59:7 They are eager to do evil, 1
quick to shed innocent blood. 2
Their thoughts are sinful;
they crush and destroy. 3
59:8 They are unfamiliar with peace;
their deeds are unjust. 4
They use deceitful methods,
and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace. 5
36:4 He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed;
he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; 6
he does not reject what is evil. 7
16:29 A violent person 8 entices 9 his neighbor,
and leads him down a path that is terrible. 10
1 tn Heb “their feet run to evil.”
2 tn Heb “they quickly pour out innocent blood.”
3 tn Heb “their thoughts are thoughts of sin, destruction and crushing [are] in their roadways.”
4 tn Heb “a way of peace they do not know, and there is no justice in their pathways.”
5 tn Heb “their paths they make crooked, everyone who walks in it does not know peace.”
6 tn Heb “he takes a stand in a way [that is] not good.” The word “way” here refers metaphorically to behavior or life style.
7 tn The three imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 highlight the characteristic behavior of the typical evildoer.
8 tn Heb “man of violence.” He influences his friends toward violence. The term חָמָס (khamas, “violence”) often refers to sins against society, social injustices, and crimes.
9 tn The verb in the first colon is the Piel imperfect, and the form in the second is the Hiphil perfect; the first is a habitual imperfect, and the second a gnomic perfect. The first verb, “to persuade, seduce, entice,” is the metonymy of cause; the second verb, “to lead,” is the metonymy of effect, the two together forming the whole process.
10 tn Heb “not good” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “a harmful path.” The expression “a way that is not good” is an example of tapeinosis – a deliberate understatement for the sake of emphasis: It is terrible. This refers to crime and violence. The understatement is used to warn people away from villains and to remind them to follow a good path.