Amsal 8:8

8:8 All the words of my mouth are righteous; ¹ 

there is nothing in them twisted ²  or crooked.

Amsal 10:7

10:7 The memory ³  of the righteous is a blessing,

but the reputation ⁴  of the wicked will rot. ⁵ 

Amsal 16:13

16:13 The delight of kings ⁶  is righteous counsel, ⁷ 

and they love the one who speaks ⁸  uprightly. ⁹ 

Amsal 17:23

17:23 A wicked person receives a bribe secretly ¹⁰ 

to pervert ¹¹  the ways of justice.

[8:8]  ¹ tn The phrase could be rendered with an understood ellipsis: “all the words of my mouth [are said] in righteousness”; or the preposition could be interpreted as a beth essentiae: “all the words of my mouth are righteousness.”

[8:8]  ² sn The verb פָּתַל (patal) means “to twist.” In the Niphal it means “to wrestle” (to twist oneself). It was used in Gen 30:8 for the naming of Naphtali, with the motivation for the name from this verb: “with great struggling.” Here it describes speech that is twisted. It is a synonym for the next word, which means “twisted; crooked; perverse.”

[10:7]  ³ sn “Memory” (זֵכֶר, zekher) and “name” are often paired as synonyms. “Memory” in this sense has to do with reputation, fame. One’s reputation will be good or bad by righteousness or wickedness respectively.

[10:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “name.” The term “name” often functions as a metonymy of association for reputation (BDB 1028 s.v. שֵׁם 2.b).

[10:7]  ⁵ tn The editors of BHS suggest a reading “will be cursed” to make a better parallelism, but the reading of the MT is more striking as a metaphor.

[10:7]  sn To say the wicked’s name will rot means that the name will be obliterated from memory (Exod 17:14; Deut 25:19), leaving only a bad memory for a while.

[16:13]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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).

[17:23]  ¹⁰ sn The fact that the “gift” is given secretly (Heb “from the bosom” [מֵחֵיק, mekheq]; so NASB) indicates that it was not proper. Cf. NRSV “a concealed bribe”; TEV, CEV, NLT “secret bribes.”

[17:23]  ¹¹ tn The form לְהַטּוֹת (lÿhattot) is the Hiphil infinitive construct of נָטָה (natah), meaning “to thrust away,” i.e., to “pervert.” This purpose clause clarifies that the receiving of the “gift” is for evil intent.