Proverbs 3:16-18

3:16 Long life ¹  is in her right hand;

in her left hand are riches and honor.

3:17 Her ways are very pleasant, ² 

and all her paths are peaceful.

3:18 She is like ³  a tree of life ⁴  to those who obtain her, ⁵ 

and everyone who grasps hold of her will be blessed. ⁶ 

Proverbs 11:18

11:18 The wicked person ⁷  earns ⁸  deceitful wages, ⁹ 

but the one who sows ¹⁰  righteousness reaps ¹¹  a genuine ¹²  reward. ¹³ 

Proverbs 29:18

29:18 When there is no prophetic vision ¹⁴  the people cast off restraint, ¹⁵ 

but the one who keeps the law, ¹⁶  blessed is he! ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 3:10-11

3:10 Tell the innocent ¹⁸  it will go well with them, ¹⁹ 

for they will be rewarded for what they have done. ²⁰ 

3:11 Too bad for the wicked sinners!

For they will get exactly what they deserve. ²¹ 

Matthew 6:4

6:4 so that your gift may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. ²² 

Matthew 6:6

6:6 But whenever you pray, go into your room, ²³  close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. ²⁴ 

Matthew 6:18

6:18 so that it will not be obvious to others when you are fasting, but only to your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

Hebrews 11:6

11:6 Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:26

11:26 He regarded abuse suffered for Christ ²⁵  to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on ²⁶  the reward.

James 1:25

1:25 But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, ²⁷  and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out – he ²⁸  will be blessed in what he does. ²⁹ 

James 1:2

Joy in Trials

1:2 My brothers and sisters, ³⁰  consider it nothing but joy ³¹  when you fall into all sorts of trials,

James 1:8

1:8 since he is a double-minded individual, ³²  unstable in all his ways.

Revelation 14:13

14:13 Then ³³  I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this:

‘Blessed are the dead,

those who die in the Lord from this moment on!’”

“Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they can rest from their hard work, ³⁴  because their deeds will follow them.” ³⁵ 

[3:16]  ¹ tn Heb “length of days” (so KJV, ASV).

[3:17]  ² tn Heb “her ways are ways of pleasantness” (so KJV, NRSV). The present translation contracts this expression for the sake of smoothness. The plural of דֶרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) is repeated for emphasis. The noun נֹעַם (no’am, “pleasantness”) functions as an attributive genitive: “pleasant ways.”

[3:18]  ³ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[3:18]  ⁴ sn The metaphor compares wisdom to the symbol of vitality and fullness of life. This might be an allusion to Gen 3:22, suggesting that what was lost as a result of the Fall may be recovered through wisdom: long and beneficial life (R. Marcus, “The Tree of Life in Proverbs,” JBL 62 [1943]: 117-20).

[3:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “lay hold of her.”

[3:18]  ⁶ tn The singular participle מְאֻשָּׁר (mÿ’ushar, literally, “he will be blessed”) functions as a distributive singular for a plural subject (GKC 464 §145.l): “each and everyone will be blessed.” Not recognizing this point of syntax, the BHS editors unnecessarily suggest emending this singular form to the plural.

[11:18]  ⁷ tn The form is the masculine singular adjective used as a substantive.

[11:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “makes” (so NAB).

[11:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “wages of deception.”

[11:18]  ¹⁰ sn The participle “sowing” provides an implied comparison (the figure is known as hypocatastasis) with the point of practicing righteousness and inspiring others to do the same. What is sown will yield fruit (1 Cor 9:11; 2 Cor 9:6; Jas 3:18).

[11:18]  ¹¹ tn The term “reaps” does not appear in the Hebrew but has been supplied in the translation from context for the sake of smoothness.

[11:18]  ¹² tn Heb “true” (so NASB, NRSV); KJV, NAB, NIV “sure.”

[11:18]  ¹³ sn A wordplay (paronomasia) occurs between “deceptive” (שָׁקֶר, shaqer) and “reward” (שֶׂכֶר, sekher), underscoring the contrast by the repetition of sounds. The wages of the wicked are deceptive; the reward of the righteous is sure.

[29:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “no vision.” The Hebrew word “vision” (from the verb חָזָה [khazah, “to see”]) refers to divine communication to prophets (as in 1 Sam 3:1) and not to individual goals or plans. C. H. Toy sees a problem here: The most calamitous period of Israel’s history was when prophetic vision was at its height, whereas people were often more obedient when God was silent. He also notes that in the book of Proverbs there is no mention of prophetic teaching with wisdom as a guide. So he emends the word to “guidance” following the LXX (Proverbs [ICC], 512). The TEV has “guidance”; the NIV retains “revelation.” It must be stated that the prophetic ministry was usually in response to the calamitous periods, calling the people back to God. Without them the downward rush to anarchy and destruction would have been faster than with these prophetic calls from God.

[29:18]  ¹⁵ tn The verb פָּרַע (para’) means “to let go; to let alone.” It occurs here in the Niphal with the meaning of “[the people] are let loose,” meaning, they cast off restraint (e.g., Exod 32:25). Cf. NLT “run wild.”

[29:18]  ¹⁶ sn The law here refers to scripture, the concrete form of revelation. So the two halves of the verse provide the contrast: When there is no prophetic revelation there is chaos, but those who keep the revelation contained in scripture find blessing.

[29:18]  ¹⁷ tn There is a tendency among commentators and English versions to translate אַשְׁרֵהוּ (’ashrehu) as “happy is he!” (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, TEV, NLT). But “happy” can be a misleading translation. The Hebrew word refers to a heavenly bliss, an inner joy, that comes from knowing one is right with God and experiencing his blessing. “Happiness,” on the other hand, depends on what happens.

[3:10]  ¹⁸ tn Or “the righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, TEV); NLT “those who are godly.”

[3:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “that it is good.”

[3:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for the fruit of their deeds they will eat.”

[3:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “for the work of his hands will be done to him.”

[6:4]  ²² tc L W Θ 0250 Ï it read ἐν τῷ φανερῷ (en tw fanerw, “openly”) at the end of this verse, giving a counterweight to what is done in secret. But this reading is suspect because of the obvious literary balance, because of detouring the point of the passage (the focus of vv. 1-4 is not on two kinds of public rewards but on human vs. divine approbation), and because of superior external testimony that lacks this reading (א B D Z Ë^1,13 33 al).

[6:6]  ²³ sn The term translated room refers to the inner room of a house, normally without any windows opening outside, the most private location possible (BDAG 988 s.v. ταμεῖον 2).

[6:6]  ²⁴ tc See the tc note on “will reward you” in 6:4: The problem is the same and the ms support differs only slightly.

[11:26]  ²⁵ tn Grk “the abuse [or ‘reproach’] of Christ.”

[11:26]  ²⁶ tn Grk “he was looking away to.”

[1:25]  ²⁷ tn Grk “continues.”

[1:25]  ²⁸ tn Grk “this one.”

[1:25]  ²⁹ tn Grk “in his doing.”

[1:2]  ³⁰ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). Where the plural term is used in direct address, as here, “brothers and sisters” is used; where the term is singular and not direct address (as in v. 9), “believer” is preferred.

[1:2]  ³¹ tn Grk “all joy,” “full joy,” or “greatest joy.”

[1:8]  ³² tn Grk “a man of two minds,” continuing the description of the person in v. 7, giving the reason that he cannot expect to receive anything. The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person,” as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2).

[14:13]  ³³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[14:13]  ³⁴ tn Or “from their trouble” (L&N 22.7).

[14:13]  ³⁵ tn Grk “their deeds will follow with them.”