Proverbs 1:12

1:12 We will swallow them alive ¹  like Sheol, ² 

those full of vigor ³  like those going down to the Pit.

Proverbs 2:19

2:19 None who go in to her will return, ⁴ 

nor will they reach the paths of life. ⁵ 

Proverbs 4:13

4:13 Hold on to instruction, ⁶  do not let it go;

protect it, ⁷  because it is your life.

Proverbs 11:21

11:21 Be assured that ⁸  the evil person will certainly be punished, ⁹ 

but the descendants of the righteous ¹⁰  will not suffer unjust judgment. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 18:8

18:8 The words of a gossip ¹²  are like choice morsels; ¹³ 

they go down into the person’s innermost being. ¹⁴ 

Proverbs 26:22

26:22 The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels;

they go down into a person’s innermost being. ¹⁵ 

[1:12]  ¹ tn Heb “lives.” The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “lives”) functions as an adverbial accusative of manner: “alive.” The form is a plural of state, used to describe a condition of life which encompasses a long period of time – in this case a person’s entire life. Murder cuts short a person’s life.

[1:12]  ² tn The noun שְׁאוֹל (shÿ’ol) can mean (1) “death,” cf. NCV; (2) “the grave,” cf. KJV, NIV, NLT (3) “Sheol” as the realm of departed spirits, cf. NAB “the nether world,” and (4) “extreme danger.” Here it is parallel to the noun בוֹר (vor, “the Pit”) so it is the grave or more likely “Sheol” (cf. ASV, NRSV). Elsewhere Sheol is personified as having an insatiable appetite and swallowing people alive as they descend to their death (e.g., Num 16:30, 33; Isa 5:14; Hab 2:5). In ancient Near Eastern literature, the grave is often personified in similar manner, e.g., in Ugaritic mythological texts Mot (= “death”) is referred to as “the great swallower.”

[1:12]  ³ tn Heb “and whole.” The vav (ו) is asseverative or appositional (“even”); it is omitted in the translation for the sake of style and smoothness. The substantival adjective תָּמִים (tamim, “whole; perfect; blameless”) is an adverbial accusative describing the condition and state of the object. Used in parallel to חַיִּים (khayyim, “alive”), it must mean “full of health” (BDB 1071 s.v. תָּמִים 2). These cutthroats want to murder a person who is full of vigor.

[2:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “all who go in to her will not return.”

[2:19]  ⁵ sn The phrase “reach the paths of life” is a figurative expression for experiencing joy and fullness of blessing (BDB 673 s.v. נָשַׂג 2.a).

[4:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “discipline.”

[4:13]  ⁸ tn The form נִצְּרֶהָ (nitsÿreha, from נָצַר, natsar) has an anomalous doubled letter (see GKC 73 §20.h).

[11:21]  ¹⁰ tn The expression “hand to hand” refers the custom of striking hands to confirm an agreement (M. Anbar, “Proverbes 11:21; 16:15; יד ליד, «sur le champ»,” Bib 53 [1972]: 537-38). Tg. Prov 11:21 interprets it differently: “he who lifts up his hand against his neighbor will not go unpunished.”

[11:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “will not be free.” The verb נָקָה (naqah) means “to be clean; to be empty.” In the Niphal it means “to be free of guilt; to be clean; to be innocent,” and therefore “to be exempt from punishment” (BDB 667 s.v. Niph). The phrase “will not go unpunished” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) is an example of tapeinosis (a negative statement that emphasizes the positive opposite statement): “will certainly be punished” (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

[11:21]  ¹² tn Heb “the seed of the righteous.” This is an idiom that describes a class of people who share the nature of righteousness (e.g., Isa 1:4; 65:23). The word “seed” (hypocatastasis) means “offspring.” Some take it literally, as if it meant that the children of the righteous will escape judgment (Saadia, a Jewish scholar who lived a.d. 882-942). The LXX translates it in a different sense: “he that sows righteousness will receive a faithful reward.”

[11:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “will be delivered” (so NASB). The phrase “from unjust judgment” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied by the idiom.

[18:8]  ¹³ tn Or “slanderer”; KJV, NAB “talebearer”; ASV, NRSV “whisperer.”

[18:8]  ¹⁴ tn The word כְּמִתְלַהֲמִים (kÿmitlahamim) occurs only here. It is related to a cognate verb meaning “to swallow greedily.” Earlier English versions took it from a Hebrew root הָלַם (halam, see the word לְמַהֲלֻמוֹת [lÿmahalumot] in v. 6) meaning “wounds” (so KJV). But the translation of “choice morsels” fits the idea of gossip better.

[18:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they go down [into] the innermost parts of the belly”; NASB “of the body.”

[26:22]  ¹⁶ tn The proverb is essentially the same as 18:8; it observes how appealing gossip is.