Amsal 11:13

11:13 The one who goes about slandering others ¹  reveals ²  secrets,

but the one who is trustworthy ³  conceals a matter.

Amsal 12:26

12:26 The righteous person is cautious in his friendship, ⁴ 

but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

Amsal 13:17

13:17 An unreliable ⁵  messenger falls ⁶  into trouble, ⁷ 

but a faithful envoy ⁸  brings ⁹  healing.

Amsal 15:31

15:31 The person ¹⁰  who hears the reproof that leads to life ¹¹ 

is at home ¹²  among the wise. ¹³ 

Amsal 21:27

21:27 The wicked person’s sacrifice ¹⁴  is an abomination;

how much more ¹⁵  when he brings it with evil intent! ¹⁶ 

[11:13]  ¹ tn Heb “going about in slander.” This expression refers to a slanderer. The noun means “slander” and so “tale-bearer” (so KJV, ASV, NASB), “informer.” The related verb (רָכַל, rakhal) means “to go about” from one person to another, either for trade or for gossip.

[11:13]  ² tn The participle מְגַלֶּה (mÿgaleh) means “uncovering” or “revealing” secrets.

[11:13]  sn This is the intent of a person who makes disparaging comments about others – he cannot wait to share secrets that should be kept.

[11:13]  ³ tn Heb “faithful of spirit.” This phrase describes the inner nature of the person as faithful and trustworthy. This individual will not rush out to tell whatever information he has heard, but will conceal it.

[12:26]  ⁴ tn The line has several possible translations: (1) The verb יָתֵר (yater) can mean “to spy out; to examine,” which makes a good contrast to “lead astray” in the parallel colon. (2) יָתֵר could be the Hophal of נָתַר (natar, Hiphil “to set free”; Hophal “to be set free”): “the righteous is delivered from harm” [reading mera`ah] (J. A. Emerton, “A Note on Proverbs 12:26,” ZAW 76 [1964]: 191-93). (3) Another option is, “the righteous guides his friend aright” (cf. NRSV, NLT).

[13:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “bad.”

[13:17]  ⁶ tn The RSV changes this to a Hiphil to read, “plunges [men] into trouble.” But the text simply says the wicked messenger “falls into trouble,” perhaps referring to punishment for his bad service.

[13:17]  ⁷ tn Or “evil.”

[13:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “an envoy of faithfulness.” The genitive אֱמוּנִים (’emunim, “faithfulness”) functions as an attributive adjective: “faithful envoy.” The plural form אמונים (literally, “faithfulnesses”) is characteristic of abstract nouns. The term “envoy” (צִיר, tsir) suggests that the person is in some kind of government service (e.g., Isa 18:2; Jer 49:14; cf. KJV, ASV “ambassador”). This individual can be trusted to “bring healing” – be successful in the mission. The wisdom literature of the ancient Neat East has much to say about messengers.

[13:17]  ⁹ tn The verb “brings” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[15:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “ear” (so KJV, NRSV). The term “ear” is a synecdoche of part (= ear) for the whole (= person).

[15:31]  ¹¹ tn “Life” is an objective genitive: Reproof brings or preserves life. Cf. NIV “life-giving rebuke”; NLT “constructive criticism.”

[15:31]  ¹² tn Heb “lodges.” This means to live with, to be at home with.

[15:31]  ¹³ sn The proverb is one full sentence; it affirms that a teachable person is among the wise.

[21:27]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the sacrifice of the wicked” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This is a subjective genitive. The foundational clause states that ritual acts of worship brought by the wicked (thus a subjective genitive) are detestable to God. The “wicked” refers here to people who are not members of the covenant (no faith) and are not following after righteousness (no acceptable works). But often they participate in sanctuary ritual, which amounts to hypocrisy.

[21:27]  ¹⁵ sn This rhetorical device shows that if the act is abomination, the wicked heart is an even greater sin. It argues from the lesser to the greater.

[21:27]  ¹⁶ tn The noun זִמָּה (zimmah) means “plan; device; wickedness”; here it indicates that the person is coming to the ritual with “sinful purpose.” Some commentators suggest that this would mean he comes with the sacrifice as a bribe to pacify his conscience for a crime committed, over which he has little remorse or intent to cease (cf. NLT “with ulterior motives”). In this view, people in ancient Israel came to think that sacrifices could be given for any reason without genuine submission to God.