10:3 Yes, 3 the wicked man 4 boasts because he gets what he wants; 5
the one who robs others 6 curses 7 and 8 rejects the Lord. 9
32:5 A fool will no longer be called honorable;
a deceiver will no longer be called principled.
32:6 For a fool speaks disgraceful things; 10
his mind plans out sinful deeds. 11
He commits godless deeds 12
and says misleading things about the Lord;
he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite 13
and gives the thirsty nothing to drink. 14
32:7 A deceiver’s methods are evil; 15
he dreams up evil plans 16
to ruin the poor with lies,
even when the needy are in the right. 17
1 tn Heb “all his house” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB, NLT “his whole family.”
2 tn Heb “he is a son of worthlessness.”
3 tn The translation assumes כִּי (ki) is asseverative: “indeed, certainly.” Another option is to translate “for,” understanding v. 3 as giving the reason why the wicked so arrogantly seek to destroy the helpless (so NASB, NRSV).
4 tn The representative or typical evildoer is described in vv. 3-11, 13, 15. Since the singular form predominates in these verses, it has been retained in the translation.
5 tn Heb “the wicked [one] boasts on account of the desire of his appetite.” The translation assumes that the preposition עַל (’al) introduces the reason why the wicked boasts (cf. this use of עַל with הָלַל (halal) in Ps 119:164 and Ezra 3:11). In this case, the “desire of his appetite” refers by metonymy to the object desired and acquired.
6 tn The translation assumes the active participle is substantival, referring to the wicked man mentioned in the preceding line. The substantival participle is then understood as the subject of the following verbs. For other examples of the participle of בָּצַע (batsar) used of those who desire and/or acquire wealth through dishonest and/or violent means, see Prov 1:19; 15:27; Jer 6:13; 8:10; Hab 2:9.
7 tn The verb בָּרַךְ (barakh) normally means “to bless,” but in a few cases it exhibits the polarized meaning “to curse” (1 Kgs 21:10, 13; Job 1:5-11; 2:5-9). (Some regard this use of בָּרַךְ as a mere euphemism.) The verb refers to the act of pronouncing or calling down a formal curse upon the object of one’s anger.
8 tn The conjunction “and” is supplied in the translation; it does not appear in the Hebrew text.
9 tn Another option is to translate, “he blesses one who robs others, [but] he curses the
10 tn Or “foolishness,” in a moral-ethical sense. See 9:17.
11 tn Heb “and his heart commits sin”; KJV, ASV “his heart will work iniquity”; NASB “inclines toward wickedness.”
12 tn Heb “in order to do [or “so that he does”] what is godless [or “defiled”].”
13 tn Heb “so that he leaves empty the appetite [or “desire”] of the hungry.”
14 tn Heb “and the drink of the thirsty he causes to fail.”
15 tn Heb “as for a deceiver, his implements [or “weapons”] are evil.”
16 tn Or “he plans evil things”; NIV “he makes up evil schemes.”
17 tn Heb “to ruin the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speak what is just.”