Acts 24:26-27

24:26 At the same time he was also hoping that Paul would give him money, ¹  and for this reason he sent for Paul ²  as often as possible ³  and talked ⁴  with him. 24:27 After two years ⁵  had passed, Porcius Festus ⁶  succeeded Felix, ⁷  and because he wanted to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison. ⁸ 

Psalms 10:3

10:3 Yes, ⁹  the wicked man ¹⁰  boasts because he gets what he wants; ¹¹ 

the one who robs others ¹²  curses ¹³  and ¹⁴  rejects the Lord. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 12:2-3

12:2 People lie to one another; ¹⁶ 

they flatter and deceive. ¹⁷ 

12:3 May the Lord cut off ¹⁸  all flattering lips,

and the tongue that boasts! ¹⁹ 

Proverbs 26:28

26:28 A lying tongue ²⁰  hates those crushed by it,

and a flattering mouth works ruin. ²¹ 

Proverbs 29:5

29:5 The one ²²  who flatters ²³  his neighbor

spreads a net ²⁴  for his steps. ²⁵ 

Jude 1:16

1:16 These people are grumblers and ²⁶  fault-finders who go ²⁷  wherever their desires lead them, ²⁸  and they give bombastic speeches, ²⁹  enchanting folks ³⁰  for their own gain. ³¹ 

[24:26]  ¹ tn Grk “he was hoping that money would be given to him by Paul.” To simplify the translation, the passive construction has been converted to an active one.

[24:26]  ² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Paul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:26]  ³ tn “As often as possible” reflects the comparative form of the adjective πυκνός (puknos); see BDAG 897 s.v. πυκνός, which has “Neut. of the comp. πυκνότερον as adv. more often, more frequently and in an elative sense very often, quite frequently…also as often as possible…Ac 24:26.”

[24:26]  ⁴ tn On this term, which could mean “conferred with him,” see BDAG 705 s.v. ὁμιλέω.

[24:27]  ⁵ tn Grk “After a two-year period.”

[24:27]  ⁶ sn Porcius Festus was the procurator of Palestine who succeeded Felix; neither the beginning nor the end of his rule (at his death) can be determined with certainty, although he appears to have died in office after about two years. Nero recalled Felix in a.d. 57 or 58, and Festus was appointed to his vacant office in a.d. 57, 58, or 59. According to Josephus (Ant. 20.8.9-10 [20.182-188]; J. W. 2.14.1 [2.271-272]), his administration was better than that of his predecessor Felix or his successor Albinus, but Luke in Acts portrays him in a less favorable light: He was willing to sacrifice Paul to court Jewish favor by taking him to Jerusalem for trial (v. 9), regardless of Paul’s guilt or innocence. The one characteristic for which Festus was noted is that he dealt harshly with those who disturbed the peace.

[24:27]  ⁷ tn Grk “Felix received as successor Porcius Festus.”

[24:27]  ⁸ tn Grk “left Paul imprisoned.”

[10:3]  ⁹ tn The translation assumes כִּי (ki) is asseverative: “indeed, certainly.” Another option is to translate “for,” understanding v. 3 as giving the reason why the wicked so arrogantly seek to destroy the helpless (so NASB, NRSV).

[10:3]  ¹⁰ tn The representative or typical evildoer is described in vv. 3-11, 13, 15. Since the singular form predominates in these verses, it has been retained in the translation.

[10:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the wicked [one] boasts on account of the desire of his appetite.” The translation assumes that the preposition עַל (’al) introduces the reason why the wicked boasts (cf. this use of עַל with הָלַל (halal) in Ps 119:164 and Ezra 3:11). In this case, the “desire of his appetite” refers by metonymy to the object desired and acquired.

[10:3]  ¹² tn The translation assumes the active participle is substantival, referring to the wicked man mentioned in the preceding line. The substantival participle is then understood as the subject of the following verbs. For other examples of the participle of בָּצַע (batsar) used of those who desire and/or acquire wealth through dishonest and/or violent means, see Prov 1:19; 15:27; Jer 6:13; 8:10; Hab 2:9.

