9:10 The beginning 1 of wisdom is to fear the Lord, 2
and acknowledging 3 the Holy One 4 is understanding.
12:2 A good person obtains favor from the Lord,
but the Lord 5 condemns a person with wicked schemes. 6
14:26 In the fear of the Lord one has 7 strong confidence, 8
and it will be a refuge 9 for his children.
16:2 All a person’s ways 10 seem right 11 in his own opinion, 12
but the Lord evaluates 13 the motives. 14
17:15 The one who acquits the guilty and the one who condemns the innocent 15 –
both of them are an abomination to the Lord. 16
18:10 The name of the Lord 17 is like 18 a strong tower; 19
the righteous person runs 20 to it and is set safely on high. 21
19:21 There are many plans 22 in a person’s mind, 23
but it 24 is the counsel 25 of the Lord which will stand.
21:30 There is no wisdom and there is no understanding,
and there is no counsel against 26 the Lord. 27
22:23 for the Lord will plead their case 28
and will rob those who are robbing 29 them.
24:18 lest the Lord see it, and be displeased, 30
and turn his wrath away from him. 31
3:7 Do not be wise in your own estimation; 32
fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 33
5:21 For the ways of a person 34 are in front of the Lord’s eyes,
and the Lord 35 weighs 36 all that person’s 37 paths.
15:11 Death and Destruction 38 are before the Lord –
how much more 39 the hearts of humans! 40
25:22 for you will heap coals of fire on his head, 41
and the Lord will reward you. 42
28:5 Evil people 43 do not understand justice, 44
but those who seek the Lord 45 understand it all.
30:9 lest I become satisfied and act deceptively 46
and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I become poor and steal
and demean 47 the name of my God.
31:30 Charm is deceitful 48 and beauty is fleeting, 49
but a woman who fears the Lord 50 will be praised.
1 sn The difference between תְּחִלַּת (tÿkhillat) here and רֵאשִׁית (re’shit) of 1:7, if there is any substantial difference, is that this term refers to the starting point of wisdom, and the earlier one indicates the primary place of wisdom (K&D 16:202).
2 tn Heb “fear of the
3 tn Heb “knowledge of the Holy One” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
4 tn The word is in the plural in the Hebrew (literally “holy ones”; KJV “the holy”). It was translated “holy men” in Tg. Prov 9:10. But it probably was meant to signify the majestic nature of the
5 tn Heb “but he condemns”; the referent (the
6 tn Heb “a man of wicked plans.” The noun מְזִמּוֹת (mÿzimmot, “evil plans”) functions as an attributive genitive: “an evil-scheming man.” Cf. NASB “a man who devises evil”; NAB “the schemer.”
9 tn Heb “In the fear of the
10 tn Heb “confidence of strength.” This construct phrase features an attributive genitive: “strong confidence” (so most English versions; NIV “a secure fortress”).
11 sn The fear of the
13 tn Heb “ways of a man.”
14 sn The Hebrew term translated “right” (z~E) means “innocent” (NIV) or “pure” (NAB, NRSV, NLT). It is used in the Bible for pure oils or undiluted liquids; here it means unmixed actions. Therefore on the one hand people rather naively conclude that their actions are fine.
15 tn Heb “in his eyes.”
16 tn The figure (a hypocatastasis) of “weighing” signifies “evaluation” (e.g., Exod 5:8; 1 Sam 2:3; 16:7; Prov 21:2; 24:12). There may be an allusion to the Egyptian belief of weighing the heart after death to determine righteousness. But in Hebrew thought it is an ongoing evaluation as well, not merely an evaluation after death.
17 tn Heb “spirits” (so KJV, ASV). This is a metonymy for the motives, the intentions of the heart (e.g., 21:2 and 24:2).
17 tn Heb “he who justifies the wicked and and he who condemns the righteous” (so NASB). The first colon uses two Hiphil participles, מַצְדִּיק (matsdiq) and מַרְשִׁיעַ (marshia’). The first means “to declare righteous” (a declarative Hiphil), and the second means “to make wicked [or, guilty]” or “to condemn” (i.e., “to declare guilty”). To declare someone righteous who is a guilty criminal, or to condemn someone who is innocent, are both abominations for the Righteous Judge of the whole earth.
18 tn Heb “an abomination of the
21 sn The “name of the
22 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
23 tn Heb “a tower of strength,” with “strength” regarded as attributive by most English versions. The metaphor “strong tower” indicates that God is a secure refuge. The figure is qualified in the second colon.
