Proverbs 26:24-26

26:24 The one who hates others disguises ¹  it with his lips,

but he stores up ²  deceit within him. ³ 

26:25 When ⁴  he speaks graciously, ⁵  do not believe him, ⁶ 

for there are seven ⁷  abominations ⁸  within him.

26:26 Though his ⁹  hatred may be concealed ¹⁰  by deceit,

his evil will be uncovered ¹¹  in the assembly.

Acts 23:15

23:15 So now you and the council ¹²  request the commanding officer ¹³  to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine ¹⁴  his case ¹⁵  by conducting a more thorough inquiry. ¹⁶  We are ready to kill him ¹⁷  before he comes near this place.” ¹⁸ 

[26:24]  ¹ tn The Niphal imperfect from נָכַר (nakhar) means “to act [or, treat] as a foreigner [or, stranger]; to misconstrue; to disguise.” The direct object (“it”) is not present in the Hebrew text but is implied. In this passage it means that the hater speaks what is “foreign” to his thought; in other words, he dissembles.

[26:24]  ² tn Or “places; puts; lays up” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB).

[26:24]  ³ tn Heb “within him” (so KJV, ASV) or “in his midst”; NAB “in his inmost being.”

[26:25]  ⁴ tn The particle כִּי (ki) is here interpreted with a temporal nuance. It is also possible that it could be read as concessive (so NIV, NLT “Though”).

[26:25]  ⁵ tn The meaning of the rare Piel form of חָנַן (khanan) is “to make gracious; to make favorable.” The subject is קוֹלוֹ (qolo, “his voice”), a metonymy of cause for what he says. The idea is that what he says is very gracious in its content and its effect.

[26:25]  ⁶ sn It may be that the placing of this proverb in this setting is designed to point out that the person speaking graciously is this wicked person who conceals an evil heart. Otherwise it may have in mind a person who has already proven untrustworthy but protests in order to conceal his plans. But even if that were not the connection, the proverb would still warn the disciple not to believe someone just because it sounded wonderful. It will take great discernment to know if there is sincerity behind the person’s words.

[26:25]  ⁷ sn The number “seven” is used in scripture as the complete number. In this passage it is not intended to be literally seven; rather, the expression means that there is complete or total abomination in his heart. Cf. TEV “his heart is filled to the brim with hate.”

[26:25]  ⁸ sn “Abomination” means something that is loathed. This is a description applied by the writer, for the hypocritical person would not refer to his plans this way.

[26:26]  ⁹ tn The referent is apparently the individual of vv. 24-25.

[26:26]  ¹⁰ tn The form תִּכַּסֶּה (tikkasseh) is the Hitpael imperfect (with assimilation); it is probably passive, meaning “is concealed,” although it could mean “conceals itself” (naturally). Since the proverb uses antithetical parallelism, an imperfect tense nuance of possibility (“may be concealed”) works well here (cf. NIV, NLT).

[26:26]  ¹¹ sn The Hebrew verb means “to uncover,” here in the sense of “to reveal; to make known; to expose.” The verse is promising that the evil the person has done will be exposed publicly. The common belief that righteousness will ultimately triumph informs this saying.

[23:15]  ¹² tn Grk “the Sanhedrin” (the Sanhedrin was the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[23:15]  ¹³ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

[23:15]  ¹⁴ tn Or “decide.” BDAG 227 s.v. διαγινώσκω has “ἀκριβέστερον τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ to make a more thorough examination of his case Ac 23:15.”

[23:15]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “determine the things about him.”

[23:15]  ¹⁶ tn The expression “more thorough inquiry” reflects the comparative form of ἀκριβέστερον (akribesteron).

[23:15]  ¹⁷ sn “We are ready to kill him.” Now those Jews involved in the conspiracy, along with the leaders as accomplices, are going to break one of the ten commandments.

[23:15]  ¹⁸ tn The words “this place” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.