Text -- Proverbs 1:11 (NET)

1:11 If they say, “Come with us! We will lie in wait to shed blood; we will ambush an innocent person capriciously.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Pro 1:11

¹ tn This cohortative נֶאֶרְבָה (ne’ervah) could denote resolve (“We will lie in wait!”) or exhortation (“Let us lie in wait!”). These sinners are either expressing their determination to carry out a violent plan or they are trying to entice the lad to participate with them.

² tn The verb אָרַב (’arav, “to lie in wait”) it is used for planning murder (Deut 19:11), kidnapping (Judg 21:20), or seduction (Prov 23:28).

³ tn Heb “for blood.” The term דָּם (dam, “blood”) functions as a metonymy of effect for “blood shed violently” through murder (HALOT 224 s.v. 4).

⁴ tn Heb “lie in hiding.”

⁵ tn The term “innocent” (נָקִי, naqi) intimates that the person to be attacked is harmless.

⁶ tn Heb “without cause” (so KJV, NASB); NCV “just for fun.” The term חִנָּם (khinnam, “without cause”) emphasizes that the planned attack is completely unwarranted.