Genesis 32:3-8

32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead ¹  to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region ²  of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant ³  Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now. 32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent ⁴  this message ⁵  to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”

32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.” 32:7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels. 32:8 “If Esau attacks one camp,” ⁶  he thought, ⁷  “then the other camp will be able to escape.” ⁸ 

Genesis 32:13-22

32:13 Jacob ⁹  stayed there that night. Then he sent ¹⁰  as a gift ¹¹  to his brother Esau 32:14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 32:15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 32:16 He entrusted them to ¹²  his servants, who divided them into herds. ¹³  He told his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep some distance between one herd and the next.” 32:17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd, ¹⁴  “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? ¹⁵  Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ ¹⁶  32:18 then you must say, ¹⁷  ‘They belong ¹⁸  to your servant Jacob. ¹⁹  They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. ²⁰  In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” ²¹ 

32:19 He also gave these instructions to the second and third servants, as well as all those who were following the herds, saying, “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ²²  32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ²³  Jacob thought, ²⁴  “I will first appease him ²⁵  by sending a gift ahead of me. ²⁶  After that I will meet him. ²⁷  Perhaps he will accept me.” ²⁸  32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him ²⁹  while he spent that night in the camp. ³⁰ 

32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took ³¹  his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons ³²  and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ³³ 

Genesis 33:3-11

33:3 But Jacob ³⁴  himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached ³⁵  his brother. 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both wept. 33:5 When Esau ³⁶  looked up ³⁷  and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob ³⁸  replied, “The children whom God has graciously given ³⁹  your servant.” 33:6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down. ⁴⁰  33:7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.

33:8 Esau ⁴¹  then asked, “What did you intend ⁴²  by sending all these herds to meet me?” ⁴³  Jacob ⁴⁴  replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.” 33:9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother. Keep what belongs to you.” 33:10 “No, please take them,” Jacob said. ⁴⁵  “If I have found favor in your sight, accept ⁴⁶  my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, ⁴⁷  it is as if I have seen the face of God. ⁴⁸  33:11 Please take my present ⁴⁹  that was brought to you, for God has been generous ⁵⁰  to me and I have all I need.” ⁵¹  When Jacob urged him, he took it. ⁵² 

Genesis 33:1

Jacob Meets Esau

33:1 Jacob looked up ⁵³  and saw that Esau was coming ⁵⁴  along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants.

Genesis 25:17

25:17 Ishmael lived a total of ⁵⁵  137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. ⁵⁶ 

Proverbs 6:1-5

Admonitions and Warnings against Dangerous and Destructive Acts ⁵⁷ 

6:1 My child, ⁵⁸  if you have made a pledge ⁵⁹  for your neighbor,

and ⁶⁰  have become a guarantor ⁶¹  for a stranger, ⁶² 

6:2 if ⁶³  you have been ensnared ⁶⁴  by the words you have uttered, ⁶⁵ 

and have been caught by the words you have spoken,

6:3 then, my child, do this in order to deliver yourself, ⁶⁶ 

because you have fallen into your neighbor’s power: ⁶⁷ 

go, humble yourself, ⁶⁸ 

and appeal firmly ⁶⁹  to your neighbor.

6:4 Permit no sleep to your eyes ⁷⁰ 

or slumber to your eyelids.

6:5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare, ⁷¹ 

and like a bird from the trap ⁷²  of the fowler.

Proverbs 25:8

25:8 Do not go out hastily to litigation, ⁷³ 

or ⁷⁴  what will you do afterward

when your neighbor puts you to shame?

Luke 12:58-59

12:58 As you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, ⁷⁵  make an effort to settle with him on the way, so that he will not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, ⁷⁶  and the officer throw you into prison. 12:59 I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the very last cent!” ⁷⁷ 

Luke 14:31-32

14:31 Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down ⁷⁸  first and determine whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose ⁷⁹  the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 14:32 If he cannot succeed, ⁸⁰  he will send a representative ⁸¹  while the other is still a long way off and ask for terms of peace. ⁸² 

[32:3]  ¹ tn Heb “before him.”

[32:3]  ² tn Heb “field.”

[32:4]  ³ sn Your servant. The narrative recounts Jacob’s groveling in fear before Esau as he calls his brother his “lord,” as if to minimize what had been done twenty years ago.

