4:4 Just as ritual circumcision cuts away the foreskin
as an external symbol of dedicated covenant commitment,
you must genuinely dedicate yourselves to the Lord
and get rid of everything that hinders your commitment to me, 1
people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem.
If you do not, 2 my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you
that no one will be able to extinguish.
That will happen because of the evil you have done.”
17:10 I, the Lord, probe into people’s minds.
I examine people’s hearts. 3
I deal with each person according to how he has behaved.
I give them what they deserve based on what they have done.
1:24 However, 4 because 5 I called but you refused to listen, 6
because 7 I stretched out my hand 8 but no one paid attention,
1:25 because 9 you neglected 10 all my advice,
and did not comply 11 with my rebuke,
1:26 so 12 I myself will laugh 13 when disaster strikes you, 14
I will mock when what you dread 15 comes,
1:27 when what you dread 16 comes like a whirlwind, 17
and disaster strikes you 18 like a devastating storm, 19
when distressing trouble 20 comes on you.
1:28 Then they will call to me, but I will not answer;
they will diligently seek 21 me, but they will not find me.
1:29 Because 22 they hated moral knowledge, 23
and did not choose to fear the Lord, 24
1:30 they did not comply with my advice,
they spurned 25 all my rebuke.
1:31 Therefore 26 they will eat from the fruit 27 of their way, 28
and they will be stuffed full 29 of their own counsel.
15:26 The Lord abhors 30 the plans 31 of the wicked, 32
but pleasant words 33 are pure. 34
59:7 They are eager to do evil, 35
quick to shed innocent blood. 36
Their thoughts are sinful;
they crush and destroy. 37
10:13 But you have plowed wickedness;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of deception.
Because you have depended on your chariots; 40
you have relied 41 on your many warriors.
1 tn Heb “Circumcise yourselves to the
2 tn Heb “lest.”
3 tn The term rendered “mind” here and in the previous verse is actually the Hebrew word for “heart.” However, in combination with the word rendered “heart” in the next line, which is the Hebrew for “kidneys,” it is best rendered “mind” because the “heart” was considered the center of intellect, conscience, and will and the “kidneys” the center of emotions.
4 tn The term “however” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the contrast between the offer in 1:23 and the accusation in 1:24-25. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
5 tn The particle יַעַן (ya’an, “because”) introduces a causal clause which forms part of an extended protasis; the apodosis is 1:26.
6 tn The phrase “to listen” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
7 tn The term “because” does not appear in this line but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.
8 sn This expression is a metonymy of adjunct; it is a gesture that goes with the appeal for some to approach.
9 tn Heb “and.”
10 tn The verb III פָּרַע means “to let go; to let alone” (BDB 828 s.v.). It can refer to unkempt hair of the head (Lev 10:6) or lack of moral restraint: “to let things run free” (Exod 32:25; Prov 28:19). Here it means “to avoid, neglect” the offer of wisdom (BDB 829 s.v. 2).
11 tn The verbs are characteristic perfects or indefinite pasts. For the word “comply, consent,” see 1:20.
12 tn The conclusion or apodosis is now introduced.
13 sn Laughing at the consequences of the fool’s rejection of wisdom does convey hardness against the fool; it reveals the folly of rejecting wisdom (e.g., Ps 2:4). It vindicates wisdom and the appropriateness of the disaster (D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 60).
14 tn Heb “at your disaster.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix is either (1) a genitive of worth: “the disaster due you” or (2) an objective genitive: “disaster strikes you.” The term “disaster” (אֵיד, ’ed) often refers to final life-ending calamity (Prov 6:15; 24:22; BDB 15 s.v. 3). The preposition ב (bet) focuses upon time here.
15 tn Heb “your dread” (so NASB); KJV “your fear”; NRSV “panic.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix is a subjective genitive: “that which you dread.”
16 tn Heb “your dread.” See note on 1:31.
17 sn The term “whirlwind” (NAB, NIV, NRSV; cf. TEV, NLT “storm”) refers to a devastating storm and is related to the verb שׁוֹא (sho’, “to crash into ruins”; see BDB 996 s.v. שׁוֹאָה). Disaster will come swiftly and crush them like a devastating whirlwind.
18 tn Heb “your disaster.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix is an objective genitive: “disaster strikes you.”
19 tn Heb “like a storm.” The noun סוּפָה (sufah, “storm”) is often used in similes to describe sudden devastation (Isa 5:28; Hos 8:7; Amos 1:14).
20 tn Heb “distress and trouble.” The nouns “distress and trouble” mean almost the same thing so they may form a hendiadys. The two similar sounding terms צוּקָה (tsuqah) and צָרָה (tsarah) also form a wordplay (paronomasia) which also links them together.
