3:24 So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Abner 1 has come to you! Why would you send him away? Now he’s gone on his way! 2 3:25 You know Abner the son of Ner! Surely he came here to spy on you and to determine when you leave and when you return 3 and to discover everything that you are doing!”
34:18 who says to a king, 4 ‘Worthless man’ 5
and to nobles, ‘Wicked men,’
19:9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and the one who spouts out 6 lies will perish. 7
19:10 Luxury is not appropriate 8 for a fool; 9
how much less for a servant to rule over princes! 10
1 tn Heb “Look, Abner.”
2 tc The LXX adds “in peace.”
3 tn Heb “your going out and your coming in.” The expression is a merism. It specifically mentions the polar extremities of the actions but includes all activity in between the extremities as well, thus encompassing the entirety of one’s activities.
4 tc Heb “Does one say,” although some smooth it out to say “Is it fit to say?” For the reading “who says,” the form has to be repointed to הַאֹמֵר (ha’omer) meaning, “who is the one saying.” This reading is supported by the LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac. Also it seems to flow better with the following verse. It would be saying that God is over the rulers and can rebuke them. The former view is saying that no one rebukes kings, much less Job rebuking God.
5 tn The word בְּלִיָּעַל (bÿliyya’al) means both “worthless” and “wicked.” It is common in proverbial literature, and in later writings it became a description of Satan. It is usually found with “son of.”
6 tn Heb “breathes out”; NAB “utters”; NIV “pours out.”
7 sn The verse is the same as v. 5, except that the last word changes to the verb “will perish” (cf. NCV “will die”; CEV, NLT “will be destroyed”; TEV “is doomed”).
8 tn The form נָאוֶה (na’veh) is an adjective meaning “seemly; comely” in the older English versions like KJV, ASV, “fitting” in more recent ones (e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV). The verbal root נוֹה only occurs in the Pilel stem; but it also has the basic meaning of “being fitting; being comely.” In this sentence the form is a predicate adjective.
9 sn The verse is simply observing two things that are misfits. It is not concerned with a fool who changes and can handle wealth, or a servant who changes to become a nobleman. It is focused on things that are incongruous.
10 sn In the ancient world the prince would be trained for his rule (hence, one of the original purposes of Proverbs). A slave ruling over princes would be arrogant and cruel, or foolish and unwise. For other unbearable things, e.g., 11:22; 17:7; 26:1; and 30:21-23.
11 tn Grk “said.”
12 tn Or “know.”
13 sn A quotation from Exod 22:28. This text defines a form of blasphemy. Paul, aware of the fact that he came close to crossing the line, backed off out of respect for the law.