[32:5]  ⁴ tn Or “I am sending.” The form is a preterite with the vav consecutive; it could be rendered as an English present tense – as the Hebrew perfect/preterite allows – much like an epistolary aorist in Greek. The form assumes the temporal perspective of the one who reads the message.

[32:5]  ⁵ tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.”

[32:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he said, ‘If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it.” The Hebrew verb אָמַר (’amar) here represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “he thought.” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “the surviving camp will be for escape.” The word “escape” is a feminine noun. The term most often refers to refugees from war.

[32:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he took from that which was going into his hand,” meaning that he took some of what belonged to him.

[32:13]  ¹¹ sn The Hebrew noun translated gift can in some contexts refer to the tribute paid by a subject to his lord. Such a nuance is possible here, because Jacob refers to Esau as his lord and to himself as Esau’s servant (v. 4).

[32:16]  ¹² tn Heb “and he put them in the hand of.”

[32:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “a herd, a herd, by itself,” or “each herd by itself.” The distributive sense is expressed by repetition.

[32:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.

[32:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to whom are you?”

[32:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”

[32:18]  ¹⁷ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.

[32:18]  ¹⁸ tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”

[32:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”

[32:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:19]  ²² tn Heb “And he commanded also the second, also the third, also all the ones going after the herds, saying: ‘According to this word you will speak when you find him.’”

[32:20]  ²³ tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”

[32:20]  ²⁴ tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”

[32:20]  ²⁵ tn Heb “I will appease his face.” The cohortative here expresses Jacob’s resolve. In the Book of Leviticus the Hebrew verb translated “appease” has the idea of removing anger due to sin or guilt, a nuance that fits this passage very well. Jacob wanted to buy Esau off with a gift of more than five hundred and fifty animals.

[32:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”

[32:20]  ²⁷ tn Heb “I will see his face.”

[32:20]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.

[32:21]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and the gift passed over upon his face.”

[32:21]  ³⁰ tn The disjunctive clause is circumstantial/temporal.

[32:22]  ³¹ tn Heb “and he arose in that night and he took.” The first verb is adverbial, indicating that he carried out the crossing right away.

[32:22]  ³² tn The Hebrew term used here is יֶלֶד (yeled) which typically describes male offspring. Some translations render the term “children” but this is a problem because by this time Jacob had twelve children in all, including one daughter, Dinah, born to Leah (Gen 30:21). Benjamin, his twelfth son and thirteenth child, was not born until later (Gen 35:16-19).

[32:22]  ³³ sn Hebrew narrative style often includes a summary statement of the whole passage followed by a more detailed report of the event. Here v. 22 is the summary statement, while v. 23 begins the detailed account.

[33:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “until his drawing near unto his brother.” The construction uses the preposition with the infinitive construct to express a temporal clause.

[33:5]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ³⁷ tn Heb “lifted up his eyes.”

[33:5]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:5]  ³⁹ tn The Hebrew verb means “to be gracious; to show favor”; here it carries the nuance “to give graciously.”

[33:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and the female servants drew near, they and their children and they bowed down.”

[33:8]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:8]  ⁴² tn Heb “Who to you?”

[33:8]  ⁴³ tn Heb “all this camp which I met.”

[33:8]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[33:10]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and Jacob said, ‘No, please.’” The words “take them” have been supplied in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse rearranged for stylistic reasons.

[33:10]  ⁴⁶ tn The form is the perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive, expressing a contingent future nuance in the “then” section of the conditional sentence.

[33:10]  ⁴⁷ tn The verbal form is the preterite with a vav (ו) consecutive, indicating result here.

[33:10]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “for therefore I have seen your face like seeing the face of God and you have accepted me.”

[33:11]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “blessing.” It is as if Jacob is trying to repay what he stole from his brother twenty years earlier.

[33:11]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “gracious,” but in the specific sense of prosperity.

[33:11]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “all.”

[33:11]  ⁵² tn Heb “and he urged him and he took.” The referent of the first pronoun in the sequence (“he”) has been specified as “Jacob” in the translation for clarity.

[33:1]  ⁵³ tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his eyes.”

[33:1]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “and look, Esau was coming.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.

[25:17]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “And these are the days of the years of Ishmael.”

[25:17]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “And he was gathered to his people.” In the ancient Israelite view he joined his deceased ancestors in Sheol, the land of the dead.

[6:1]  ⁵⁷ sn The chapter advises release from foolish indebtedness (1-5), admonishes avoiding laziness (6-11), warns of the danger of poverty (9-11) and deviousness (12-15), lists conduct that the Lord hates (16-19), and warns about immorality (20-35).

