4:14 Do not enter the path of the wicked
or walk 1 in the way of those who are evil.
4:15 Avoid it, do not go on it;
turn away from it, and go on. 2
13:20 The one who associates 3 with the wise grows wise,
but a companion of fools suffers harm. 4
26:4 I do not associate 5 with deceitful men,
or consort 6 with those who are dishonest. 7
26:5 I hate the mob 8 of evil men,
and do not associate 9 with the wicked.
26:6 I maintain a pure lifestyle, 10
so I can appear before your altar, 11 O Lord,
45:10 Listen, O princess! 12
Observe and pay attention! 13
Forget your homeland 14 and your family! 15
119:115 Turn away from me, you evil men,
so that I can observe 16 the commands of my God. 17
1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together 24 in him.
18:4 Then 25 I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues,
1 tn The verb אָשַׁר (’ashar, “to walk”) is not to be confused with the identically spelled homonym אָשַׁר “to pronounce happy” as in BDB 80 s.v. אָשַׁר.
2 sn The verb עָבַר (’avar, “to cross over; to travel through”) ends both cola. In the first it warns against going on wrong paths; in the second it means “to go your own way,” but may hint that the way will cross over the wrong way. The rapid sequence of commands stresses the urgency of the matter.
3 tn Heb “walks.” When used with the preposition אֶת (’et, “with”), the verb הָלַךְ (halakh, “to walk”) means “to associate with” someone (BDB 234 s.v. הָלַךְ II.3.b; e.g., Mic 6:8; Job 34:8). The active participle of הָלַךְ (“to walk”) stresses continual, durative action. One should stay in close association with the wise, and move in the same direction they do.
4 tn The verb form יֵרוֹעַ (yeroa’) is the Niphal imperfect of רָעַע (ra’a’), meaning “to suffer hurt.” Several have attempted to parallel the repetition in the wordplay of the first colon. A. Guillaume has “he who associates with fools will be left a fool” (“A Note on the Roots רִיע, יָרַע, and רָעַע in Hebrew,” JTS 15 [1964]: 294). Knox translated the Vulgate thus: “Fool he ends that fool befriends” (cited by D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 104).
5 tn Heb “sit.”
6 tn Heb “go.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.
7 tn Heb “[those who] conceal themselves.”
8 tn Heb “assembly, company.”
9 tn Heb “sit.” The psalmist uses the imperfect form of the verb to emphasize that he does not make a practice of associating with such people.
10 tn Heb “I wash my hands in innocence.” The psalmist uses an image from cultic ritual to picture his moral lifestyle. The imperfect verbal emphasizes that this is his habit.
11 tn Heb “so I can go around your altar” (probably in ritual procession). Following the imperfect of the preceding line, the cohortative with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose or result.
12 tn Heb “daughter.” The Hebrew noun בת (“daughter”) can sometimes refer to a young woman in a general sense (see H. Haag, TDOT 2:334).
13 tn Heb “see and turn your ear.” The verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “see”) is used here of mental observation.
14 tn Heb “your people.” This reference to the “people” of the princess suggests she was a foreigner. Perhaps the marriage was arranged as part of a political alliance between Israel (or Judah) and a neighboring state. The translation “your homeland” reflects such a situation.
15 tn Heb “and the house of your father.”
16 tn The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.
17 tn The psalmist has already declared that he observes God’s commands despite persecution, so here the idea must be “so that I might observe the commands of my God unhindered by threats.”
18 tn Or “warned.”
19 tn Or “crooked” (in a moral or ethical sense). See Luke 3:5.
20 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated for stylistic reasons. It occurs as part of the formula καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto) which is often left untranslated in Luke-Acts because it is redundant in contemporary English. Here it is possible (and indeed necessary) to translate ἐγένετο as “came” so that the initial clause of the English translation contains a verb; nevertheless the translation of the conjunction καί is not necessary.
21 tn Or “a noise.”
22 tn While φέρω (ferw) generally refers to movement from one place to another with the possible implication of causing the movement of other objects, in Acts 2:2 φέρομαι (feromai) should probably be understood in a more idiomatic sense of “blowing” since it is combined with the noun for wind (πνοή, pnoh).
23 tn Or “from the sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven” depending on the context.
24 tn BDAG 973 s.v. συνίστημι B.3 suggests “continue, endure, exist, hold together” here.
25 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.