Amsal 15:1

15:1 A gentle response ¹  turns away anger,

but a harsh word ²  stirs up wrath. ³ 

Amsal 16:1

16:1 The intentions of the heart ⁴  belong to a man, ⁵ 

but the answer of the tongue ⁶  comes from ⁷  the Lord. ⁸ 

Amsal 18:13

18:13 The one who gives an answer ⁹  before he listens ¹⁰  –

that is his folly and his shame. ¹¹ 

Amsal 24:26

24:26 Like a kiss on the lips ¹² 

is the one who gives an honest answer.

[15:1]  ¹ tn Heb “soft answer.” The adjective רַּךְ (rakh, “soft; tender; gentle”; BDB 940 s.v.) is more than a mild response; it is conciliatory, an answer that restores good temper and reasonableness (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 477). Gideon illustrates this kind of answer (Judg 8:1-3) that brings peace.

[15:1]  ² tn Heb “word of harshness”; KJV “grievous words.” The noun עֶצֶב (’etsev, “pain, hurt”) functions as an attributive genitive. The term עֶצֶב refers to something that causes pain (BDB 780 s.v. I עֶצֶב). For example, Jephthah’s harsh answer led to war (Judg 12:1-6).

[15:1]  ³ tn Heb “raises anger.” A common response to painful words is to let one’s temper flare up.

[16:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “plans of the heart” (so ASV, NASB, NIV). The phrase מַעַרְכֵי־לֵב (ma’arkhe-lev) means “the arrangements of the mind.”

[16:1]  sn Humans may set things in order, plan out what they are going to say, but God sovereignly enables them to put their thoughts into words.

[16:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “[are] to a man.”

[16:1]  ⁶ tn Here “the tongue” is a metonymy of cause in which the instrument of speech is put for what is said: the answer expressed.

[16:1]  ⁷ sn The contrasting prepositions enhance the contrasting ideas – the ideas belong to people, but the words come from the Lord.

[16:1]  ⁸ sn There are two ways this statement can be taken: (1) what one intends to say and what one actually says are the same, or (2) what one actually says differs from what the person intended to say. The second view fits the contrast better. The proverb then is giving a glimpse of how God even confounds the wise. When someone is trying to speak [“answer” in the book seems to refer to a verbal answer] before others, the Lord directs the words according to his sovereign will.

[18:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “returns a word”; KJV “He that answereth a matter.”

[18:13]  ¹⁰ sn Poor listening and premature answering indicate that the person has a low regard for what the other is saying, or that he is too absorbed in his own ideas. The Mishnah lists this as the second characteristic of the uncultured person (m. Avot 5:7).

[18:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “it is folly to him and shame.” The verse uses formal parallelism, with the second colon simply completing the thought of the first.

[24:26]  ¹² tn Heb “the one who returns right words kisses the lips.” This is an implied comparison for giving an honest answer. Honesty is like a kiss. The kiss would signify love, devotion, sincerity, and commitment (in that culture) – an outward expression of what is in the heart. It is an apt illustration of telling the truth. Some English versions now replace the figure to avoid cultural misunderstanding (cf. TEV, CEV “a sign of true friendship”; NLT “an honor”).