Text -- Proverbs 10:23-32 (NET)

10:23 Carrying out a wicked scheme is enjoyable to a fool, and so is wisdom for the one who has discernment. 10:24 What the wicked fears will come on him; what the righteous desire will be granted. 10:25 When the storm passes through, the wicked are swept away, but the righteous are an everlasting foundation. 10:26 Like vinegar to the teeth and like smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him. 10:27 Fearing the Lord prolongs life, but the life span of the wicked will be shortened. 10:28 The hope of the righteous is joy, but the expectation of the wicked will remain unfulfilled. 10:29 The way of the Lord is like a stronghold for the upright, but it is destruction to evildoers. 10:30 The righteous will never be moved, but the wicked will not inhabit the land. 10:31 The speech of the righteous bears the fruit of wisdom, but the one who speaks perversion will be destroyed. 10:32 The lips of the righteous know what is pleasing, but the speech of the wicked is perverse.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Pro 10:23

¹ tn Heb “doing a plan.” The noun זִמָּה (zimmah, “plan”) is often used pejoratively of a scheme to do wickedness. It is used elsewhere for planning lewdness, murder, incest, adultery, idolatry, and licentiousness. Any planned gross impropriety gives the fool pleasure. The verb עָשָׂה (’asah, “to do”) here means “to carry out (a plan)” (BDB 794 s.v.).

² tn Heb “like sport” (so NASB, NRSV). The noun שְׂחוֹק (sÿkhoq, “sport”) is used elsewhere to refer to what is exhilarating and pleasurable (BDB 966 s.v.). As W. G. Plaut says, it is like child’s play (Proverbs, 132). For the fool evil brings such enjoyment; for the discerning wisdom does.

³ tn Heb “a man of discernment.”

NET Notes: Pro 10:24

¹ tn Heb “the dread of the wicked.” The noun רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) is a subjective genitive. The noun מְגוֹרַת (mÿgorat) refers to “the feared thing,” that is, what the wicked dread. The wicked are afraid of the consequences of their sinful actions; however, they cannot escape these consequences.

² tn Heb “the desire of the righteous.” The noun צַדִּיק (tsadiq, “righteous”) is a subjective genitive.

³ tn Heb “it will give.” When used without an expressed subject, the verb יִתֵּן (yitten) has a passive nuance: “it will be granted.”

NET Notes: Pro 10:25

¹ sn The word for “storm wind” comes from the root סוּף (suf, “to come to an end; to cease”). The noun may then describe the kind of storm that makes an end of things, a “whirlwind” (so KJV, NASB; NLT “cyclone”). It is used in prophetic passages that describe swift judgment and destruction.

² tn Heb “the wicked are not”; ASV, NAB, NASB “is no more.”

³ tn Heb “a foundation forever”; NLT “have a lasting foundation.”

sn The metaphor compares the righteous to an everlasting foundation to stress that they are secure when the catastrophes of life come along. He is fixed in a covenantal relationship and needs not to fear passing misfortunes. The wicked has no such security.

NET Notes: Pro 10:26

¹ sn Two similes are used to portray the aggravation in sending a lazy person to accomplish a task. Vinegar to the teeth is an unpleasant, irritating experience; and smoke to the eyes is an unpleasant experience that hinders progress.

² tn The participle is plural, and so probably should be taken in a distributive sense: “to each one who sends him.”

NET Notes: Pro 10:27

¹ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) functions as an objective genitive.

² tn Heb “days” (so KJV, ASV).

³ tn Heb “years.” The term “years” functions as a synecdoche of part (= years) for the whole (= lifespan).

⁴ sn This general saying has to be qualified with the problem of the righteous suffering and dying young, a problem that perplexed the sages of the entire ancient world. But this is the general principle: The righteous live longer because their life is the natural one and because God blesses them.

NET Notes: Pro 10:28

¹ sn This proverb contrasts the hopes of the righteous and the wicked. The righteous will see their hopes fulfilled. The saying is concerned with God’s justice. The words תּוֹחֶלֶת (tokhelet, from יָחַל, yakhal) and תִּקְוַת (tiqvat, from קָוָה, qavah) are synonyms, both emphasizing eager expectations, longings, waiting in hope.

² tn Heb “will perish”; NAB “comes to nought.”

NET Notes: Pro 10:29

¹ sn The “way of the Lord” is an idiom for God’s providential administration of life; it is what the Lord does (“way” being a hypocatastasis).

² 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.

³ tn Heb “for the one with integrity” (לַתֹּם, latom).

⁴ tn Or “ruin” (so NIV).

⁵ tn Heb “those who practice iniquity.”

NET Notes: Pro 10:30

¹ sn This proverb concerns the enjoyment of covenant blessings – dwelling in the land of Israel. It is promised to the righteous for an eternal inheritance, and so the wicked cannot expect to settle there – they will be exiled.

NET Notes: Pro 10:31

¹ tn Heb “the mouth.” The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech.

² tn Heb “bears wisdom.” The verb נוּב (nuv) means “to bear fruit.” It is used figuratively of the righteous; they produce wisdom and righteousness. The term חָכְמָה (khokhmah, “wisdom”) represents the “fruit” that the righteous bear: “they bear the fruit of wisdom” (BDB 626 s.v.).

³ tn Heb “the tongue of perversions.” The noun תַּהְפֻּכוֹת (tahpukhot, “perversions”) functions as a genitive of content; it refers to what the tongue says – perverse things. The plural form depicts a plural of character. The term לָשׁוֹן (lashon, “tongue”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= tongue) for the whole person (= the speaker). The tongue is emphasized because this person is characterized by perverse speech. The term תַּהְפֻּכוֹת (“perversions”) refers to those who turn things upside down, overthrow, or pervert what is right.

⁴ tn Heb “will be cut off” (so NAB, NRSV, NLT); cf. KJV, NASB, NIV “cut out.” Their tongue will be cut off, a hyperbole meaning to bring to an end the evil that they speak.

NET Notes: Pro 10:32

¹ sn The verb “know” applied to “lips” is unusual. “Lips” is a metonymy for what the righteous say; and their words “know” (a personification) what is pleasing, i.e., they are acquainted with.

² sn The righteous say what is pleasing, acceptable, or delightful; but the wicked say perverse and destructive things.

³ tn Heb “lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause for what is said.