Amsal 4:22

4:22 for they are life to those who find them

and healing to one’s entire body. ¹ 

Amsal 16:32

16:32 Better to be slow to anger ²  than to be a mighty warrior,

and one who controls his temper ³  is better than ⁴  one who captures a city. ⁵ 

Amsal 18:9

18:9 The one who ⁶  is slack ⁷  in his work

is a brother ⁸  to one who destroys. ⁹ 

Amsal 19:5

19:5 A false witness ¹⁰  will not go unpunished,

and the one who spouts out ¹¹  lies will not escape punishment. ¹² 

Amsal 19:9

19:9 A false witness will not go unpunished,

and the one who spouts out ¹³  lies will perish. ¹⁴ 

Amsal 19:19

19:19 A person with great anger bears the penalty, ¹⁵ 

but if you deliver him from it once, you will have to do it again. ¹⁶ 

Amsal 20:7

20:7 The righteous person ¹⁷  behaves in integrity; ¹⁸ 

blessed are his children after him. ¹⁹ 

Amsal 22:9

22:9 A generous person ²⁰  will be blessed, ²¹ 

for he gives some of his food ²²  to the poor.

Amsal 22:14

22:14 The mouth ²³  of an adulteress is like ²⁴  a deep pit; ²⁵ 

the one against whom the Lord is angry ²⁶  will fall into it. ²⁷ 

Amsal 23:24

23:24 The father of a righteous person will rejoice greatly; ²⁸ 

whoever fathers a wise child ²⁹  will have joy in him.

Amsal 27:7

27:7 The one whose appetite ³⁰  is satisfied loathes honey,

but to the hungry mouth ³¹  every bitter thing is sweet.

Amsal 27:11

27:11 Be wise, my son, ³²  and make my heart glad,

so that I may answer ³³  anyone who taunts me. ³⁴ 

Amsal 28:5

28:5 Evil people ³⁵  do not understand justice, ³⁶ 

but those who seek the Lord ³⁷  understand it all.

Amsal 28:14

28:14 Blessed is the one who is always cautious, ³⁸ 

but whoever hardens his heart ³⁹  will fall into evil.

Amsal 29:27

29:27 An unjust person is an abomination to the righteous,

and the one who lives an upright life is an abomination to the wicked. ⁴⁰ 

Amsal 30:5

30:5 Every word of God is purified; ⁴¹ 

he is like ⁴²  a shield for those who take refuge in him. ⁴³ 

[4:22]  ¹ tn Heb “to all of his flesh.”

[16:32]  ² tn One who is “slow to anger” is a patient person (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT). This is explained further in the parallel line by the description of “one who rules his spirit” (וּמֹשֵׁל בְּרוּחוֹ, umoshel bÿrukho), meaning “controls his temper.” This means the person has the emotions under control and will not “fly off the handle” quickly.

[16:32]  ³ tn Heb “who rules his spirit” (so NASB).

[16:32]  ⁴ tn The phrase “is better than” does not appear in this line in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism.

[16:32]  ⁵ sn The saying would have had greater impact when military prowess was held in high regard. It is harder, and therefore better, to control one’s passions than to do some great exploit on the battlefield.

[18:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “Also, the one who.” Many commentators and a number of English versions omit the word “also.”

[18:9]  ⁷ tn The form מִתְרַפֶּה (mitrappeh) is the Hitpael participle, “showing oneself slack.” The verb means “to sink; to relax,” and in the causative stem “to let drop” the hands. This is the lazy person who does not even try to work.

[18:9]  ⁸ sn These two troubling types, the slacker and the destroyer, are closely related.

[18:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “possessor of destruction.” This idiom means “destroyer” (so ASV); KJV “a great waster”; NRSV “a vandal.”

[19:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a witness of lies.” This expression is an attributive genitive: “a lying witness” (cf. CEV “dishonest witnesses”). This is paralleled by “the one who pours out lies.”

[19:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “breathes out”; NAB “utters”; NIV “pours out.”

