2 Samuel 2:14

2:14 Abner said to Joab, “Let the soldiers get up and fight ¹  before us.” Joab said, “So be it!” ² 

Proverbs 15:1

15:1 A gentle response ³  turns away anger,

but a harsh word ⁴  stirs up wrath. ⁵ 

Proverbs 17:14

17:14 Starting a quarrel ⁶  is like letting out water; ⁷ 

stop it before strife breaks out! ⁸ 

Proverbs 20:18

20:18 Plans ⁹  are established by counsel,

so ¹⁰  make war ¹¹  with guidance.

Proverbs 25:8

25:8 Do not go out hastily to litigation, ¹² 

or ¹³  what will you do afterward

when your neighbor puts you to shame?

Isaiah 47:7

47:7 You said,

‘I will rule forever as permanent queen!’ ¹⁴ 

You did not think about these things; ¹⁵ 

you did not consider how it would turn out. ¹⁶ 

Luke 14:31-32

14:31 Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down ¹⁷  first and determine whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose ¹⁸  the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 14:32 If he cannot succeed, ¹⁹  he will send a representative ²⁰  while the other is still a long way off and ask for terms of peace. ²¹ 

[2:14]  ¹ tn Heb “play.” What is in view here is a gladiatorial contest in which representative groups of soldiers engage in mortal combat before the watching armies. Cf. NAB “perform for us”; NASB “hold (have NRSV) a contest before us”; NLT “put on an exhibition of hand-to-hand combat.”

[2:14]  ² tn Heb “let them arise.”

[15:1]  ³ tn Heb “soft answer.” The adjective רַּךְ (rakh, “soft; tender; gentle”; BDB 940 s.v.) is more than a mild response; it is conciliatory, an answer that restores good temper and reasonableness (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 477). Gideon illustrates this kind of answer (Judg 8:1-3) that brings peace.

[15:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “word of harshness”; KJV “grievous words.” The noun עֶצֶב (’etsev, “pain, hurt”) functions as an attributive genitive. The term עֶצֶב refers to something that causes pain (BDB 780 s.v. I עֶצֶב). For example, Jephthah’s harsh answer led to war (Judg 12:1-6).

[15:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “raises anger.” A common response to painful words is to let one’s temper flare up.

[17:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “the beginning of a quarrel”; TEV, CEV “The start of an argument.”

[17:14]  ⁷ tn The verse simply begins with “letting out water.” This phrase is a metaphor, but most English versions have made it a simile (supplying “like” or “as”). R. N. Whybray takes it literally and makes it the subject of the clause: “stealing water starts a quarrel” (Proverbs [CBC], 100). However, the verb more likely means “to let out, set free” and not “to steal,” for which there are clearer words.

[17:14]  ⁸ tn The temporal clause is formed with the prepositional “before,” the infinitive construct, and the following subjective genitive. The verb גָּלַע (gala’) means “to expose; to lay bare,” and in the Hitpael “to disclose oneself; to break out.”

[20:18]  ⁹ tn The noun form is plural, but the verb is singular, suggesting either an abstract plural or a collective plural is being used here.

[20:18]  ¹⁰ tn The clause begins with vav (ו) on “with guidance.” But the clause has an imperative for its main verb. One could take the imperfect tense in the first colon as an imperfect of injunction, and then this clause would be also instructional. But the imperfect tense is a Niphal, and so it is better to take the first colon as the foundational clause and the second colon as the consequence (cf. NAB): If that is true, then you should do this.

[20:18]  ¹¹ sn There have been attempts by various commentators to take “war” figuratively to mean life’s struggles, litigation, or evil inclinations. But there is no need and little justification for such interpretations. The proverb simply describes the necessity of taking counsel before going to war.

[25:8]  ¹² tn Heb “do not go out hastily to strive”; the verb “to strive” means dispute in the legal context. The last clause of v. 7, “what your eyes have seen,” does fit very well with the initial clause of v. 8. It would then say: What you see, do not take hastily to court, but if the case was not valid, he would end up in disgrace.

[25:8]  ¹³ tn The clause begins with פֶּן (pen, “lest”) which seems a bit out of place in this line. C. H. Toy suggests changing it to כִּי (ki, “for”) to make a better connection, instead of supplying an ellipsis: “lest it be said what…” (Proverbs [ICC], 461).

[47:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Forever I [will be] permanent queen”; NIV “the eternal queen”; CEV “queen forever.”

[47:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “you did not set these things upon your heart [or “mind”].”

[47:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you did not remember its outcome”; NAB “you disregarded their outcome.”

[14:31]  ¹⁷ tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[14:31]  ¹⁸ tn On the meaning of this verb see also L&N 55.3, “to meet in battle, to face in battle.”

[14:32]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And if not.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated; “succeed” is implied and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[14:32]  ²⁰ tn Grk “a messenger.”

[14:32]  ²¹ sn This image is slightly different from the former one about the tower (vv. 28-30). The first part of the illustration (sit down first and determine) deals with preparation. The second part of the illustration (ask for terms of peace) has to do with recognizing who is stronger. This could well suggest thinking about what refusing the “stronger one” (God) might mean, and thus constitutes a warning. Achieving peace with God, the more powerful king, is the point of the illustration.