29:10 Bloodthirsty people 3 hate someone with integrity; 4
as for the upright, they seek his life. 5
29:27 An unjust person is an abomination to the righteous,
and the one who lives an upright life is an abomination to the wicked. 6
1:13 You are too just 7 to tolerate 8 evil;
you are unable to condone 9 wrongdoing.
So why do you put up with such treacherous people? 10
Why do you say nothing when the wicked devour 11 those more righteous than they are? 12
23:34 “For this reason I 15 am sending you prophets and wise men and experts in the law, 16 some of whom you will kill and crucify, 17 and some you will flog 18 in your synagogues 19 and pursue from town to town,
7:1 Then the high priest said, “Are these things true?” 25
1 tn Heb “there is not in my hand.”
2 tn Or “righteous” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “you are in the right”; NLT “are a better man than I am.”
3 tn Heb “men of bloods.” The Hebrew word for “blood” is written in the plural to reflect the shedding of blood. So the expression “men of bloods” means people who shed blood – murderers, bloodthirsty men, or those who would not hesitate to commit murder in order to get what they want.
4 sn The Hebrew word describes the “blameless” or “innocent” who maintain integrity. The bloodthirsty despise people who insist on decency and integrity.
5 tn Heb “and the upright seek his life.” There are two ways this second line can be taken. (1) One can see it as a continuation of the first line, meaning that the bloodthirsty men also “seek the life of the upright” (cf. NIV, NRSV). The difficulty is that the suffix is singular but the apparent referent is plural. (2) One can take it is as a contrast: “but as for the upright, they seek his life” – a fairly straightforward rendering (cf. ASV). The difficulty here is that “seeking a life” is normally a hostile act, but it would here be positive: “seeking” a life to preserve it. The verse would then say that the bloodthirsty hate the innocent, but the righteous protect them (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 637; cf. NAB, NASB, TEV).
6 tn Heb “who is upright in the way” (so NASB; KJV and ASV are similar). Here “in the way” refers to the course of a person’s life, hence “who lives an upright life.” Cf. NAB “he who walks uprightly.”
7 tn Heb “[you] are too pure of eyes.” God’s “eyes” here signify what he looks at with approval. His “eyes” are “pure” in that he refuses to tolerate any wrongdoing in his presence.
8 tn Heb “to see.” Here “see” is figurative for “tolerate,” “put up with.”
9 tn Heb “to look at.” Cf. NEB “who canst not countenance wrongdoing”; NASB “You can not look on wickedness with favor.”
10 tn Heb “Why do you look at treacherous ones?” The verb בָּגַד (bagad, “be treacherous”) is often used of those who are disloyal or who violate agreements. See S. Erlandsson, TDOT 1:470-73.
11 tn Or “swallow up.”
12 tn Heb “more innocent than themselves.”
13 tn Grk “fathers” (so also in v. 32).
14 tn Grk “the judgment of Gehenna.”
15 tn Grk “behold I am sending.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
16 tn Or “scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
17 sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.
18 tn BDAG 620 s.v. μαστιγόω 1.a states, “of flogging as a punishment decreed by the synagogue (Dt 25:2f; s. the Mishna Tractate Sanhedrin-Makkoth, edited w. notes by SKrauss ’33) w. acc. of pers. Mt 10:17; 23:34.”
19 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.
20 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
21 sn Which…persecute. The rhetorical question suggests they persecuted them all.
22 tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
23 sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ.
24 sn Whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. The harsh critique has OT precedent (1 Kgs 19:10-14; Neh 9:26; 2 Chr 36:16).
25 tn Grk “If it is so concerning these things” (see BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 10.a for this use).
26 tn Or perhaps “People of Israel,” since this was taking place in Solomon’s Portico and women may have been present. The Greek ἄνδρες ᾿Ισραηλῖται (andre" Israhlitai) used in the plural would normally mean “men, gentlemen” (BDAG 79 s.v. ἀνήρ 1.a).
27 tn Grk “or why.”
28 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.