5:2 For 3 wrath kills the foolish person, 4
and anger 5 slays the silly one.
20:3 May he take notice 6 of your offerings;
may he accept 7 your burnt sacrifice! (Selah)
3:10 Tell the innocent 8 it will go well with them, 9
for they will be rewarded for what they have done. 10
3:11 Too bad for the wicked sinners!
For they will get exactly what they deserve. 11
1 tn Heb “and Jacob saw the face of Laban, and look, he was not with him as formerly.” Jacob knew from the expression on Laban’s face that his attitude toward him had changed – Jacob had become persona non grata.
2 tn Heb “I see the face of your father, that he is not toward me as formerly.”
3 tn One of the reasons that commentators transpose v. 1 is that the כִּי (ki, “for”) here seems to follow 4:21 better. If people die without wisdom, it is folly that kills them. But the verse also makes sense after 5:1. He is saying that complaining against God will not bring deliverance (v. 1), but rather, by such impatience the fool will bring greater calamity on himself.
4 tn The two words for “foolish person” are common in wisdom literature. The first, אֱוִיל (’evil), is the fool who is a senseless person; the פֹּתֶה (poteh) is the naive and silly person, the simpleton, the one who is easily led astray. The direct object is introduced with the preposition ל (lamed) in this verse (see GKC 366 §117.n).
5 tn The two parallel nouns are similar; their related verbs are also paralleled in Deut 32:16 with the idea of “vex” and “irritate.” The first word כַּעַשׂ (ka’as) refers to the inner irritation and anger one feels, whereas the second word קִנְאָה (qin’ah) refers to the outward expression of the anger. In Job 6:2, Job will respond “O that my impatience [ka’as] were weighed….”
6 tn Or “remember.” For other examples of the verb זָכַר (zakhar) carrying the nuance “take notice of,” see Pss 8:4 and 9:12.
7 tc Heb “consider as fat.” The verbal form should probably be emended to יְדַשְּׁנֶהָ (yÿdashÿneha), the final he (ה) being understood as a third feminine singular pronominal suffix referring back to the feminine noun “burnt sacrifice.”
8 tn Or “the righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, TEV); NLT “those who are godly.”
9 tn Heb “that it is good.”
10 tn Heb “for the fruit of their deeds they will eat.”
11 tn Heb “for the work of his hands will be done to him.”
12 tc ‡ Before οὐκ (ouk, “[am I] not”) a number of significant witnesses read ἤ (h, “or”; e.g., א C W 085 Ë1,13 33 and most others). Although in later Greek the οι in σοι (oi in soi) – the last word of v. 14 – would have been pronounced like ἤ, since ἤ is lacking in early
13 tn Grk “Is your eye evil because I am good?”
14 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the older son, v. 25) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 tn The aorist verb ὠργίσθη (wrgisqh) has been translated as an ingressive aorist, reflecting entry into a state or condition.
16 sn Ironically the attitude of the older son has left him outside and without joy.
17 tn Grk “but answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “but he answered.”
18 tn Or simply, “have served,” but in the emotional context of the older son’s outburst the translation given is closer to the point.
19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to bring out the contrast indicated by the context.
20 sn You never gave me even a goat. The older son’s complaint was that the generous treatment of the younger son was not fair: “I can’t get even a little celebration with a basic food staple like a goat!”
21 sn Note the younger son is not “my brother” but this son of yours (an expression with a distinctly pejorative nuance).
22 sn This is another graphic description. The younger son’s consumption had been like a glutton. He had both figuratively and literally devoured the assets which were given to him.
23 sn The charge concerning the prostitutes is unproven, but essentially the older brother accuses the father of committing an injustice by rewarding his younger son’s unrighteous behavior.
24 sn See note on the phrase “fattened calf” in v. 23.
25 sn They were filled with jealousy. Their foolish response to the gospel is noted again (see Acts 5:17). The same verb is used in Acts 7:9; 17:5.
26 tn The imperfect verb ἀντέλεγον (antelegon) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect in the logical sequence of events: After they were filled with jealousy, the Jewish opponents began to contradict what Paul said.
27 tn Grk “the things being said by Paul.” For smoothness and simplicity of English style, the passive construction has been converted to active voice in the translation.
28 tn The participle βλασφημοῦντες (blasfhmounte") has been regarded as indicating the means of the action of the main verb. It could also be translated as a finite verb (“and reviled him”) in keeping with contemporary English style. The direct object (“him”) is implied rather than expressed and could be impersonal (“it,” referring to what Paul was saying rather than Paul himself), but the verb occurs more often in contexts involving defamation or slander against personal beings (not always God). For a very similar context to this one, compare Acts 18:6. The translation “blaspheme” is not used because in contemporary English its meaning is more narrowly defined and normally refers to blasphemy against God (not what Paul’s opponents were doing here). The modern term “slandering” comes close to what was being done to Paul here.