[19:5]  ¹² tn Heb “will not escape” (so NAB, NASB); NIV “will not go free.” Here “punishment” is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:5]  sn This proverb is a general statement, because on occasion there are false witnesses who go unpunished in this life (e.g., Prov 6:19; 14:5, 25; 19:9). The Talmud affirms, “False witnesses are contemptible even to those who hire them” (b. Sanhedrin 29b).

[19:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “breathes out”; NAB “utters”; NIV “pours out.”

[19:9]  ¹⁴ sn The verse is the same as v. 5, except that the last word changes to the verb “will perish” (cf. NCV “will die”; CEV, NLT “will be destroyed”; TEV “is doomed”).

[19:19]  ¹⁵ sn The Hebrew word means “indemnity, fine”; this suggests that the trouble could be legal, and the angry person has to pay for it.

[19:19]  ¹⁶ tn The second colon of the verse is very difficult, and there have been many proposals as to its meaning: (1) “If you save [your enemy], you will add [good to yourself]”; (2) “If you save [your son by chastening], you may continue [chastisement and so educate him]”; (3) “If you deliver [him by paying the fine for him once], you will have to do it again”; (4) “If you save [him this time], you will have to increase [the punishment later on].” All interpretations have to supply a considerable amount of material (indicated by brackets). Many English versions are similar to (3).

[20:7]  ¹⁷ sn Two terms describe the subject of this proverb: “righteous” and “integrity.” The first describes the person as a member of the covenant community who strives to live according to God’s standards; the second emphasizes that his lifestyle is blameless.

[20:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “walks in his integrity” (so NASB); cf. NIV “leads a blameless life.” The Hitpael participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) means “to walk about; to walk to and fro.” The idiom of walking representing living is intensified here in this stem. This verbal stem is used in scripture to describe people “walking with” God.

[20:7]  ¹⁹ sn The nature and the actions of parents have an effect on children (e.g., Exod 20:4-6); if the parents are righteous, the children will enjoy a blessing – the respect and the happiness which the parent reflects on them.

[22:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “good of eye.” This expression is an attributed genitive meaning “bountiful of eye” (cf. KJV, ASV “He that hath a bountiful eye”). This is the opposite of the “evil eye” which is covetous and wicked. The “eye” is a metonymy representing looking well to people’s needs. So this refers to the generous person (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[22:9]  ²¹ tn The form יְבֹרָךְ (yÿvorakh) is a Pual imperfect (here in pause) from בָּרַךְ (barakh); the word means “blessed” in the sense of “enriched,” implying there is a practical reward for being generous to the poor.

[22:9]  ²² sn It is from his own food that he gives to the poor. Of the many observations that could be made, it is worth noting that in blessing this kind of person God is in fact providing for the poor, because out of his blessing he will surely continue to share more.

[22:14]  ²³ sn The word “mouth” is a metonymy of cause; it refers to the seductive speech of the strange woman (e.g., 2:16-22; and chs. 5, 7).

[22:14]  ²⁴ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[22:14]  ²⁵ sn The point of the metaphor is that what the adulteress says is like a deep pit. The pit is like the hunter’s snare; it is a trap that is difficult to escape. So to succumb to the adulteress – or to any other folly this represents – is to get oneself into a difficulty that has no easy escape.

[22:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the one who is cursed by the Lord” (cf. NASB). The construction uses the passive participle in construct with Yahweh. The “Lord” is genitive of agency after the passive form. The verb means “be indignant, express indignation.” So it is talking about one against whom the Lord is angry.

[22:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “will fall there.” The “falling” could refer to the curse itself or to the result of the curse.

[22:14]  sn The proverb is saying that the Lord will use the seductive, deceptive words of the adulteress to bring about the downfall of one who is inclined to such folly.

[23:24]  ²⁸ tc The Qere reading has the imperfect יָגִיל (yagil) with the cognate accusative גִּיל (gil) which intensifies the meaning and the specific future of this verb.

