22:16 Yes, 1 wild dogs surround me –
a gang of evil men crowd around me;
like a lion they pin my hands and feet. 2
26:11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit, 3
so a fool repeats his folly. 4
56:10 All their watchmen 5 are blind,
they are unaware. 6
All of them are like mute dogs,
unable to bark.
They pant, 7 lie down,
and love to snooze.
56:11 The dogs have big appetites;
they are never full. 8
They are shepherds who have no understanding;
they all go their own way,
each one looking for monetary gain. 9
3:2 Beware of the dogs, 11 beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! 12
3:2 Beware of the dogs, 13 beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! 14
1 tn Or “for.”
2 tn Heb “like a lion, my hands and my feet.” This reading is often emended because it is grammatically awkward, but perhaps its awkwardness is by rhetorical design. Its broken syntax may be intended to convey the panic and terror felt by the psalmist. The psalmist may envision a lion pinning the hands and feet of its victim to the ground with its paws (a scene depicted in ancient Near Eastern art), or a lion biting the hands and feet. The line has been traditionally translated, “they pierce my hands and feet,” and then taken as foreshadowing the crucifixion of Christ. Though Jesus does appropriate the language of this psalm while on the cross (compare v. 1 with Matt 27:46 and Mark 15:34), the NT does not cite this verse in describing the death of Jesus. (It does refer to vv. 7-8 and 18, however. See Matt 27:35, 39, 43; Mark 15:24, 29; Luke 23:34; John 19:23-24.) If one were to insist on an emendation of כָּאֲרִי (ka’ariy, “like a lion”) to a verb, the most likely verbal root would be כָּרָה (karah, “dig”; see the LXX). In this context this verb could refer to the gnawing and tearing of wild dogs (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV). The ancient Greek version produced by Symmachus reads “bind” here, perhaps understanding a verbal root כרך, which is attested in later Hebrew and Aramaic and means “to encircle, entwine, embrace” (see HALOT 497-98 s.v. כרך and Jastrow 668 s.v. כָּרַךְ). Neither one of these proposed verbs can yield a meaning “bore, pierce.”
3 sn The simile is graphic and debasing (cf. 2 Peter 2:22).
4 sn The point is clear: Fools repeat their disgusting mistakes, or to put it another way, whenever we repeat our disgusting mistakes we are fools. The proverb is affirming that no matter how many times a fool is warned, he never learns.
5 sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction.
6 tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”
7 tn The Hebrew text has הֹזִים (hozim), which appears to be derived from an otherwise unattested verbal root הָזָה (hazah). On the basis of alleged cognates, BDB 223 s.v. הָזָה offers the definition “dream, rave” while HALOT 243 s.v. הזה lists “pant.” In this case the dog metaphor of the preceding lines continues. The reference to dogs at the beginning of v. 11 favors the extension of the metaphor. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has חזים (“seers”) here. In this case the “watchmen” are directly identified as prophets and depicted as lazy.
8 sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.
9 tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”
10 tn Or “otherwise the latter will trample them under their feet and the former will turn around and tear you to pieces.” This verse is sometimes understood as a chiasm of the pattern a-b-b-a, in which the first and last clauses belong together (“dogs…turn around and tear you to pieces”) and the second and third clauses belong together (“pigs…trample them under their feet”).
11 sn Dogs is a figurative reference to false teachers whom Paul regards as just as filthy as dogs.
12 tn Grk “beware of the mutilation.”
13 sn Dogs is a figurative reference to false teachers whom Paul regards as just as filthy as dogs.
14 tn Grk “beware of the mutilation.”
15 tn On the term φάρμακοι (farmakoi) see L&N 53.101.
16 tn Or “lying,” “deceit.”