24 sn The metaphor of “running” to the
25 tn Heb “is high” or “is inaccessible.” This military-type expression stresses the effect of the trust – security, being out of danger (see HALOT 1305 s.v. שׂגב). Other scriptures will supply the ways that God actually protects people who trust him.
25 sn The plans (from the Hebrew verb חָשַׁב [khashav], “to think; to reckon; to devise”) in the human heart are many. But only those which God approves will succeed.
26 tn Heb “in the heart of a man” (cf. NAB, NIV). Here “heart” is used for the seat of thoughts, plans, and reasoning, so the translation uses “mind.” In contemporary English “heart” is more often associated with the seat of emotion than with the seat of planning and reasoning.
27 tn Heb “but the counsel of the
28 tn The antithetical parallelism pairs “counsel” with “plans.” “Counsel of the
29 tn The form לְנֶגֶד (lÿneged) means “against; over against; in opposition to.” The line indicates they cannot in reality be in opposition, for human wisdom is nothing in comparison to the wisdom of God (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 232).
30 sn The verse uses a single sentence to state that all wisdom, understanding, and advice must be in conformity to the will of God to be successful. It states it negatively – these things cannot be in defiance of God (e.g., Job 5:12-13; Isa 40:13-14).
33 tn The construction uses the verb יָרִיב (yariv) with its cognate accusative. It can mean “to strive,” but here it probably means “to argue a case, plead a case” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV). How the
34 tn The verb קָבַע (qava’, “to rob; to spoil; to plunder”) is used here in both places to reflect the principle of talionic justice. What the oppressors did to the poor will be turned back on them by the
37 tn Heb “and [it is] evil in his eyes.”
38 sn The judgment of God should strike a note of fear in the heart of people (e.g., Lev 19:17-18). His judgment is not to be taken lightly, or personalized as a victory. If that were to happen, then the
41 tn Heb “in your own eyes” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.”
42 sn The second colon clarifies the first. If one fears the
45 tn Heb “man.”
46 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
47 tn BDB 814 s.v. פָּלַס 2 suggests that the participle מְפַּלֵּס (mÿpalles) means “to make level [or, straight].” As one’s ways are in front of the eyes of the
48 tn Heb “all his”; the referent (the person mentioned in the first half of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
49 tn Heb “Sheol and Abaddon” (שְׁאוֹל וַאֲבַדּוֹן (shÿ’ol va’adon); so ASV, NASB, NRSV; cf. KJV “Hell and destruction”; NAB “the nether world and the abyss.” These terms represent the remote underworld and all the mighty powers that reside there (e.g., Prov 27:20; Job 26:6; Ps 139:8; Amos 9:2; Rev 9:11). The
50 tn The construction אַף כִּי (’af ki, “how much more!”) introduces an argument from the lesser to the greater: If all this is open before the
51 tn Heb “the hearts of the sons of man,” although here “sons of man” simply means “men” or “human beings.”
53 sn The imagery of the “burning coals” represents pangs of conscience, more readily effected by kindness than by violence. These coals produce the sharp pain of contrition through regret (e.g., 18:19; 20:22; 24:17; Gen 42-45; 1 Sam 24:18-20; Rom 12:20). The coals then would be an implied comparison with a searing conscience.
54 sn The second consequence of treating enemies with kindness is that the
57 tn Heb “men of evil”; the context does not limit this to males only, however.
58 tn The term translated “justice” is מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat); it refers to the legal rights of people, decisions that are equitable in the community. W. G. Plaut observes that there are always those who think that “justice” is that which benefits them, otherwise it is not justice (Proverbs, 282).
59 sn The contrast (and the difference) is between the wicked and those who seek the
61 tn The verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) means “to be disappointing; to deceive; to fail; to grow lean.” In the Piel stem it means “to deceive; to act deceptively; to cringe; to disappoint.” The idea of acting deceptively is illustrated in Hos 9:2 where it has the connotation of “disowning” or “refusing to acknowledge” (a meaning very close to its meaning here).
62 tn The Hebrew verb literally means “to take hold of; to seize”; this produces the idea of doing violence to the reputation of God.
65 tn The first word of the twenty-first line begins with שׁ (shin), the twenty-first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The graphic distinction between שׁ (shin) and שׂ (sin) had not been made at the time the book of Proverbs was written; that graphic distinction was introduced by the Masoretes, ca.
66 sn The verse shows that “charm” and “beauty” do not endure as do those qualities that the fear of the
67 sn This chapter describes the wise woman as fearing the