Amsal 2:14

2:14 who delight ¹  in doing ²  evil, ³ 

they rejoice in perverse evil; ⁴ 

Amsal 3:16

3:16 Long life ⁵  is in her right hand;

in her left hand are riches and honor.

Amsal 3:22

3:22 So ⁶  they will give ⁷  life to you, ⁸ 

and grace to adorn ⁹  your neck. ¹⁰ 

Amsal 12:2

12:2 A good person obtains favor from the Lord,

but the Lord ¹¹  condemns a person with wicked schemes. ¹² 

Amsal 12:25

12:25 Anxiety ¹³  in a person’s heart ¹⁴  weighs him down, ¹⁵ 

but an encouraging ¹⁶  word brings him joy. ¹⁷ 

Amsal 14:12

14:12 There is a way that seems right to a person, ¹⁸ 

but its end is the way that leads to death. ¹⁹ 

Amsal 15:13

15:13 A joyful heart ²⁰  makes the face cheerful, ²¹ 

but by a painful heart the spirit is broken.

Amsal 16:13

16:13 The delight of kings ²²  is righteous counsel, ²³ 

and they love the one who speaks ²⁴  uprightly. ²⁵ 

Amsal 16:15

16:15 In the light of the king’s face ²⁶  there is life,

and his favor is like the clouds ²⁷  of the spring rain. ²⁸ 

Amsal 16:25

16:25 There is a way that seems right to a person, ²⁹ 

but its end is the way that leads to death. ³⁰ 

Amsal 20:10

20:10 Diverse weights and diverse measures ³¹  –

the Lord abhors ³²  both of them.

Amsal 20:23

20:23 The Lord abhors ³³  differing weights,

and dishonest scales are wicked. ³⁴ 

Amsal 26:22

26:22 The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels;

they go down into a person’s innermost being. ³⁵ 

Amsal 29:6

29:6 In the transgression of an evil person there is a snare, ³⁶ 

but a righteous person can sing ³⁷  and rejoice. ³⁸ 

Amsal 31:13

31:13 She obtains ³⁹  wool and flax,

and she is pleased to work with her hands. ⁴⁰ 

[2:14]  ¹ tn The articular plural active participle functions as the second attributive adjective for אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) in v. 12b.

[2:14]  ² tn The Qal infinitive construct is the complementary use of the form, expressing the direct object of the participle.

[2:14]  ³ tn Or “harm.”

[2:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “the perversity of evil” (so NASB). The noun רָע (ra’, “evil”) functions as an attributed genitive which is modified by the construct noun תַהְפֻּכוֹת (tahpukhot, “perversity”) which functions as an attributive adjective.

[3:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “length of days” (so KJV, ASV).

[3:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “and.” The vav probably denotes purpose/result.

[3:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “they will be.”

[3:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “your soul.” The noun נַפְשֶׁךָ (nafshekha, “your soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= inner soul) for the whole person (= you); see BDB 600 s.v. 4.a.2.

[3:22]  ⁹ tn The phrase “to adorn” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[3:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “grace for your neck.” See note on 1:9.

[12:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “but he condemns”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:2]  ¹² tn Heb “a man of wicked plans.” The noun מְזִמּוֹת (mÿzimmot, “evil plans”) functions as an attributive genitive: “an evil-scheming man.” Cf. NASB “a man who devises evil”; NAB “the schemer.”

[12:25]  ¹³ tn The word “anxiety” (דְּאָגָה, dÿ’agah) combines anxiety and fear – anxious fear (e.g., Jer 49:23; Ezek 4:16); and for the verb (e.g., Ps 38:18; Jer 17:8).

[12:25]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the heart of a man.”

[12:25]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “bows it [= his heart] down.” Anxiety weighs heavily on the heart, causing depression. The spirit is brought low.

[12:25]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “good.” The Hebrew word “good” (טוֹב, tov) refers to what is beneficial for life, promotes life, creates life or protects life. The “good word” here would include encouragement, kindness, and insight – the person needs to regain the proper perspective on life and renew his confidence.

[12:25]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “makes it [= his heart] glad.” The similarly sounding terms יַשְׁחֶנָּה (yashkhennah, “weighs it down”) and יְשַׂמְּחֶנָּה (yÿsammÿkhennah, “makes it glad”) create a wordplay (paronomasia) that dramatically emphasizes the polar opposite emotional states: depression versus joy.

[14:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “which is straight before a man.”

[14:12]  sn The proverb recalls the ways of the adulterous woman in chapters 1-9, and so the translation of “man” is retained. The first line does not say that the “way” that seems right is “vice,” but the second line clarifies that. The individual can rationalize all he wants, but the result is still the same. The proverb warns that any evil activity can take any number of ways (plural) to destruction.

[14:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the ways of death” (so KJV, ASV). This construct phrase features a genitive of destiny: “ways that lead to [or, end in] death.” Here death means ruin (e.g., Prov 7:27; 16:25). The LXX adds “Hades,” but the verse seems to be concerned with events of this life.