21 tn Heb “look to.” The verb שָׁחַר (shakhar, “to look”) is used figuratively of intensely looking (=seeking) for deliverance out of trouble (W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 366); cf. NLT “anxiously search for.” It is used elsewhere in parallelism with בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek rescue”; Hos 5:15). It does not mean “to seek early” (cf. KJV) as is popularly taught due to etymological connections with the noun שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”; so BDB 1007 s.v. שָׁחַר).
22 tn The causal particle תַּחַת כִּי (takhat ki, “for the reason that”) introduces a second accusation of sin and reason for punishment.
23 tn Heb “knowledge.” The noun דָעַת (da’at, “knowledge”) refers to moral knowledge. See note on 1:7.
24 tn Heb “the fear of the
25 tn The verb “spurned” (נָאַץ, na’ats) is parallel to “comply, accede to, be willing” (e.g., 1:10). This is how the morally stubborn fool acts (e.g., 15:5).
26 tn The vav (ו) prefixed to the verb וְיֹאכְלוּ (vÿyo’khÿlu) functions in a consecutive logical sense: “therefore.”
27 sn The expression “eat the fruit of” is a figurative expression (hypocatastasis) that compares the consequences of sin to agricultural growth that culminates in produce. They will suffer the consequences of their sinful actions, that is, they will “reap” what they “sow.”
28 sn The words “way” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) and “counsel” (מוֹעֵצָה, mo’etsah) stand in strong contrast to the instruction of wisdom which gave counsel and rebuke to encourage a better way. They will bear the consequences of the course they follow and the advice they take (for that wrong advice, e.g., Ps 1:1).
29 tn Heb “to eat to one’s fill.” The verb שָׂבֵעַ (savea’) means (1) positive: “to eat one’s fill” so that one’s appetite is satisfied and (2) negative: “to eat in excess” as a glutton to the point of sickness and revulsion (BDB 959 s.v.). Fools will not only “eat” the fruit of their own way (v. 31a), they will be force-fed this revolting “menu” which will make them want to vomit (v. 31b) and eventually kill them (v. 32).
30 tn Heb “an abomination of the
31 tn The noun מַחְשְׁבוֹת (makhshÿvot) means “thoughts” (so KJV, NIV, NLT), from the verb חָשַׁב (khashav, “to think; to reckon; to devise”). So these are intentions, what is being planned (cf. NAB “schemes”).
32 tn The word רַע (“evil; wicked”) is a genitive of source or subjective genitive, meaning the plans that the wicked devise – “wicked plans.”
33 sn The contrast is between the “thoughts” and the “words.” The thoughts that are designed to hurt people the
34 tc The MT simply has “but pleasant words are pure” (Heb “but pure [plural] are the words of pleasantness”). Some English versions add “to him” to make the connection to the first part (cf. NAB, NIV). The LXX has: “the sayings of the pure are held in honor.” The Vulgate has: “pure speech will be confirmed by him as very beautiful.” The NIV has paraphrased here: “but those of the pure are pleasing to him.”
35 tn Heb “their feet run to evil.”
36 tn Heb “they quickly pour out innocent blood.”
37 tn Heb “their thoughts are thoughts of sin, destruction and crushing [are] in their roadways.”
38 tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and I, their deeds and their thoughts, am coming.” The syntax here is very problematic, suggesting that the text may have suffered corruption. Some suggest that the words “their deeds and their thoughts” have been displaced from v. 17. This line presents two primary challenges. In the first place, the personal pronoun “I” has no verb after it. Most translations insert “know” for the sake of clarity (NASB, NRSV, NLT, ESV). The NIV has “I, because of their actions and their imaginations…” Since God’s “knowledge” of Israel’s sin occasions judgment, the verb “hate” is an option as well (see above translation). The feminine form of the next verb (בָּאָה, ba’ah) could be understood in one of two ways. One could provide an implied noun “time” (עֵת, ’et) and render the next line “the time is coming/has come” (NASB, ESV). One could also emend the feminine verb to the masculine בָּא (ba’) and have the “I” at the beginning of the line govern this verb as well (for the Lord is speaking here): “I am coming” (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).
39 tn Heb “and the tongues”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “and tongues.”
40 tc The MT (followed by KJV, NASB) reads the enigmatic בְּדַרְכְּךָ (bÿdarkÿkha, “in your own way”) which does not seem to fit the context or the parallelism with בְּרֹב גִּבּוֹרֶיךָ (bÿrov gibborekha, “in your multitude of warriors”). The BHS editors suggest the original reading was בְרִכְבְּךָ (vÿrikhbÿkha, “in your chariots”), a reading followed by NAB, TEV. If this is correct, the textual corruption was caused by orthographic confusion between רֶכֶב (rekhev, “chariot”) and דֶּרֶכ (derekh, “way”).
41 tn The phrase “you have relied” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism in the preceding line.
42 tn Or “and implore the Lord.”
43 tn Grk “that if possible the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.” The passive construction is somewhat awkward in contemporary English and has thus been converted to an active construction in the translation.