[10:3]  ¹³ tn The verb בָּרַךְ (barakh) normally means “to bless,” but in a few cases it exhibits the polarized meaning “to curse” (1 Kgs 21:10, 13; Job 1:5-11; 2:5-9). (Some regard this use of בָּרַךְ as a mere euphemism.) The verb refers to the act of pronouncing or calling down a formal curse upon the object of one’s anger.

[10:3]  ¹⁴ tn The conjunction “and” is supplied in the translation; it does not appear in the Hebrew text.

[10:3]  ¹⁵ tn Another option is to translate, “he blesses one who robs others, [but] he curses the Lord.” In this case the subject of the verbs is “the wicked man” mentioned in the previous line, and “the one who robs others” is the object of the verb בָּרַךְ (barakh), which is understood in its usual sense of “bless.”

[12:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “falsehood they speak, a man with his neighbor.” The imperfect verb forms in v. 2 describe what is typical in the psalmist’s experience.

[12:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[with] a lip of smoothness, with a heart and a heart they speak.” Speaking a “smooth” word refers to deceptive flattery (cf. Ps 5:9; 55:21; Prov 2:16; 5:3; 7:5, 21; 26:28; 28:23; Isa 30:10). “Heart” here refers to their mind, from which their motives and intentions originate. The repetition of the noun indicates diversity (see GKC 396 §123.f, IBHS 116 §7.2.3c, and Deut 25:13, where the phrase “weight and a weight” refers to two different measuring weights). These people have two different types of “hearts.” Their flattering words seem to express kind motives and intentions, but this outward display does not really reflect their true motives. Their real “heart” is filled with evil thoughts and destructive intentions. The “heart” that is seemingly displayed through their words is far different from the real “heart” they keep disguised. (For the idea see Ps 28:3.) In 1 Chr 12:33 the phrase “without a heart and a heart” means “undivided loyalty.”

[12:3]  ¹⁸ tn The verb form is a jussive, indicating that the statement is imprecatory (“May the Lord cut off”), not indicative (“The Lord will cut off”; see also Ps 109:15 and Mal 2:12). The psalmist appeals to God to destroy the wicked, rather than simply stating his confidence that he will. In this way he seeks to activate divine judgment by appealing to God’s just character. For an example of the power of such a curse, see Judg 9:7-57.

[12:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a tongue speaking great [things].”

[26:28]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the tongue of deception.” The subject matter of this proverb is deceptive speech. The “tongue of deception” (using a metonymy of cause with an attributive genitive) means that what is said is false. Likewise the “smooth mouth” means that what is said is smooth, flattering.

[26:28]  ²¹ sn The verse makes it clear that only pain and ruin can come from deception. The statement that the lying tongue “hates those crushed by it” suggests that the sentiments of hatred help the deceiver justify what he says about people. The ruin that he brings is probably on other people, but it could also be taken to include his own ruin.

[29:5]  ²² tn Heb “a man,” but the context here does not suggest that the proverb refers to males only.

[29:5]  ²³ tn The form is the Hiphil participle, literally “deals smoothly,” i.e., smoothing over things that should be brought to one’s attention.

[29:5]  ²⁴ sn The image of “spreading a net” for someone’s steps is an implied comparison (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis): As one would literally spread a net, this individual’s flattery will come back to destroy him. A net would be spread to catch the prey, and so the idea is one of being caught and destroyed.

[29:5]  ²⁵ tn There is some ambiguity concerning the referent of “his steps.” The net could be spread for the one flattered (cf. NRSV, “a net for the neighbor’s feet”; NLT, “their feet,” referring to others), or for the flatterer himself (cf. TEV “you set a trap for yourself”). The latter idea would make the verse more powerful: In flattering someone the flatterer is getting himself into a trap (e.g., 2:16; 7:5; 26:28; 28:23).

[1:16]  ²⁶ tn “And” is not in Greek, but is supplied for the sake of English style.

[1:16]  ²⁷ tn Or “going.” Though the participle is anarthrous, so also is the subject. Thus, the participle could be either adverbial or adjectival.

[1:16]  ²⁸ tn Grk “(who go/going) according to their own lusts.”

[1:16]  ²⁹ tn Grk “and their mouth speaks bombastic things.”

[1:16]  ³⁰ sn Enchanting folks (Grk “awing faces”) refers to the fact that the speeches of these false teachers are powerful and seductive.

[1:16]  ³¹ tn Or “to their own advantage.”