Amsal 19:24

19:24 The sluggard plunges ¹  his hand in the dish,

and he will not even bring it back to his mouth! ² 

Amsal 2:19

2:19 None who go in to her will return, ³ 

nor will they reach the paths of life. ⁴ 

Amsal 26:11

26:11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit, ⁵ 

so a fool repeats his folly. ⁶ 

Amsal 3:28

3:28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go! Return tomorrow

and I will give it,” when ⁷  you have it with you at the time. ⁸ 

Amsal 26:27

26:27 The one who digs a pit ⁹  will fall into it;

the one who rolls a stone – it will come back on him.

Amsal 23:8

23:8 you will vomit up ¹⁰  the little bit you have eaten,

and will have wasted your pleasant words. ¹¹ 

Amsal 24:16

24:16 Although ¹²  a righteous person may fall seven times, he gets up again,

but the wicked will be brought down ¹³  by calamity.

Amsal 23:35

23:35 You will say, ¹⁴  “They have struck me, but I am not harmed!

They beat me, but I did not know it! ¹⁵ 

When will I awake? I will look for another drink.” ¹⁶ 

Amsal 26:15

26:15 The sluggard plunges ¹⁷  his hand in the dish;

he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. ¹⁸ 

Amsal 25:8

25:8 Do not go out hastily to litigation, ¹⁹ 

or ²⁰  what will you do afterward

when your neighbor puts you to shame?

Amsal 12:14

12:14 A person will be satisfied with good from the fruit of his words, ²¹ 

and the work of his hands ²²  will be rendered to ²³  him.

Amsal 22:21

22:21 to show you true and reliable words, ²⁴ 

so that you may give accurate answers ²⁵  to those who sent you?

Amsal 25:16

25:16 When you find ²⁶  honey, eat only what is sufficient for you,

lest you become stuffed ²⁷  with it and vomit it up. ²⁸ 

Amsal 6:31

6:31 Yet ²⁹  if he is caught ³⁰  he must repay ³¹  seven times over,

he might even have to give ³²  all the wealth of his house.

Amsal 22:27

22:27 If you do not have enough to pay,

your bed ³³  will be taken ³⁴  right out from under you! ³⁵ 

Amsal 23:33

23:33 Your eyes will see strange things, ³⁶ 

and your mind will speak perverse things.

Amsal 18:19

18:19 A relative ³⁷  offended ³⁸  is harder to reach than ³⁹  a strong city,

and disputes are like the barred gates ⁴⁰  of a fortified citadel. ⁴¹ 

Amsal 23:6

23:6 Do not eat the food of a stingy person, ⁴² 

do not crave his delicacies;

Amsal 28:28

28:28 When the wicked gain control, ⁴³  people ⁴⁴  hide themselves, ⁴⁵ 

but when they perish, ⁴⁶  the righteous increase.

Amsal 6:3

6:3 then, my child, do this in order to deliver yourself, ⁴⁷ 

because you have fallen into your neighbor’s power: ⁴⁸ 

go, humble yourself, ⁴⁹ 

and appeal firmly ⁵⁰  to your neighbor.

[19:24]  ¹ tn Heb “buries” (so many English versions); KJV “hideth”; NAB “loses.”

[19:24]  ² sn This humorous portrayal is an exaggeration; but the point is that laziness can overcome hunger. It would have a wider application for anyone who would start a project and then lack the interest or energy to finish it (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 111). Ibn Ezra proposes that the dish was empty, because the sluggard was too lazy to provide for himself.

[2:19]  ³ tn Heb “all who go in to her will not return.”

[2:19]  ⁴ sn The phrase “reach the paths of life” is a figurative expression for experiencing joy and fullness of blessing (BDB 673 s.v. נָשַׂג 2.a).

[26:11]  ⁵ sn The simile is graphic and debasing (cf. 2 Peter 2:22).

[26:11]  ⁶ sn The point is clear: Fools repeat their disgusting mistakes, or to put it another way, whenever we repeat our disgusting mistakes we are fools. The proverb is affirming that no matter how many times a fool is warned, he never learns.

[3:28]  ⁷ tn Heb “and it is with you.” The prefixed vav introduces a circumstantial clause: “when …”

[3:28]  ⁸ tn The words “at the time” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[26:27]  ⁹ sn The verse is teaching talionic justice (“an eye for an eye,” etc.), and so the activities described should be interpreted as evil in their intent. “Digging a pit” would mean laying a trap for someone (the figure of speech would be a metonymy of cause for the effect of ruining someone, if an actual pit is being dug; the figure would be hypocatastasis if digging a pit is being compared to laying a trap, but no pit is being dug). Likewise, “rolling a stone” on someone means to destroy that individual.

[23:8]  ¹⁰ sn Eating and drinking with a selfish miser would be irritating and disgusting. The line is hyperbolic; the whole experience turns the stomach.

