Proverbs 22:2

22:2 The rich and the poor meet together; ¹ 

the Lord is the creator of them both. ² 

Proverbs 27:19

27:19 As in water the face is reflected as a face, ³ 

so a person’s heart ⁴  reflects the person.

Ecclesiastes 7:29

7:29 This alone have I discovered: God made humankind upright,

but they have sought many evil schemes.

Isaiah 64:8

64:8 Yet, ⁵  Lord, you are our father.

We are the clay, and you are our potter;

we are all the product of your labor. ⁶ 

Acts 17:26

17:26 From one man ⁷  he made every nation of the human race ⁸  to inhabit the entire earth, ⁹  determining their set times ¹⁰  and the fixed limits of the places where they would live, ¹¹ 

¹ tn The form of the verb is the Niphal perfect of פָּגַשׁ (pagash); it means “to meet together [or, each other]” (cf. KJV, ASV). The point is that rich and poor live side by side in this life, but they are both part of God’s creation (cf. NAB, NASB “have a common bond”). Some commentators have taken this to mean that they should live together because they are part of God’s creation; but the verb form will not sustain that meaning.

² tn Heb “all.” The Lord is sovereign over both groups, that is, he has had the final say whether a person is rich or poor. People would do well to treat all people with respect, for God can as easily reduce the rich to poverty as raise up the poor to wealth.

³ tn The verse is somewhat cryptic and so has prompted many readings. The first line in the MT has “As water the face to the face.” The simplest and most probable interpretation is that clear water gives a reflection of the face (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). One creative but unconvincing suggestion is that of L. Kopf, who suggests the idea is “water of face” (a construct) and that it means shame or modesty, i.e., a face is not really human without shame, and a man without a heart is not human (“Arabische Etymologien und Parallelen zum Bibelwörterbuch,” VT 9 [1959]: 260-61).

⁴ tn The second line has “so the heart of a man to a man” (cf. KJV, ASV). The present translation (along with many English versions) supplies “reflects” as a verb in the second line to emphasize the parallelism.

⁵ tn On the force of וְעַתָּה (vÿ’attah) here, see HALOT 902 s.v. עַתָּה.

⁶ tn Heb “the work of your hand.”

⁷ sn The one man refers to Adam (the word “man” is understood).

⁸ tn Or “mankind.” BDAG 276 s.v. ἔθνος 1 has “every nation of humankind Ac 17:26.”

⁹ tn Grk “to live over all the face of the earth.”

¹⁰ tn BDAG 884-85 s.v. προστάσσω has “(οἱ) προστεταγμένοι καιροί (the) fixed times Ac 17:26” here, but since the following phrase is also translated “fixed limits,” this would seem redundant in English, so the word “set” has been used instead.

¹¹ tn Grk “the boundaries of their habitation.” L&N 80.5 has “fixed limits of the places where they would live” for this phrase.