15:22 Plans fail 2 when there is no counsel,
but with abundant advisers they are established. 3
20:18 Plans 4 are established by counsel,
so 5 make war 6 with guidance.
24:6 for with guidance you wage your war,
and with numerous advisers there is victory. 7
40:13 Who comprehends 8 the mind 9 of the Lord,
or gives him instruction as his counselor? 10
11:34 For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor? 11
1 tn Heb “the spirit.” The significance of the article prefixed to רוּחַ (ruakh) is uncertain, but it could contain a clue as to this spirit’s identity, especially when interpreted in light of verse 23. It is certainly possible, and probably even likely, that the article is used in a generic or dramatic sense and should be translated, “a spirit.” In the latter case it would show that this spirit was vivid and definite in the mind of Micaiah the storyteller. However, if one insists that the article indicates a well-known or universally known spirit, the following context provides a likely referent. Verse 23 tells how Zedekiah slapped Micaiah in the face and then asked sarcastically, “Which way did the spirit from the
2 tn Heb “go wrong” (so NRSV, NLT). The verb is the Hiphil infinitive absolute from פָּרַר, parar, which means “to break; to frustrate; to go wrong” (HALOT 975 s.v. I פרר 2). The plans are made ineffectual or are frustrated when there is insufficient counsel.
3 sn The proverb says essentially the same thing as 11:14, but differently.
4 tn The noun form is plural, but the verb is singular, suggesting either an abstract plural or a collective plural is being used here.
5 tn The clause begins with vav (ו) on “with guidance.” But the clause has an imperative for its main verb. One could take the imperfect tense in the first colon as an imperfect of injunction, and then this clause would be also instructional. But the imperfect tense is a Niphal, and so it is better to take the first colon as the foundational clause and the second colon as the consequence (cf. NAB): If that is true, then you should do this.
6 sn There have been attempts by various commentators to take “war” figuratively to mean life’s struggles, litigation, or evil inclinations. But there is no need and little justification for such interpretations. The proverb simply describes the necessity of taking counsel before going to war.
7 sn The point of the saying is that wise counsel is necessary in war. Victory, strategy, and counsel are more important than mere military strength – many great armies have been destroyed because of their unwise leaders. See on this theme 11:14; 20:18; and 21:22.
8 tn Perhaps the verb is used metonymically here in the sense of “advises” (note the following line).
9 tn In this context רוּחַ (ruakh) likely refers to the Lord’s “mind,” or mental faculties, rather than his personal Spirit (see BDB 925 s.v.).
10 tn Heb “or [as] the man of his counsel causes him to know?”
11 sn A quotation from Isa 40:13.