[23:24]  ²⁹ tn The term “child” is supplied for the masculine singular adjective here.

[27:7]  ³⁰ tn Traditionally, “soul” (so KJV, ASV). The Hebrew text uses נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) here for the subject – the full appetite [“soul”]. The word refers to the whole person with all his appetites. Here its primary reference is to eating, but it has a wider application than that – possession, experience, education, and the like.

[27:7]  ³¹ tn Here the term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, traditionally, “soul”) is used again, now in contrast to describe the “hungry appetite” (cf. NRSV “ravenous appetite”), although “hungry mouth” might be more idiomatic for the idea. Those whose needs are great are more appreciative of things than those who are satisfied. The needy will be delighted even with bitter things.

[27:11]  ³² tn Heb “my son”; the reference to a “son” is retained in the translation here because in the following lines the advice is to avoid women who are prostitutes.

[27:11]  ³³ tn The verb is the cohortative of שׁוּב (shuv); after the two imperatives that provide the instruction, this form with the vav will indicate the purpose or result (indirect volitive sequence).

[27:11]  ³⁴ sn The expression anyone who taunts me refers to those who would reproach or treat the sage with contempt, condemning him as a poor teacher. Teachers are often criticized for the faults and weaknesses of their students; but any teacher criticized that way takes pleasure in pointing to those who have learned as proof that he has not labored in vain (e.g., 1 Thess 2:19-20; 3:8).

[28:5]  ³⁵ tn Heb “men of evil”; the context does not limit this to males only, however.

[28:5]  ³⁶ tn The term translated “justice” is מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat); it refers to the legal rights of people, decisions that are equitable in the community. W. G. Plaut observes that there are always those who think that “justice” is that which benefits them, otherwise it is not justice (Proverbs, 282).

[28:5]  ³⁷ sn The contrast (and the difference) is between the wicked and those who seek the Lord. Originally the idea of seeking the Lord meant to obtain an oracle (2 Sam 21:1), but then it came to mean devotion to God – seeking to learn and do his will. Only people who are interested in doing the Lord’s will can fully understand justice. Without that standard, legal activity can become self-serving.

[28:14]  ³⁸ tn Most commentators (and some English versions, e.g., NIV) assume that the participle מְפַחֵד (mÿfakhed, “fears”) means “fears the Lord,” even though “the Lord” is not present in the text. Such an assumption would be more convincing if the word יִרְאַת (yir’at) had been used. It is possible that the verse refers to fearing sin or its consequences. In other words, the one who is always apprehensive about the nature and consequences of sin will avoid sin and find God’s blessing. Of course the assumption that the phrase means “fear the Lord” could be correct as well. There would be little difference in the outcome; in either case sin would be avoided.

[28:14]  ³⁹ sn The one who “hardens his heart” in this context is the person who refuses to fear sin and its consequences. The image of the “hard heart” is one of a stubborn will, unyielding and unbending (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT). This individual will fall into sin.

[29:27]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “who is upright in the way” (so NASB; KJV and ASV are similar). Here “in the way” refers to the course of a person’s life, hence “who lives an upright life.” Cf. NAB “he who walks uprightly.”

[29:27]  sn The proverb makes a simple observation on life: The righteous detest the wicked, and the wicked detest the lifestyle of the righteous. Each is troublesome to the beliefs and the activities of the other.

[30:5]  ⁴¹ sn The text here uses an implied comparison (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis): It compares the perfection of every word from God with some precious metal that has been refined and purified (e.g., Ps 12:6). The point is that God’s word is trustworthy; it has no defects and flaws, nothing false or misleading. The second half of the verse explains the significance of this point – it is safe to trust the Lord.

[30:5]  ⁴² tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[30:5]  ⁴³ sn The line uses two more figures of speech to declare that God can be trusted for security and salvation. “Shield” is a simple metaphor – God protects. “Take refuge” is another implied comparison (hypocatastasis) – God provides spiritual rest and security for those who put their trust in him.