Amsal 1:17

1:17 Surely it is futile to spread ¹  a net

in plain sight of ²  any bird, ³ 

Amsal 24:17

24:17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, ⁴ 

and when he stumbles do not let your heart rejoice,

Amsal 26:26

26:26 Though his ⁵  hatred may be concealed ⁶  by deceit,

his evil will be uncovered ⁷  in the assembly.

[1:17]  ¹ tn Heb “for the net to be spread out.” The Pual participle of זָרָה (zarah) means “to be spread” (HALOT 280 s.v. I זרה pu.1). The subject of this verbal use of the participle is the noun הָרָשֶׁת (harashet, “the net”). It is futile for the net to be spread out in plain view of birds.

[1:17]  ² tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[1:17]  sn This means either: (1) Spreading a net in view of birds is futile because birds will avoid the trap; but the wicked are so blind that they fail to see danger; or (2) it does not matter if a net is spread because birds are so hungry they will eat anyway and be trapped; the wicked act in a similar way.

[1:17]  ³ tn Heb “all of the possessors of wings.”

[24:17]  ⁴ sn The saying (vv. 17, 18) warns against gloating over the misfortune of one’s enemies. The prohibition is formed with two negated jussives “do not rejoice” and “let not be glad,” the second qualified by “your heart” as the subject, signifying the inner satisfaction of such a defeat.

[26:26]  ⁵ tn The referent is apparently the individual of vv. 24-25.

[26:26]  ⁶ tn The form תִּכַּסֶּה (tikkasseh) is the Hitpael imperfect (with assimilation); it is probably passive, meaning “is concealed,” although it could mean “conceals itself” (naturally). Since the proverb uses antithetical parallelism, an imperfect tense nuance of possibility (“may be concealed”) works well here (cf. NIV, NLT).

[26:26]  ⁷ sn The Hebrew verb means “to uncover,” here in the sense of “to reveal; to make known; to expose.” The verse is promising that the evil the person has done will be exposed publicly. The common belief that righteousness will ultimately triumph informs this saying.