34:12 Do you want to really live? 6
Would you love to live a long, happy life? 7
34:13 Then make sure you don’t speak evil words 8
or use deceptive speech! 9
34:14 Turn away from evil and do what is right! 10
Strive for peace and promote it! 11
34:15 The Lord pays attention to the godly
and hears their cry for help. 12
34:16 But the Lord opposes evildoers
and wipes out all memory of them from the earth. 13
34:17 The godly 14 cry out and the Lord hears;
he saves them from all their troubles. 15
34:18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he delivers 16 those who are discouraged. 17
34:19 The godly 18 face many dangers, 19
but the Lord saves 20 them 21 from each one of them.
34:20 He protects 22 all his bones; 23
not one of them is broken. 24
34:21 Evil people self-destruct; 25
those who hate the godly are punished. 26
34:22 The Lord rescues his servants; 27
all who take shelter in him escape punishment. 28
3:2 for they will provide 29 a long and full life, 30
and they will add well-being 31 to you.
3:16 Long life 32 is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
9:11 For because 33 of me your days will be many,
and years will be added 34 to your life.
10:27 Fearing the Lord 35 prolongs life, 36
but the life span 37 of the wicked will be shortened. 38
1 tn Heb “commanding” (so NRSV).
2 tn The imperative here means, literally, “regard as heavy” (כַּבֵּד, kabbed). The meaning is that great importance must be ascribed to parents by their children.
3 tn Heb “the
4 tn Here the terms are not the usual חֻקִּים (khuqqim) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim; as in v. 1) but חֻקֹּת (khuqqot, “statutes”) and מִצְוֹת (mitsot, “commandments”). It is clear that these terms are used interchangeably and that their technical precision ought not be overly stressed.
5 tn Heb “commanding.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation.
6 tn Heb “Who is the man who desires life?” The rhetorical question is used to grab the audience’s attention. “Life” probably refers here to quality of life, not just physical existence or even duration of life. See the following line.
7 tn Heb “[Who] loves days to see good?”
8 tn Heb “guard your tongue from evil.”
9 tn Heb “and your lips from speaking deception.”
10 tn Or “do good.”
11 tn Heb “seek peace and pursue it.”
12 tn Heb “the eyes of the
13 tn Heb “the face of the
14 tn Heb “they” (i.e., the godly mentioned in v. 15).
15 tn The three perfect verbal forms are taken in a generalizing sense in v. 17 and translated with the present tense (note the generalizing mood of vv. 18-22).
16 tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form highlights the generalizing statement and draws attention to the fact that the
17 tn Heb “the crushed in spirit.”
18 tn The Hebrew text uses the singular form; the representative or typical godly person is envisioned.
19 tn Or “trials.”
20 tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form highlights the generalizing statement and draws attention to the fact that the
21 tn Heb “him,” agreeing with the singular form in the preceding line.
22 tn The Hebrew participial form suggests such protection is characteristic.
23 tn That is, he protects the godly from physical harm.
24 sn Not one of them is broken. The author of the Gospel of John saw a fulfillment of these words in Jesus’ experience on the cross (see John 19:31-37), for the Roman soldiers, when they saw that Jesus was already dead, did not break his legs as was customarily done to speed the death of crucified individuals. John’s use of the psalm seems strange, for the statement in its original context suggests that the Lord protects the godly from physical harm. Jesus’ legs may have remained unbroken, but he was brutally and unjustly executed by his enemies. John seems to give the statement a literal sense that is foreign to its original literary context by applying a promise of divine protection to a man who was seemingly not saved by God. However, John saw in this incident a foreshadowing of Jesus’ ultimate deliverance and vindication. His unbroken bones were a reminder of God’s commitment to the godly and a sign of things to come. Jesus’ death on the cross was not the end of the story; God vindicated him, as John goes on to explain in the following context (John 19:38-20:18).
25 tn Heb “evil kills the wicked [one].” The singular form is representative; the typical evil person is envisioned. The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the typical nature of the action.
26 tn Heb “are guilty,” but the verb is sometimes used metonymically with the meaning “to suffer the consequences of guilt,” the effect being substituted for the cause.
27 tn Heb “redeems the life of his servants.” The Hebrew participial form suggests such deliverance is characteristic.
28 tn “Taking shelter” in the
29 tn The phrase “they will provide” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.
30 tn Heb “length of days and years of life” (so NASB, NRSV). The idiom “length of days” refers to a prolonged life and “years of life” signifies a long time full of life, a life worth living (T. T. Perowne, Proverbs, 51). The term “life” refers to earthly felicity combined with spiritual blessedness (BDB 313 s.v. חַיִּים).
31 tn The noun שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) here means “welfare, health, prosperity” (BDB 1022 s.v. 3). It can be used of physical health and personal well-being. It is the experience of positive blessing and freedom from negative harm and catastrophe.
32 tn Heb “length of days” (so KJV, ASV).
33 tn The preposition בּ (bet) here may have the causal sense (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 45, §247), although it could also be means (Williams, 44, §243).
34 tn The verb וְיוֹסִיפוּ (vÿyosifu) is the Hiphil imperfect, third masculine plural; but because there is no expressed subject the verb may be taken as a passive.
35 tn Heb “the fear of the
36 tn Heb “days” (so KJV, ASV).
37 tn Heb “years.” The term “years” functions as a synecdoche of part (= years) for the whole (= lifespan).
38 sn This general saying has to be qualified with the problem of the righteous suffering and dying young, a problem that perplexed the sages of the entire ancient world. But this is the general principle: The righteous live longer because their life is the natural one and because God blesses them.