15:35 They conceive 1 trouble and bring forth evil;
their belly 2 prepares deception.”
7:14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness,
who conceives destructive plans,
and gives birth to harmful lies – 3
36:4 He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed;
he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; 4
he does not reject what is evil. 5
62:3 How long will you threaten 6 a man?
All of you are murderers, 7
as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence. 8
140:2 who plan ways to harm me. 9
All day long they stir up conflict. 10
6:14 he plots evil with perverse thoughts 11 in his heart,
he spreads contention 12 at all times.
11:27 The one who diligently seeks 13 good seeks favor,
but the one who searches 14 for evil – it will come to him. 15
24:2 for their hearts contemplate violence,
and their lips speak harm. 16
3:13 “Their throats are open graves, 19
they deceive with their tongues,
the poison of asps is under their lips.” 20
3:14 “Their mouths are 21 full of cursing and bitterness.” 22
3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
3:16 ruin and misery are in their paths,
3:17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 23
3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 24
1 tn Infinitives absolute are used in this verse in the place of finite verbs. They lend a greater vividness to the description, stressing the basic meaning of the words.
2 tn At the start of the speech Eliphaz said Job’s belly was filled with the wind; now it is there that he prepares deception. This inclusio frames the speech.
3 tn Heb “and he conceives harm and gives birth to a lie.”
4 tn Heb “he takes a stand in a way [that is] not good.” The word “way” here refers metaphorically to behavior or life style.
5 tn The three imperfect verbal forms in v. 4 highlight the characteristic behavior of the typical evildoer.
6 tn The verb form is plural; the psalmist addresses his enemies. The verb הוּת occurs only here in the OT. An Arabic cognate means “shout at.”
7 tn The Hebrew text has a Pual (passive) form, but the verb form should be vocalized as a Piel (active) form. See BDB 953-54 s.v. רָצַח.
8 tn Heb “like a bent wall and a broken fence.” The point of the comparison is not entirely clear. Perhaps the enemies are depicted as dangerous, like a leaning wall or broken fence that is in danger of falling on someone (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:69).
9 tn Heb “they devise wicked [plans] in [their] mind.”
10 tc Heb “they attack [for] war.” Some revocalize the verb (which is a Qal imperfect from גּוּר, gur, “to attack”) as יְגָרוּ (yÿgaru), a Piel imperfect from גָרָה (garah, “stir up strife”). This is followed in the present translation.
11 tn The noun is an adverbial accusative of manner, explaining the circumstances that inform his evil plans.
12 tn The word “contention” is from the root דִּין (din); the noun means “strife, contention, quarrel.” The normal plural form is represented by the Qere, and the contracted form by the Kethib.
13 tn Two separate words are used here for “seek.” The first is שָׁחַר (shakhar, “to seek diligently”) and the second is בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek after; to look for”). Whoever is seeking good is in effect seeking favor – from either God or man (e.g., Ps 5:12; Isa 49:8).
14 tn The participle דֹּרֵשׁ (doresh) means “to seek; to inquire; to investigate.” A person generally receives the consequences of the kind of life he seeks.
15 tn The verb is the imperfect tense, third feminine singular, referring to “evil,” the object of the participle.
16 sn This nineteenth saying warns against evil associations. Evil people are obsessed with destruction and trouble. See on this theme 1:10-19; 3:31 and 23:17. D. Kidner observes that a close view of sinners is often a good antidote to envying them (Proverbs [TOTC], 153).
17 tn Heb “heart.” So also in v. 28.
18 tn Heb “speak.”
19 tn Grk “their throat is an opened grave.”
20 sn A quotation from Pss 5:9; 140:3.
21 tn Grk “whose mouth is.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
22 sn A quotation from Ps 10:7.
23 sn Rom 3:15-17 is a quotation from Isa 59:7-8.
24 sn A quotation from Ps 36:1.