31:25 if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth,
or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,
146:3 Do not trust in princes,
or in human beings, who cannot deliver! 4
146:4 Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground;
on that day their plans die. 5
4:23 Guard your heart with all vigilance, 6
for from it are the sources 7 of life.
17:9 The human mind is more deceitful than anything else.
It is incurably bad. 8 Who can understand it?
1 tn Heb “but not according to the benefit [given] to him did Hezekiah repay, for his heart was high, and there was anger against him and against Judah and Jerusalem.”
2 tn Heb “and when the envoys of the officials of Babylon, who sent to him to inquire concerning the sign which was in the land, [arrived].”
3 tn Heb “to know all [that was] in his heart.”
4 tn Heb “in a son of man, to whom there is no deliverance.”
5 tn Heb “his spirit goes out, it returns to his ground; in that day his plans die.” The singular refers to the representative man mentioned in v. 3b.
6 tn Heb “more than all guarding.” This idiom means “with all vigilance.” The construction uses the preposition מִן (min) to express “above; beyond,” the word “all” and the noun “prison; guard; act of guarding.” The latter is the use here (BDB 1038 s.v. מִשְׁמָר).
7 sn The word תּוֹצְאוֹת (tots’ot, from יָצָא, yatsa’) means “outgoings; extremities; sources.” It is used here for starting points, like a fountainhead, and so the translation “sources” works well.
8 tn Or “incurably deceitful”; Heb “It is incurable.” For the word “deceitful” compare the usage of the verb in Gen 27:36 and a related noun in 2 Kgs 10:19. For the adjective “incurable” compare the usage in Jer 15:18. It is most commonly used with reference to wounds or of pain. In Jer 17:16 it is used metaphorically for a “woeful day” (i.e., day of irreparable devastation).