2 Samuel 3:27

3:27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gate as if to speak privately with him. Joab then stabbed him ¹  in the abdomen and killed him, avenging the shed blood of his brother Asahel. ² 

2 Samuel 20:9-10

20:9 Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” With his right hand Joab took hold of Amasa’s beard as if to greet him with a kiss. 20:10 Amasa did not protect himself from the knife in Joab’s other hand, and Joab ³  stabbed him in the abdomen, causing Amasa’s ⁴  intestines to spill out on the ground. There was no need to stab him again; the first blow was fatal. ⁵  Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bicri.

Psalms 28:3

28:3 Do not drag me away with evil men,

with those who behave wickedly, ⁶ 

who talk so friendly to their neighbors, ⁷ 

while they plan to harm them! ⁸ 

Psalms 55:21

55:21 His words are as smooth as butter, ⁹ 

but he harbors animosity in his heart. ¹⁰ 

His words seem softer than oil,

but they are really like sharp swords. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 26:24-26

26:24 The one who hates others disguises ¹²  it with his lips,

but he stores up ¹³  deceit within him. ¹⁴ 

26:25 When ¹⁵  he speaks graciously, ¹⁶  do not believe him, ¹⁷ 

for there are seven ¹⁸  abominations ¹⁹  within him.

26:26 Though his ²⁰  hatred may be concealed ²¹  by deceit,

his evil will be uncovered ²²  in the assembly.

Matthew 26:48-49

26:48 (Now the betrayer ²³  had given them a sign, saying, “The one I kiss is the man. ²⁴  Arrest him!”) ²⁵  26:49 Immediately ²⁶  he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi,” and kissed him. ²⁷ 

[3:27]  ¹ tn Heb “and he struck him down there [in] the stomach.”

[3:27]  ² tn Heb “and he [i.e., Abner] died on account of the blood of Asahel his [i.e., Joab’s] brother.”

[20:10]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Amasa) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he did not repeat concerning him, and he died.”

[28:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “workers of wickedness.”

[28:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “speakers of peace with their neighbors.”

[28:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “and evil [is] in their heart[s].”

[55:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “the butter-like [words] of his mouth are smooth.” The noun מַחְמָאֹת (makhma’ot, “butter-like [words]”) occurs only here. Many prefer to emend the form to מֵחֶמְאָה (mekhem’ah, from [i.e., “than”] butter”), cf. NEB, NRSV “smoother than butter.” However, in this case “his mouth” does not agree in number with the plural verb חָלְקוּ (kholqu, “they are smooth”). Therefore some further propose an emendation of פִּיו (piv, “his mouth”) to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”). In any case, the point seems to that the psalmist’s former friend spoke kindly to him and gave the outward indications of friendship.

[55:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and war [is in] his heart.”

[55:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his words are softer than oil, but they are drawn swords.”

[26:24]  ¹² tn The Niphal imperfect from נָכַר (nakhar) means “to act [or, treat] as a foreigner [or, stranger]; to misconstrue; to disguise.” The direct object (“it”) is not present in the Hebrew text but is implied. In this passage it means that the hater speaks what is “foreign” to his thought; in other words, he dissembles.

[26:24]  ¹³ tn Or “places; puts; lays up” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB).

[26:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “within him” (so KJV, ASV) or “in his midst”; NAB “in his inmost being.”

[26:25]  ¹⁵ tn The particle כִּי (ki) is here interpreted with a temporal nuance. It is also possible that it could be read as concessive (so NIV, NLT “Though”).

[26:25]  ¹⁶ tn The meaning of the rare Piel form of חָנַן (khanan) is “to make gracious; to make favorable.” The subject is קוֹלוֹ (qolo, “his voice”), a metonymy of cause for what he says. The idea is that what he says is very gracious in its content and its effect.

[26:25]  ¹⁷ sn It may be that the placing of this proverb in this setting is designed to point out that the person speaking graciously is this wicked person who conceals an evil heart. Otherwise it may have in mind a person who has already proven untrustworthy but protests in order to conceal his plans. But even if that were not the connection, the proverb would still warn the disciple not to believe someone just because it sounded wonderful. It will take great discernment to know if there is sincerity behind the person’s words.

[26:25]  ¹⁸ sn The number “seven” is used in scripture as the complete number. In this passage it is not intended to be literally seven; rather, the expression means that there is complete or total abomination in his heart. Cf. TEV “his heart is filled to the brim with hate.”

[26:25]  ¹⁹ sn “Abomination” means something that is loathed. This is a description applied by the writer, for the hypocritical person would not refer to his plans this way.

[26:26]  ²⁰ tn The referent is apparently the individual of vv. 24-25.

[26:26]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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.

[26:48]  ²³ tn Grk “the one who betrays him.”

[26:48]  ²⁴ tn Grk “The one I kiss is he.”

[26:48]  ²⁵ sn This remark is parenthetical within the narrative and has thus been placed in parentheses.

[26:49]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[26:49]  ²⁷ sn Judas’ act of betrayal when he kissed Jesus is especially sinister when it is realized that it was common in the culture of the times for a disciple to kiss his master when greeting him.