18:9 The one who 1 is slack 2 in his work
is a brother 3 to one who destroys. 4
22:29 Do you see a person skilled 5 in his work?
He will take his position before kings;
he will not take his position 6 before obscure people. 7
24:27 Establish your work outside and get your fields ready;
afterward build 8 your house. 9
1 tn Heb “Also, the one who.” Many commentators and a number of English versions omit the word “also.”
2 tn The form מִתְרַפֶּה (mitrappeh) is the Hitpael participle, “showing oneself slack.” The verb means “to sink; to relax,” and in the causative stem “to let drop” the hands. This is the lazy person who does not even try to work.
3 sn These two troubling types, the slacker and the destroyer, are closely related.
4 tn Heb “possessor of destruction.” This idiom means “destroyer” (so ASV); KJV “a great waster”; NRSV “a vandal.”
5 sn The word translated “skilled” is general enough to apply to any crafts; but it may refer to a scribe or an official (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 134).
6 tn The verb form used twice here is יִתְיַצֵּב (yityatsev), the Hitpael imperfect of יָצַב (yatsav), which means “to set or station oneself; to take one’s stand” in this stem. With the form לִפְנֵי (life) it means “to present oneself before” someone; so here it has the idea of serving as a courtier in the presence of a king.
7 sn The fifth saying affirms that true skill earns recognition and advancement (cf. Instruction of Amenemope, chap. 30, 27:16-17 [ANET 424]).
9 tn The perfect tense with vav following the imperatives takes on the force of an imperative here.
10 sn If the term “house” is understood literally, the proverb would mean that one should be financially secure before building a house (cf. NLT). If “house” is figurative for household (metonymy of subject: children or family), the proverb would mean that one should have financial security and provision before starting a family. Some English versions suggest the latter meaning by using the word “home” for “house” (e.g., TEV, CEV).