Amsal 11:1

11:1 The Lord abhors ¹  dishonest scales, ² 

but an accurate weight ³  is his delight.

Amsal 16:11

16:11 Honest scales and balances ⁴  are from the Lord;

all the weights ⁵  in the bag are his handiwork.

Amsal 20:10

20:10 Diverse weights and diverse measures ⁶  –

the Lord abhors ⁷  both of them.

[11:1]  ¹ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) is a subjective genitive.

[11:1]  ² tn Heb “scales of deception.” The genitive is attributive: “deceptive scales.” This refers to dishonesty in the market where silver was weighed in the scales. God condemns dishonest business practices (Deut 25:13-16; Lev 10:35-36), as did the ancient Near East (ANET 388, 423).

[11:1]  ³ tn Heb “a perfect stone.” Stones were used for measuring amounts of silver on the scales; here the stone that pleases the Lord is whole, complete, perfect (from שָׁלֵם, shalem). It was one that would give an honest, accurate measurement.

[16:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “a scale and balances of justice.” This is an attributive genitive, meaning “just scales and balances.” The law required that scales and measures be accurate and fair (Lev 19:36; Deut 25:13). Shrewd dishonest people kept light and heavy weights to make unfair transactions.

[16:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “stones.”

[20:10]  ⁶ tn The construction simply uses repetition to express different kinds of weights and measures: “a stone and a stone, an ephah and an ephah.”

[20:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The phrase features a subjective genitive: “the Lord abhors.”

[20:10]  sn Behind this proverb is the image of the dishonest merchant who has different sets of weights and measures which are used to cheat customers. The Lord hates dishonesty in business transactions.