[23:8]  ¹¹ tn Or “your compliments” (so NASB, NIV); cf. TEV “your flattery.”

[23:8]  sn This is the eighth saying; it claims that it would be a mistake to accept hospitality from a stingy person. He is always thinking about the cost, his heart is not in it, and any attempt at pleasant conversation will be lost.

[24:16]  ¹² tn The clause beginning with כִּי (ki) could be interpreted as causal or conditional; but in view of the significance of the next clause it seems better to take it as a concessive clause (“although”). Its verb then receives a modal nuance of possibility. The apodosis is then “and he rises up,” which could be a participle or a perfect tense; although he may fall, he gets up (or, will get up).

[24:16]  sn The righteous may suffer adversity or misfortune any number of times – seven times here – but they will “rise” for virtue triumphs over evil in the end (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 140).

[24:16]  ¹³ tn The verb could be translated with an English present tense (“are brought down,” so NIV) to express what happens to the wicked in this life; but since the saying warns against being like the wicked, their destruction is more likely directed to the future.

[23:35]  ¹⁴ tn The phrase “You will say” is supplied in the translation to make it clear that the drunkard is now speaking.

[23:35]  ¹⁵ sn The line describes how one who is intoxicated does not feel the pain, even though beaten by others. He does not even remember it.

[23:35]  ¹⁶ tn The last line has only “I will add I will seek it again.” The use of אוֹסִיף (’osif) signals a verbal hendiadys with the next verb: “I will again seek it.” In this context the suffix on the verb refers to the wine – the drunkard wants to go and get another drink.

[26:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “buries” (so many English versions); KJV “hideth”; NAB “loses.”

[26:15]  ¹⁸ sn The proverb is stating that the sluggard is too lazy to eat; this is essentially the same point made in 19:24 (see the note there).

[25:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “do not go out hastily to strive”; the verb “to strive” means dispute in the legal context. The last clause of v. 7, “what your eyes have seen,” does fit very well with the initial clause of v. 8. It would then say: What you see, do not take hastily to court, but if the case was not valid, he would end up in disgrace.

[25:8]  sn The Hebrew verb רִיב (riv) is often used in legal contexts; here the warning is not to go to court hastily lest it turn out badly.

[25:8]  ²⁰ tn The clause begins with פֶּן (pen, “lest”) which seems a bit out of place in this line. C. H. Toy suggests changing it to כִּי (ki, “for”) to make a better connection, instead of supplying an ellipsis: “lest it be said what…” (Proverbs [ICC], 461).

[12:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “fruit of the lips.” The term “fruit” is the implied comparison, meaning what is produced; and “lips” is the metonymy of cause, referring to speech. Proper speech will result in good things.

[12:14]  ²² tn Heb “the work of the hands of a man.”

[12:14]  ²³ tc The Kethib has the Qal imperfect, “will return” to him (cf. NASB); the Qere preserves a Hiphil imperfect, “he/one will restore/render” to him (cf. KJV, ASV). The Qere seems to suggest that someone (God or people) will reward him in kind. Since there is no expressed subject, it may be translated as a passive voice.

[22:21]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to cause you to know the truth of words of truth” (NASB similar).

[22:21]  ²⁵ tn Heb “to return true words”; NAB “a dependable report”; NIV “sound answers.”

[25:16]  ²⁶ tn The verse simply begins “you have found honey.” Some turn this into an interrogative clause for the condition laid down (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NLT); most make the form in some way subordinate to the following instruction: “when you find…eat.”

[25:16]  ²⁷ tn The verb means “to be satisfied; to be sated; to be filled.” Here it means more than satisfied, since it describes one who overindulges and becomes sick. The English verb “stuffed” conveys this idea well.

[25:16]  ²⁸ sn The proverb warns that anything overindulged in can become sickening. The verse uses formal parallelism to express first the condition and then its consequences. It teaches that moderation is wise in the pleasures of life.

[6:31]  ²⁹ tn The term “yet” is supplied in the translation.

[6:31]  ³⁰ tn Heb “is found out.” The perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive is equivalent to the imperfect nuances. Here it introduces either a conditional or a temporal clause before the imperfect.

[6:31]  ³¹ tn The imperfect tense has an obligatory nuance. The verb in the Piel means “to repay; to make restitution; to recompense”; cf. NCV, TEV, CEV “must pay back.”

[6:31]  ³² tn This final clause in the section is somewhat cryptic. The guilty thief must pay back sevenfold what he stole, even if it means he must use the substance of his whole house. The verb functions as an imperfect of possibility: “he might even give.”

[22:27]  ³³ tn The “bed” may be a metonymy of adjunct, meaning the garment that covers the bed (e.g., Exod 22:26). At any rate, it represents the individual’s last possession (like the English expression “the shirt off his back”).