[15:13]  ²⁰ tn The contrast in this proverb is between the “joyful heart” (Heb “a heart of joy,” using an attributive genitive) and the “painful heart” (Heb “pain of the heart,” using a genitive of specification).

[15:13]  ²¹ sn The verb יֵיטִב (yetiv) normally means “to make good,” but here “to make the face good,” that is, there is a healthy, favorable, uplifted expression. The antithesis is the pained heart that crushes the spirit. C. H. Toy observes that a broken spirit is expressed by a sad face, while a cheerful face shows a courageous spirit (Proverbs [ICC], 308).

[16:13]  ²² tn The MT has the plural, even though the verb “loves” is masculine singular. The ancient versions and two Hebrew mss read “a king.”

[16:13]  ²³ tn Heb “lips of righteousness”; cf. NAB, NIV “honest lips.” The genitive “righteousness” functions as an attributive adjective. The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause for what is said: “righteous speech” or “righteous counsel.”

[16:13]  ²⁴ tn The MT has the singular participle followed by the plural adjective (which is here a substantive). The editors of BHS wish to follow the ancient versions in making the participle plural, “those who speak uprightly.”

[16:13]  ²⁵ sn The verse is talking about righteous kings, of course – they love righteousness and not flattery. In this proverb “righteous” and “upright” referring to what is said means “what is right and straight,” i.e., the truth (cf. NCV).

[16:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the light of the face of the king.” This expression is a way of describing the king’s brightened face, his delight in what is taking place. This would mean life for those around him.

[16:15]  sn The proverb is the antithesis of 16:14.

[16:15]  ²⁷ tn Heb “cloud.”

[16:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “latter rain” (so KJV, ASV). The favor that this expression represents is now compared to the cloud of rain that comes with the “latter” rain or harvest rain. The point is that the rain cloud was necessary for the successful harvest; likewise the king’s pleasure will ensure the success and the productivity of the people under him. E.g., also Psalm 72:15-17; the prosperity of the land is portrayed as a blessing on account of the ideal king.

[16:25]  ²⁹ tn Heb “There is a way that is right before a man [to the face of a man].”

[16:25]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the ways of death” (so KJV, ASV). This construct phrase features a genitive of destiny: “ways that lead to [or, end in] death.”This proverb is identical to 14:12.

[20:10]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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.

[20:23]  ³³ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” This expression features a subjective genitive: “the Lord abhors.”

[20:23]  ³⁴ tn Heb “not good.” This is a figure known as tapeinosis – a deliberate understatement to emphasize a worst-case scenario: “it is wicked!” (e.g., 11:1; 20:10).

[26:22]  ³⁵ tn The proverb is essentially the same as 18:8; it observes how appealing gossip is.

[29:6]  ³⁶ tn The Syriac and Tg. Prov 29:6 simplify the meaning by writing it with a passive verb: “the evil man is ensnared by his guilt.” The metaphor of the snare indicates that the evil person will be caught in his own transgression.

[29:6]  ³⁷ tc The two verbs create some difficulty because the book of Proverbs does not usually duplicate verbs like this and because the first verb יָרוּן (yarun) is irregular. The BHS editors prefer to emend it to יָרוּץ (yaruts, “will rush”; cf. NAB “runs on joyfully”). W. McKane emends it to “exult” to form a hendiadys: “is deliriously happy” (Proverbs [OTL], 638). G. R. Driver suggests changing the word to יָדוֹן (yadon) based on two Hebrew mss and an Arabic cognate dana, “continue.” He translates it “but the righteous remains and rejoices” (“Problems in the Hebrew Text of Proverbs,” Bib 32 [1951]: 193-94). None of these changes are particularly helpful. The verb is unusual for a geminate root, but Gesenius shows several places where the same pattern can be seen in other geminate verbs (GKC 180 §67.q). In light of this it is preferable to retain the reading of the MT here.

[29:6]  ³⁸ sn These two verbs express the confidence of the righteous – they have no fears and so can sing. So the proverb is saying that only the righteous can enjoy a sense of security.

[31:13]  ³⁹ tn The first word of the fourth line begins with דּ (dalet) the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The verb דָרַשׁ (darash) means “to seek; to inquire; to investigate.” The idea is that she looks for the wool and flax to do her work, but the whole verse assumes she has obtained it. This verb also occurs in the hymn of Ps 111, which says in v. 2 that “the works of the Lord are searched.” One word used in another passage is not that significant; but the cumulative effect of words and ideas suggest that the composition of this poem is influenced by hymnology.

[31:13]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and she works in the pleasure of her hands.” The noun חֵפֶץ (khefets) means “delight; pleasure.” BDB suggests it means here “that in which one takes pleasure,” i.e., a business, and translates the line “in the business of her hands” (BDB 343 s.v. 4). But that translation reduces the emphasis on pleasure and could have easily been expressed in other ways. Here it is part of the construct relationship. The “hands” are the metonymy of cause, representing all her skills and activities in making things. It is also a genitive of specification, making “pleasure” the modifier of “her hands/her working.” She does her work with pleasure. Tg. Prov 31:13 has, “she works with her hands in accordance with her pleasure.”