Genesis 37:21-22

37:21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph ¹  from their hands, ²  saying, ³  “Let’s not take his life!” ⁴  37:22 Reuben continued, ⁵  “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” ⁶  (Reuben said this ⁷  so he could rescue Joseph ⁸  from them ⁹  and take him back to his father.)

Genesis 42:21-22

42:21 They said to one other, ¹⁰  “Surely we’re being punished ¹¹  because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was ¹²  when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress ¹³  has come on us!” 42:22 Reuben said to them, “Didn’t I say to you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy,’ but you wouldn’t listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!” ¹⁴ 

Exodus 23:2

23:2 “You must not follow a crowd ¹⁵  in doing evil things; ¹⁶  in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, ¹⁷ 

Proverbs 1:10

Admonition to Avoid Easy but Unjust Riches

1:10 My child, if sinners ¹⁸  try to entice ¹⁹  you,

do not consent! ²⁰ 

Isaiah 8:12

8:12 “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ every time these people say the word. ²¹ 

Don’t be afraid of what scares them; don’t be terrified.

[37:21]  ¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:21]  ² sn From their hands. The instigators of this plot may have been the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah (see v. 2).

[37:21]  ³ tn Heb “and he said.”

[37:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “we must not strike him down [with respect to] life.”

[37:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “and Reuben said to them.”

[37:22]  ⁶ sn The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words.

[37:22]  ⁷ tn The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.

[42:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.”

[42:21]  ¹¹ tn Or “we are guilty”; the Hebrew word can also refer to the effect of being guilty, i.e., “we are being punished for guilt.”

[42:21]  ¹² tn Heb “the distress of his soul.”

[42:21]  ¹³ sn The repetition of the Hebrew noun translated distress draws attention to the fact that they regard their present distress as appropriate punishment for their refusal to ignore their brother when he was in distress.

[42:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and also his blood, look, it is required.” God requires compensation, as it were, from those who shed innocent blood (see Gen 9:6). In other words, God exacts punishment for the crime of murder.

[23:2]  ¹⁵ tn The word רָבִּים (rabbim), here rendered “crowd,” is also used infrequently to refer to the “mighty,” people of importance in society (Job 35:9; cf. Lev 19:15).

[23:2]  ¹⁶ tn For any individual to join a group that is bent on acting wickedly would be a violation of the Law and would incur personal responsibility.

[23:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “you will not answer in a lawsuit to turn after the crowd to turn.” The form translated “agrees with” (Heb “to turn after”) is a Qal infinitive construct from נָטָה (natah); the same root is used at the end of the verse but as a Hiphil infinitive construct, “to pervert [justice].”

[1:10]  ¹⁸ tn The term חַטָּא (khatta’) is the common word for “sinner” in the OT. Because the related verb is used once of sling-shot throwers who miss the mark (Judg 20:16), the idea of sin is often explained as “missing the moral mark” (BDB 306-8 s.v.). But the term should not be restricted to the idea of a sin of ignorance or simply falling short of the moral ideal. Its meaning is more likely seen in the related Akkadian term “to revolt, rebel.” It is active rebellion against authority. It is used here in reference to a gang of robbers.

[1:10]  ¹⁹ tn The imperfect tense verb יְפַתּוּךָ (yÿftukha) may be nuanced in a connotative sense: “(If) they attempt to
persuade you.” The verb פָּתָה (patah) means “to persuade, entice” a person to sin (BDB 834 s.v. פָּתָה 1; see, e.g., Judg 14:15; 16:5; Prov 16:29; Hos 2:16).

[1:10]  ²⁰ tc The MT reads the root אָבָה (’avah, “to be willing; to consent”). Some medieval Hebrew mss read the root בּוֹא (bo’, “to go”): “do not go with them.” The majority of Hebrew mss and the versions support the MT reading, which is the less common word and so the more likely original reading.

[8:12]  ²¹ tn Heb “Do not say, ‘Conspiracy,’ with respect to all which these people say, ‘Conspiracy.’” The verb translated “do not say” is second masculine plural, indicating that this exhortation is directed to Isaiah and other followers of the Lord (see v. 16).