3:3 Do two walk together without having met? 1
5:19 Disaster will be inescapable, 2
as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear,
then escaped 3 into a house,
leaned his hand against the wall,
and was bitten by a poisonous snake.
1 sn The rhetorical questions in vv. 3-5 expect the answer, “No, of course not!” Those in v. 6 anticipate the answer, “Yes, of course they do/he is.” They all draw attention to the principle of cause and effect and lay the logical foundation for the argument in vv. 7-8. Also note the progression from a general question in v. 3 to the “meetings” of two animals (v. 4), to that of an animal and a human trap (v. 5), to a climax with the confrontation with the Lord (v. 6). Each of these meetings is disastrous.
2 tn The words “Disaster will be inescapable” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
3 tn Heb “went” (so KJV, NRSV).