Genesis 20:5

20:5 Did Abraham ¹  not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ²  ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience ³  and with innocent hands!”

Genesis 20:1

Abraham and Abimelech

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ⁴  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ⁵  in Gerar,

Genesis 22:15

22:15 The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven

Proverbs 14:15

14:15 A naive person ⁶  believes everything,

but the shrewd person discerns his steps. ⁷ 

Proverbs 22:3

22:3 A shrewd person ⁸  sees danger ⁹  and hides himself,

but the naive keep right on going ¹⁰  and suffer for it. ¹¹ 

Matthew 10:16

Persecution of Disciples

10:16 “I ¹²  am sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves, ¹³  so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Romans 16:18-19

16:18 For these are the kind who do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By their smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds ¹⁴  of the naive. 16:19 Your obedience is known to all and thus I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.

[20:5]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:5]  ² tn Heb “and she, even she.”

[20:5]  ³ tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”

[20:1]  ⁴ tn Or “the South [country]”; Heb “the land of the Negev.”

[20:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he sojourned.”

[14:15]  ⁶ sn The contrast is with the simpleton and the shrewd. The simpleton is the young person who is untrained morally or intellectually, and therefore gullible. The shrewd one is the prudent person, the one who has the ability to make critical discriminations.

[14:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “his step”; cf. TEV “sensible people watch their step.”

[22:3]  ⁸ sn The contrast is between the “shrewd” (prudent) person and the “simpleton.” The shrewd person knows where the dangers and pitfalls are in life and so can avoid them; the naive person is unwary, untrained, and gullible, unable to survive the dangers of the world and blundering into them.

[22:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “evil,” a term that is broad enough to include (1) “sin” as well as (2) any form of “danger” (NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT) or “trouble” (TEV, CEV). The second option is more likely what is meant here: The naive simpleton does not see the danger to be avoided and so suffers for it.

[22:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “go on”; the word “right” is supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning: The naive person, oblivious to impending danger, meets it head on (cf. TEV “will walk right into it”).

[22:3]  ¹¹ tn The verb עָנַשׁ (’anash) means “to fine” specifically. In the Niphal stem it means “to be fined,” or more generally, “to be punished.” In this line the punishment is the consequence of blundering into trouble – they will pay for it.

[10:16]  ¹² tn Grk “Behold I.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[10:16]  ¹³ sn This imagery of wolves is found in intertestamental Judaism; see Pss. Sol. 8:23, 30.

[16:18]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “hearts.”