84:11 For the Lord God is our sovereign protector. 1
The Lord bestows favor 2 and honor;
he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity. 3
2:7 He stores up 4 effective counsel 5 for the upright, 6
and is like 7 a shield 8 for those who live 9 with integrity, 10
2:8 to guard 11 the paths of the righteous 12
and to protect 13 the way of his pious ones. 14
28:18 The one who walks blamelessly will be delivered, 15
but whoever is perverse in his ways will fall 16 at once. 17
33:15 The one who lives 18 uprightly 19
and speaks honestly;
the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures
and rejects a bribe; 20
the one who does not plot violent crimes 21
and does not seek to harm others 22 –
2:7 Does the family 23 of Jacob say, 24
‘The Lord’s patience 25 can’t be exhausted –
he would never do such things’? 26
To be sure, my commands bring a reward
for those who obey them, 27
2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem 33 again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too.
2:6 But from those who were influential 34 (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people 35 ) – those influential leaders 36 added 37 nothing to my message. 38
1 tn Heb “[is] a sun and a shield.” The epithet “sun,” though rarely used of Israel’s God in the OT, was a well-attested royal title in the ancient Near East. For several examples from Ugaritic texts, the Amarna letters, and Assyrian royal inscriptions, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 131, n. 2.
2 tn Or “grace.”
3 tn Heb “he does not withhold good to those walking in integrity.”
4 tc The form is a Kethib/Qere reading. The Kethib וְצָפַן (vÿtsafan; Qal perfect + vav consecutive) is supported by the LXX and Syriac. The Qere יִצְפֹּן (yitspon; Qal imperfect) is supported by the Aramaic Targum of Prov 2:7 (the Aramaic translations of the Hebrew scriptures were called Targums) and Latin Vulgate. Internal evidence favors the imperfect; another imperfect appears in v. 6a with a similar sense. The Qere is normally preferred; the scribes are indicating that the received reading is corrupt. The Kethib reflects orthographic confusion between י (yod) and ו (vav). As in v. 6a, this Qal imperfect functions as a habitual imperfect describing a universal truth in past, present and future.
5 tn The noun תּוּשִׁיָּה (tushiyyah) has a two-fold range of meanings: (1) “sound wisdom” (so KJV, NRSV); “effective counsel” and (2) result (metonymy of effect): “abiding success” (BDB 444 s.v.; W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 388; cf. NIV “victory”). It refers to competent wisdom and its resultant ability to achieve moral success (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 80).
6 sn The Hebrew word translated “upright” (יָשָׁר, yashar) is one of the terms used for the righteous. It points to the right conduct of the believer – that which is right or pleasing in the eyes of God. It stresses that the life of the individual is upright, straightforward, and just. It is paralleled with “those who walk in integrity.”
7 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
8 tn The word can be taken as in apposition explaining the subject of the first colon – the
9 tn Heb “walk.” The verb “to walk” (הָלַךְ, halakh) is an idiom (based upon hypocatastasis: implied comparison) for habitual manner of life (BDB 234 s.v. 3.e).
10 tn Heb “those who walk of integrity.” The noun תֹם (tom, “integrity”) functions as a genitive of manner.
11 tn The infinitive construct לִנְצֹר (lintsor, “to guard”) designates the purpose of the
12 tn Heb “paths of righteousness.” The word “righteousness” is a possessive genitive, signifying the ways that the righteous take.
13 tn The imperfect tense verb יִשְׁמֹר (yishmor, “to protect”) continues the syntactical nuance of the preceding infinitive construct of purpose.
14 tc The Kethib is the singular noun + 3rd person masculine singular suffix חֲסִידוֹ (khasido) “his pious one.” The Qere reads the plural noun + 3rd person masculine singular suffix חֲסִידָיו (khasidav) “his pious ones.” The LXX εὐλαβουμένων αὐτόν (eujlaboumenwn aujton) supports the Qere reading.
15 tn The form is the Niphal imperfect of יָשַׁע (yasha’, “will be saved”). In all probability this refers to deliverance from misfortune. Some render it “kept safe” (NIV) or “will be safe” (NRSV, TEV). It must be interpreted in contrast to the corrupt person who will fall.
16 tn The Qal imperfect יִפּוֹל (yipol) is given a future translation in this context, as is the previous verb (“will be delivered”) because the working out of divine retribution appears to be coming suddenly in the future. The idea of “falling” could be a metonymy of adjunct (with the falling accompanying the ruin that comes to the person), or it may simply be a comparison between falling and being destroyed. Cf. NCV “will suddenly be ruined”; NLT “will be destroyed.”
17 tn The last word in the verse, בְּאֶחָת (bÿ’ekhat), means “in one [= at once (?)].” This may indicate a sudden fall, for falling “in one” (the literal meaning) makes no sense. W. McKane wishes to emend the text to read “into a pit” based on v. 10b (Proverbs [OTL], 622); this emendation is followed by NAB, NRSV.
18 tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).
19 tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”
20 tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”
21 tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”
22 tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”
23 tn Heb “house” (so many English versions); CEV “descendants.’
24 tc The MT has אָמוּר (’amur), an otherwise unattested passive participle, which is better emended to אָמוֹר (’amor), an infinitive absolute functioning as a finite verb (see BDB 55 s.v. אָמַר).
25 tn The Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruach) often means “Spirit” when used of the
26 tn Heb “Has the patience of the
27 tn Heb “Do not my words accomplish good for the one who walks uprightly?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course they do!” The
28 tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
29 tn Grk “walking in” (an idiom for one’s lifestyle).
30 tn The predicate adjective has the effect of an adverb here (BDF §243).
31 sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).
32 tn Here ἀναγκάζεις (anankazei") has been translated as a conative present (see ExSyn 534).
33 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
34 tn Or “influential leaders.” BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.a.β has “the influential men Gal 2:2, 6b. A fuller expr. w. the same mng., w. inf. added…vss. 6a, 9.” This refers to the leadership of the Jerusalem church.
35 tn Grk “God does not receive the face of man,” an idiom for showing favoritism or partiality (BDAG 887-88 s.v. πρόσωπον 1.b.α; L&N 88.238).
36 tn Or “influential people”; here “leaders” was used rather than “people” for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy with the word “people” in the previous parenthetical remark. See also the note on the word “influential” at the beginning of this verse.
37 tn Or “contributed.” This is the same word translated “go to ask advice from” in 1:16, but it has a different meaning here; see L&N 59.72.
38 tn Or “added nothing to my authority.” Grk “added nothing to me,” with what was added (“message,” etc.) implied.