[6:1]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “my son” (likewise in vv. 3, 20).

[6:1]  ⁵⁹ sn It was fairly common for people to put up some kind of financial security for someone else, that is, to underwrite another’s debts. But the pledge in view here was foolish because the debtor was a neighbor who was not well known (זָר, zar), perhaps a misfit in the community. The one who pledged security for this one was simply gullible.

[6:1]  ⁶⁰ tn The conjunction “and” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[6:1]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “struck your hands”; NIV “have struck hands in pledge”; NASB “have given a pledge.” The guarantee of a pledge was signaled by a handshake (e.g., 11:15; 17:18; 22:26).

[6:1]  ⁶² tn Heb “stranger.” The term זוּר (zur, “stranger”) probably refers to a neighbor who was not well-known. Alternatively, it could describe a person who is living outside the norms of convention, a moral misfit in the community. In any case, this “stranger” is a high risk in any financial arrangement.

[6:2]  ⁶³ tn The term “if” does not appear in this line but is implied by the parallelism. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[6:2]  ⁶⁴ tn The verb יָקַשׁ (yaqash) means “to lay a bait; to lure; to lay snares.” In the Niphal it means “to be caught by bait; to be ensnared” – here in a business entanglement.

[6:2]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “by the words of your mouth.” The same expression occurs at the end of the following line (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). Many English versions vary the wording slightly, presumably for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[6:3]  ⁶⁶ tn The syntactical construction of imperative followed by an imperative + vav consecutive denotes purpose: “in order to be delivered.” The verb means “to deliver oneself, be delivered” in the Niphal. The image is one of being snatched or plucked quickly out of some danger or trouble, in the sense of a rescue, as in a “brand snatched [Hophal stem] from the fire” (Zech 3:2).

[6:3]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “have come into the hand of your neighbor” (so NASB; cf. KJV, ASV). The idiom using the “hand” means that the individual has come under the control or the power of someone else. This particular word for hand is used to play ironically on its first occurrence in v. 1.

[6:3]  ⁶⁸ tn In the Hitpael the verb רָפַס (rafas) means “to stamp oneself down” or “to humble oneself” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV). BDB 952 s.v. Hithp suggests “become a suppliant.” G. R. Driver related it to the Akkadian cognate rapasu, “trample,” and interpreted as trampling oneself, swallowing pride, being unremitting in effort (“Some Hebrew Verbs, Nouns, and Pronouns,” JTS 30 [1929]: 374).

[6:3]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “be bold.” The verb רָהַב (rahav) means “to act stormily; to act boisterously; to act arrogantly.” The idea here is a strong one: storm against (beset, importune) your neighbor. The meaning is that he should be bold and not take no for an answer. Cf. NIV “press your plea”; TEV “beg him to release you.”

[6:4]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “do not give sleep to your eyes.” The point is to go to the neighbor and seek release from the agreement immediately (cf. NLT “Don’t rest until you do”).

[6:5]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “from the hand.” Most translations supply “of the hunter.” The word “hand” can signify power, control; so the meaning is that of a gazelle freeing itself from a snare or a trap that a hunter set.

[6:5]  ⁷² tc Heb “hand” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV). Some mss and versions have it as “trap,” which may very well represent an interpretation too.

[25:8]  ⁷³ 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]  ⁷⁴ 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).

[12:58]  ⁷⁵ sn The term magistrate (ἄρχων, arcwn) refers to an official who, under the authority of the government, serves as judge in legal cases (see L&N 56.29).

[12:58]  ⁷⁶ sn The officer (πράκτωρ, praktwr) was a civil official who functioned like a bailiff and was in charge of debtor’s prison. The use of the term, however, does not automatically demand a Hellenistic setting (BDAG 859 s.v.; K. H. Rengstorf, TDNT 8:539; C. Maurer, TDNT 6:642).

[12:59]  ⁷⁷ tn Here the English word “cent” is used as opposed to the parallel in Matt 5:26 where “penny” appears, since the Greek word there is different and refers to a different but similar coin.

[14:31]  ⁷⁸ tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[14:31]  ⁷⁹ tn On the meaning of this verb see also L&N 55.3, “to meet in battle, to face in battle.”

[14:32]  ⁸⁰ 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]  ⁸¹ tn Grk “a messenger.”

[14:32]  ⁸² 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.