119:110 The wicked lay a trap for me,
but I do not wander from your precepts.
140:5 Proud men hide a snare for me;
evil men 1 spread a net by the path;
they set traps for me. (Selah)
142:3 Even when my strength leaves me, 2
you watch my footsteps. 3
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
13:14 Instruction 4 from the wise 5 is like 6 a life-giving fountain, 7
to turn 8 a person 9 from deadly snares. 10
18:22 Let cries of terror be heard in their houses
when you send bands of raiders unexpectedly to plunder them. 11
For they have virtually dug a pit to capture me
and have hidden traps for me to step into.
20:20 Then 12 they watched him carefully and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. 13 They wanted to take advantage of what he might say 14 so that they could deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction 15 of the governor.
1 tn Heb “and ropes,” but many prefer to revocalize the noun as a participle (חֹבְלִים, khovÿlim) from the verb חָבַל (khaval, “act corruptly”).
2 tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”
3 tn Heb “you know my path.”
4 tn The term תוֹרָה (torah) in legal literature means “law,” but in wisdom literature often means “instruction; teaching” (BDB 435 s.v.); cf. NAV, NIV, NRSV “teaching”; NLT “advice.”
5 tn Heb “instruction of the wise.” The term חָכָם (khakham, “the wise”) is a genitive of source.
6 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.
7 tn Heb “fountain of life” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV). The genitive חַיִּים (khayyim) functions as a genitive of material, similar to the expression “fountain of water.” The metaphor means that the teaching of the wise is life-giving. The second colon is the consequence of the first, explaining this metaphor.
8 tn The infinitive construct with preposition לְ (lamed) gives the result (or, purpose) of the first statement. It could also be taken epexegetically, “by turning.”
9 tn The term “person” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.
10 tn Heb “snares of death” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The genitive מָוֶת (mavet) functions as an attributive adjective. The term “snares” makes an implied comparison with hunting; death is like a hunter. W. McKane compares the idea to the Ugaritic god Mot, the god of death, carrying people off to the realm of the departed (Proverbs [OTL], 455). The expression could also mean that the snares lead to death.
11 tn Heb “when you bring marauders in against them.” For the use of the noun translated here “bands of raiders to plunder them” see 1 Sam 30:3, 15, 23 and BDB 151 s.v. גְּדוּד 1.
12 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
13 tn Grk “righteous,” but in this context the point is their false sincerity.
14 tn Grk “so that they might catch him in some word.”
15 tn This word is often translated “authority” in other contexts, but here, in combination with ἀρχή (arch), it refers to the domain or sphere of the governor’s rule (L&N 37.36).