is designed to point out that the person speaking graciously is this wicked person who conceals an evil heart. Otherwise it may have in mind a person who has already proven untrustworthy but protests in order to conceal his plans. But even if that were not the connection, the proverb would still warn the disciple not to believe someone just because it sounded wonderful. It will take great discernment to know if there is sincerity behind the person’s words.

[26:25]  ²⁰ sn The number “seven” is used in scripture as the complete number. In this passage it is not intended to be literally seven; rather, the expression means that there is complete or total abomination in his heart. Cf. TEV “his heart is filled to the brim with hate.”

[26:25]  ²¹ sn “Abomination” means something that is loathed. This is a description applied by the writer, for the hypocritical person would not refer to his plans this way.

[26:26]  ²² tn The referent is apparently the individual of vv. 24-25.

[26:26]  ²³ tn The form תִּכַּסֶּה (tikkasseh) is the Hitpael imperfect (with assimilation); it is probably passive, meaning “is concealed,” although it could mean “conceals itself” (naturally). Since the proverb uses antithetical parallelism, an imperfect tense nuance of possibility (“may be concealed”) works well here (cf. NIV, NLT).

[26:26]  ²⁴ sn The Hebrew verb means “to uncover,” here in the sense of “to reveal; to make known; to expose.” The verse is promising that the evil the person has done will be exposed publicly. The common belief that righteousness will ultimately triumph informs this saying.

[7:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “rises up against.”

[7:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the enemies of a man are the men of his house.”

[22:48]  ²⁷ sn Jesus’ comment about betraying the Son of Man with a kiss shows the hypocrisy and blindness of an attempt to cover up sin. On “misused kisses” in the Bible, see Gen 27:26-27; 2 Sam 15:5; Prov 7:13; 27:6; and 2 Sam 20:9.