Text -- Proverbs 21:24 (NET)

21:24 A proud and arrogant person, whose name is “Scoffer,” acts with overbearing pride.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Pro 21:24

¹ tn The word זֵד (zed, “proud”) comes from the verb זִיד (zid, “to boil up; to seethe; to act proudly [or, presumptuously].” Just as water boiling up in a pot will boil over, so the presumptuous person “oversteps” the boundaries.

² tn The word יָהִיר (yahir) means “haughty,” that is, to be or show oneself to be presumptuous or arrogant.

³ tn Heb “proud haughty scorner his name” (KJV similar). There are several ways that the line could be translated: (1) “Proud, arrogant – his name is scoffer” or (2) “A proud person, an arrogant person – ‘Scoffer’ is his name.” BDB 267 s.v. זֵד suggests, “A presumptuous man, [who is] haughty, scoffer is his name.”

⁴ tn Heb “does.” The Qal active participle “does” serves as the main verb, and the subject is “proud person” in the first line.

⁵ tn The expression בְּעֶבְרַת זָדוֹן (be’evrat zadon) means “in the overflow of insolence.” The genitive specifies what the overflow is; the proud deal in an overflow of pride. Cf. NIV “overweening pride”; NLT “boundless arrogance.”

sn The portrait in this proverb is not merely of one who is self-sufficient, but one who is insolent, scornful, and arrogant.