Ester 2:23

2:23 The king then had the matter investigated and, finding it to be so, had the two conspirators ¹  hanged on a gallows. ²  It was then recorded in the daily chronicles in the king’s presence.

Ester 7:9

7:9 Harbona, ³  one of the king’s eunuchs, said, “Indeed, there is the gallows that Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke out in the king’s behalf. It stands near Haman’s home and is seventy-five feet ⁴  high.”

The king said, “Hang him on it!”

Mazmur 35:8

35:8 Let destruction take them by surprise! ⁵ 

Let the net they hid catch them!

Let them fall into destruction! ⁶ 

Mazmur 141:10

141:10 Let the wicked fall ⁷  into their ⁸  own nets,

while I escape. ⁹ 

Amsal 28:10

28:10 The one who leads the upright astray in an evil way

will himself fall into his own pit, ¹⁰ 

but the blameless will inherit what is good. ¹¹ 

Amsal 29:6

29:6 In the transgression of an evil person there is a snare, ¹² 

but a righteous person can sing ¹³  and rejoice. ¹⁴ 

Yesaya 50:11

50:11 Look, all of you who start a fire

and who equip yourselves with ¹⁵  flaming arrows, ¹⁶ 

walk ¹⁷  in the light ¹⁸  of the fire you started

and among the flaming arrows you ignited! ¹⁹ 

This is what you will receive from me: ²⁰ 

you will lie down in a place of pain. ²¹ 

[2:23]  ¹ tn Heb “they both were hanged.” The referent (the two eunuchs who conspired against the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:23]  ² tn Or “on a pole”; KJV, ASV “on a tree.”

[7:9]  ³ sn Cf. 1:10, where Harbona is one of the seven eunuchs sent by the king to summon Queen Vashti to his banquet.

[7:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “fifty cubits.” See the note on this expression in Esth 5:14.

[35:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “let destruction [which] he does not know come to him.” The singular is used of the enemy in v. 8, probably in a representative or collective sense. The psalmist has more than one enemy, as vv. 1-7 make clear.

[35:8]  ⁶ tn The psalmist’s prayer for his enemies’ demise continues. See vv. 4-6.

[141:10]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer. Another option is to translate, “the wicked will fall.”

[141:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “his.”

[141:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “at the same [that] I, until I pass by.” Another option is to take יַחַד (yakhad) with the preceding line, “let the wicked fall together into their own nets.”

[28:10]  ¹⁰ sn The image of falling into a pit (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis, involving implied comparison) is meant to say that the evil to which he guides people will ultimately destroy him.

[28:10]  ¹¹ sn This proverb is teaching that those who corrupt others will be destroyed, usually by their own devices, but those who manage to avoid being corrupted will be rewarded. According to this proverb the righteous can be led astray (e.g., 26:27).

[29:6]  ¹² tn The Syriac and Tg. Prov 29:6 simplify the meaning by writing it with a passive verb: “the evil man is ensnared by his guilt.” The metaphor of the snare indicates that the evil person will be caught in his own transgression.

[29:6]  ¹³ tc The two verbs create some difficulty because the book of Proverbs does not usually duplicate verbs like this and because the first verb יָרוּן (yarun) is irregular. The BHS editors prefer to emend it to יָרוּץ (yaruts, “will rush”; cf. NAB “runs on joyfully”). W. McKane emends it to “exult” to form a hendiadys: “is deliriously happy” (Proverbs [OTL], 638). G. R. Driver suggests changing the word to יָדוֹן (yadon) based on two Hebrew mss and an Arabic cognate dana, “continue.” He translates it “but the righteous remains and rejoices” (“Problems in the Hebrew Text of Proverbs,” Bib 32 [1951]: 193-94). None of these changes are particularly helpful. The verb is unusual for a geminate root, but Gesenius shows several places where the same pattern can be seen in other geminate verbs (GKC 180 §67.q). In light of this it is preferable to retain the reading of the MT here.

[29:6]  ¹⁴ sn These two verbs express the confidence of the righteous – they have no fears and so can sing. So the proverb is saying that only the righteous can enjoy a sense of security.

[50:11]  ¹⁵ tc Several more recent commentators have proposed an emendation of מְאַזְּרֵי (mÿ’azzÿre, “who put on”) to מְאִירִי (mÿ’iri, “who light”). However, both Qumran scrolls of Isaiah and the Vulgate support the MT reading (cf. NIV, ESV).

[50:11]  ¹⁶ tn On the meaning of זִיקוֹת (ziqot, “flaming arrows”), see HALOT 268 s.v. זִיקוֹת.

[50:11]  ¹⁷ tn The imperative is probably rhetorical and has a predictive force.

[50:11]  ¹⁸ tn Or perhaps, “flame” (so ASV).

[50:11]  ¹⁹ sn Perhaps the servant here speaks to his enemies and warns them that they will self-destruct.

[50:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “from my hand” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[50:11]  ²¹ sn The imagery may be that of a person who becomes ill and is forced to lie down in pain on a sickbed. Some see this as an allusion to a fiery place of damnation because of the imagery employed earlier in the verse.