Proverbs 6:16-17

6:16 There are six things that the Lord hates,

even ¹  seven ²  things that are an abomination to him: ³ 

6:17 haughty eyes, ⁴  a lying tongue, ⁵ 

and hands that shed innocent blood, ⁶ 

Proverbs 10:26

10:26 Like vinegar to the teeth and like smoke to the eyes, ⁷ 

so is the sluggard to those ⁸  who send him.

Proverbs 16:5

16:5 The Lord abhors ⁹  every arrogant person; ¹⁰ 

rest assured ¹¹  that they will not go unpunished. ¹² 

James 4:6

4:6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” ¹³ 

James 4:1

Passions and Pride

4:1 Where do the conflicts and where ¹⁴  do the quarrels among you come from? Is it not from this, ¹⁵  from your passions that battle inside you? ¹⁶ 

James 5:5

5:5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ¹⁷ 

[6:16]  ¹ tn The conjunction has the explicative use here (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 71, §434).

[6:16]  ² sn This saying involves a numerical ladder, paralleling six things with seven things (e.g., also 30:15, 18, 21, 24, 29). The point of such a numerical arrangement is that the number does not exhaust the list (W. M. Roth, “The Numerical Sequence x / x +1 in the Old Testament,” VT 12 [1962]: 300-311; and his “Numerical Sayings in the Old Testament,” VT 13 [1965]: 86).

[6:16]  ³ tn Heb “his soul.”

[6:17]  ⁴ sn The expression “high/ lofty [רָמוֹת, ramot] eyes” refers to a proud look suggesting arrogant ambition (cf. NCV “a proud look”). The use of “eyes” is a metonymy of adjunct, the look in the eyes accompanying the attitude. This term “high” is used in Num 15:30 for the sin of the “high hand,” i.e., willful rebellion or defiant sin. The usage of “haughty eyes” may be illustrated by its use with the pompous Assyrian invader (Isa 10:12-14) and the proud king of the book of Daniel (11:12). God does not tolerate anyone who thinks so highly of himself and who has such ambition.

[6:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “a tongue of deception.” The genitive noun functions attributively. The term “tongue” functions as a metonymy. The term is used of false prophets who deceive (Jer 14:14), and of a deceiver who betrays (Ps 109:2). The Lord hates deceptive speech because it is destructive (26:28).

[6:17]  ⁶ sn The hands are the instruments of murder (metonymy of cause), and God hates bloodshed. Gen 9:6 prohibited shedding blood because people are the image of God. Even David being a man of blood (in war mostly) was not permitted to build the Temple (1 Chr 22:8). But shedding innocent blood was a greater crime – it usually went with positions of power, such as King Manasseh filling the streets with blood (2 Kgs 21:16), or princes doing it for gain (Ezek 22:27).

[10:26]  ⁷ sn Two similes are used to portray the aggravation in sending a lazy person to accomplish a task. Vinegar to the teeth is an unpleasant, irritating experience; and smoke to the eyes is an unpleasant experience that hinders progress.

[10:26]  ⁸ tn The participle is plural, and so probably should be taken in a distributive sense: “to each one who sends him.”

[16:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) is a subjective genitive: “the Lord abhors.”

[16:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “every proud of heart”; NIV “all the proud of heart.” “Heart” is the genitive of specification; the phrase is talking about people who have proud hearts, whose ideas are arrogant. These are people who set themselves presumptuously against God (e.g., 2 Chr 26:16; Ps 131:1; Prov 18:12).

[16:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “hand to hand.” This idiom means “you can be assured” (e.g., Prov 11:21).

[16:5]  ¹² tc The LXX has inserted two couplets here: “The beginning of a good way is to do justly, // and it is more acceptable with God than to do sacrifices; // he who seeks the Lord will find knowledge with righteousness, // and they who rightly seek him will find peace.” C. H. Toy reminds the reader that there were many proverbs in existence that sounded similar to those in the book of Proverbs; these lines are in the Greek OT as well as in Sirach (Proverbs [ICC], 321-22).

[4:6]  ¹³ sn A quotation from Prov 3:34.

[4:1]  ¹⁴ tn The word “where” is repeated in Greek for emphasis.

[4:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “from here.”

[4:1]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “in your members [i.e., parts of the body].”

[5:5]  ¹⁷ sn James’ point seems to be that instead of seeking deliverance from condemnation, they have defied God’s law (fattened your hearts) and made themselves more likely objects of his judgment (in a day of slaughter).