[22:27]  ³⁴ tn Heb “If you cannot pay, why should he take the bed from under you?” This rhetorical question is used to affirm the statement. The rhetorical interrogative לָמָּה (lamah, “why?”) appears in MT but not in the ancient versions; it may be in the Hebrew text by dittography.

[22:27]  ³⁵ sn The third saying deals with rash vows: If people foolishly pledge what they have, they could lose everything (e.g., 6:1-5; 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; there is no Egyptian parallel).

[23:33]  ³⁶ tn The feminine plural of זָר (zar, “strange things”) refers to the trouble one has in seeing and speaking when drunk.

[18:19]  ³⁷ tn Heb “brother,” but this is not limited to actual siblings (cf. NRSV “an ally”; CEV, NLT “friend”).

[18:19]  ³⁸ tn The Niphal participle from פָּשַׁע (pasha’) modifies “brother”: a brother transgressed, offended, sinned against.

[18:19]  ³⁹ tc The LXX has a clear antithetical proverb here: “A brother helped is like a stronghold, but disputes are like bars of a citadel.” Accordingly, the editors of BHS propose מוֹשִׁיעַ (moshia’) instead of נִפְשָׁע (nifsha’, so also the other versions and the RSV). But since both lines use the comparison with a citadel (fortified/barred), the antithesis is problematic.

[18:19]  tn The phrase “is harder to reach” is supplied in the translation on the basis of the comparative מִן (min). It is difficult to get into a fortified city; it is more difficult to reach an offended brother.

[18:19]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “bars,” but this could be understood to mean “taverns,” so “barred gates” is employed in the translation.

[18:19]  ⁴¹ sn The proverb is talking about changing a friend or a relative into an enemy by abuse or strife – the bars go up, as it were. And the “walls” that are erected are not easily torn down.

[23:6]  ⁴² tn Heb “an evil eye.” This is the opposite of the “good eye” which meant the generous man. The “evil eye” refers to a person who is out to get everything for himself (cf. NASB, NCV, CEV “selfish”). He is ill-mannered and inhospitable (e.g., Prov 28:22). He is up to no good – even though he may appear to be a host.

[28:28]  ⁴³ tn Heb “the wicked rise,” referring to an accession to power, as in a government. Cf. TEV “come to power”; NLT “take charge.”

[28:28]  sn The proverb is essentially the same as 28:12 (e.g., Prov 11:10; 29:2, 16). It refers to the wicked “rising to power” in government.

[28:28]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “a man” or “mankind” in a generic sense.

[28:28]  ⁴⁵ tn The form is the Niphal imperfect of סָתַר (satar, “to hide”); in this stem it can mean “to hide themselves” or “to go into hiding.” In either case the expression would be a hyperbole; the populace would not go into hiding, but they would tread softly and move about cautiously. G. R. Driver suggests the Akkadian sataru instead, which means “to demolish,” and is cognate to the Aramaic “to destroy.” This would produce the idea that people are “destroyed” when the wicked come to power (“Problems in the Hebrew Text of Proverbs,” Bib 32 [1951]: 192-93). That meaning certainly fits the idea, but there is no reason for the change because the MT is perfectly readable as it is and makes good sense.

[28:28]  ⁴⁶ tn The two clauses have parallel constructions: They both begin with infinitives construct with prepositions functioning as temporal clauses, followed by subjective genitives (first the wicked, and then the pronoun referring to them). This heightens the antithesis: “when the wicked rise…when they perish.”

[6:3]  ⁴⁷ tn The syntactical construction of imperative followed by an imperative + vav consecutive denotes purpose: “in order to be delivered.” The verb means “to deliver oneself, be delivered” in the Niphal. The image is one of being snatched or plucked quickly out of some danger or trouble, in the sense of a rescue, as in a “brand snatched [Hophal stem] from the fire” (Zech 3:2).

[6:3]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “have come into the hand of your neighbor” (so NASB; cf. KJV, ASV). The idiom using the “hand” means that the individual has come under the control or the power of someone else. This particular word for hand is used to play ironically on its first occurrence in v. 1.

[6:3]  ⁴⁹ tn In the Hitpael the verb רָפַס (rafas) means “to stamp oneself down” or “to humble oneself” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV). BDB 952 s.v. Hithp suggests “become a suppliant.” G. R. Driver related it to the Akkadian cognate rapasu, “trample,” and interpreted as trampling oneself, swallowing pride, being unremitting in effort (“Some Hebrew Verbs, Nouns, and Pronouns,” JTS 30 [1929]: 374).

[6:3]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “be bold.” The verb רָהַב (rahav) means “to act stormily; to act boisterously; to act arrogantly.” The idea here is a strong one: storm against (beset, importune) your neighbor. The meaning is that he should be bold and not take no for an answer. Cf. NIV “press your plea”; TEV “beg him to release you.”