20:6 Many people profess their loyalty, 1
but a faithful person 2 – who can find? 3
59:4 No one is concerned about justice; 4
no one sets forth his case truthfully.
They depend on false words 5 and tell lies;
they conceive of oppression 6
and give birth to sin.
59:13 We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord;
we turned back from following our God.
We stir up 7 oppression and rebellion;
we tell lies we concocted in our minds. 8
59:14 Justice is driven back;
godliness 9 stands far off.
Indeed, 10 honesty stumbles in the city square
and morality is not even able to enter.
59:15 Honesty has disappeared;
the one who tries to avoid evil is robbed.
The Lord watches and is displeased, 11
for there is no justice.
1 tn Heb “many a man calls/proclaims a man of his loyal love.” The Syriac and Tg. Prov 20:6 render the verb as passive: “many are called kind.” Other suggestions include: “most men meet people who will do them occasional kindnesses” (RSV); “many men profess friendship” (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 384); “many men invite only the one who has shown them kindness.” The simplest interpretation in this context is “many proclaim [themselves to be] a kind person (= a loyal friend).” The contrast is between many who claim to be loyal friends and the one who actually proves to be faithful.
2 tn The shift to the expression “a man of faithfulness[es]” in the second line indicates that of all those who claim to show faithful love, it is rare to find one who is truly reliable (as the word אֱמוּנִים [’emunim] indicates clearly); cf. NAB, NRSV “one worthy of trust.”
3 sn The point of the rhetorical question is that a truly faithful friend is very difficult to find.
4 tn Heb “no one pleads with justice.”
5 tn Heb “nothing”; NAB “emptiness.”
6 tn Or “trouble” (NIV), or “harm.”
7 tn Heb “speaking.” A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8 tn Heb “conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.”
9 tn Or “righteousness” (ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV, NAB “justice.”
10 tn Or “for” (KJV, NRSV).
11 tn Heb “and it is displeasing in his eyes.”