15:1 A gentle response 1 turns away anger,
but a harsh word 2 stirs up wrath. 3
16:1 The intentions of the heart 4 belong to a man, 5
but the answer of the tongue 6 comes from 7 the Lord. 8
18:13 The one who gives an answer 9 before he listens 10 –
that is his folly and his shame. 11
24:26 Like a kiss on the lips 12
is the one who gives an honest answer.
1:19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! 14 Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.
1:1 From James, 15 a slave 16 of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. 17 Greetings!
1 tn Heb “soft answer.” The adjective רַּךְ (rakh, “soft; tender; gentle”; BDB 940 s.v.) is more than a mild response; it is conciliatory, an answer that restores good temper and reasonableness (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 477). Gideon illustrates this kind of answer (Judg 8:1-3) that brings peace.
2 tn Heb “word of harshness”; KJV “grievous words.” The noun עֶצֶב (’etsev, “pain, hurt”) functions as an attributive genitive. The term עֶצֶב refers to something that causes pain (BDB 780 s.v. I עֶצֶב). For example, Jephthah’s harsh answer led to war (Judg 12:1-6).
3 tn Heb “raises anger.” A common response to painful words is to let one’s temper flare up.
4 tn Heb “plans of the heart” (so ASV, NASB, NIV). The phrase מַעַרְכֵי־לֵב (ma’arkhe-lev) means “the arrangements of the mind.”
5 tn Heb “[are] to a man.”
6 tn Here “the tongue” is a metonymy of cause in which the instrument of speech is put for what is said: the answer expressed.
7 sn The contrasting prepositions enhance the contrasting ideas – the ideas belong to people, but the words come from the
8 sn There are two ways this statement can be taken: (1) what one intends to say and what one actually says are the same, or (2) what one actually says differs from what the person intended to say. The second view fits the contrast better. The proverb then is giving a glimpse of how God even confounds the wise. When someone is trying to speak [“answer” in the book seems to refer to a verbal answer] before others, the
9 tn Heb “returns a word”; KJV “He that answereth a matter.”
10 sn Poor listening and premature answering indicate that the person has a low regard for what the other is saying, or that he is too absorbed in his own ideas. The Mishnah lists this as the second characteristic of the uncultured person (m. Avot 5:7).
11 tn Heb “it is folly to him and shame.” The verse uses formal parallelism, with the second colon simply completing the thought of the first.
12 tn Heb “the one who returns right words kisses the lips.” This is an implied comparison for giving an honest answer. Honesty is like a kiss. The kiss would signify love, devotion, sincerity, and commitment (in that culture) – an outward expression of what is in the heart. It is an apt illustration of telling the truth. Some English versions now replace the figure to avoid cultural misunderstanding (cf. TEV, CEV “a sign of true friendship”; NLT “an honor”).
13 tn Or “to them in logical sequence,” “to them in order.” BDAG 490 s.v. καθεξῆς has “explain to someone point by point” for this phrase. This is the same term used in Luke 1:3.
14 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
15 tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
16 tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
17 tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.
18 tn Grk “This.”
19 tn Grk “come down”; “descend.”
20 tn Grk “soulish,” which describes life apart from God, characteristic of earthly human life as opposed to what is spiritual. Cf. 1 Cor 2:14; 15:44-46; Jude 19.