Amsal 6:29

6:29 So it is with ¹  the one who has sex with ²  his neighbor’s wife;

no one ³  who touches ⁴  her will escape ⁵  punishment. ⁶ 

Amsal 21:11

21:11 When a scorner is punished, the naive ⁷  becomes wise;

when a wise person is instructed, ⁸  he gains knowledge.

Amsal 28:20

28:20 A faithful person ⁹  will have an abundance of blessings,

but the one who hastens ¹⁰  to gain riches will not go unpunished.

[6:29]  ¹ tn Heb “thus is the one.”

[6:29]  ² tn Heb “who goes in to” (so NAB, NASB). The Hebrew verb בּוֹא (bo’, “to go in; to enter”) is used throughout scripture as a euphemism for the act of sexual intercourse. Cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT “who sleeps with”; NCV “have sexual relations with.”

[6:29]  ³ tn Heb “anyone who touches her will not.”

[6:29]  ⁴ sn The verb “touches” is intended here to be a euphemism for illegal sexual contact (e.g., Gen 20:6).

[6:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “will be exempt from”; NASB, NLT “will not go unpunished.”

[6:29]  ⁶ tn The verb is יִנָּקֶה (yinnaqeh), the Niphal imperfect from נָקָה (naqah, “to be empty; to be clean”). From it we get the adjectives “clean,” “free from guilt,” “innocent.” The Niphal has the meanings (1) “to be cleaned out” (of a plundered city; e.g., Isa 3:26), (2) “to be clean; to be free from guilt; to be innocent” (Ps 19:14), (3) “to be free; to be exempt from punishment” [here], and (4) “to be free; to be exempt from obligation” (Gen 24:8).

[21:11]  ⁷ sn The contrast here is between the simple and the wise. The simple gain wisdom when they see the scorner punished; the wise gains knowledge through instruction. The scorner does not change, but should be punished for the benefit of the simple (e.g., Prov 19:25).

[21:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the instructing of the wise.” The construction uses the Hiphil infinitive construct הַשְׂכִּיל (haskil) with a preposition to form a temporal clause (= “when”). The word “wise” (חָכָם, khakham) after it is the subjective genitive. The preposition לְ (lamed) on the form is probably dittography from the ending of the infinitive.

[28:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “a man of faithfulness,” although the context does not indicate this should be limited only to males.

[28:20]  sn The text does not qualify the nature of the faithfulness. While this would certainly have implications for the person’s righteous acts, its primary meaning may be his diligence and reliability in his work. His faithful work will bring the returns.

[28:20]  ¹⁰ sn The proverb is not rebuking diligent labor. One who is eager to get rich quickly is the opposite of the faithful person. The first person is faithful to God and to the covenant community; the second is trying to get rich as quickly as possible, at the least without doing an honest day’s work and at the worst dishonestly. In a hurry to gain wealth, he falls into various schemes and will pay for it. Tg. Prov 28:20 interprets this to say he hastens through deceit and wrongdoing.