Proverbs 1:16

1:16 for they ¹  are eager ²  to inflict harm, ³ 

and they hasten ⁴  to shed blood. ⁵ 

Isaiah 59:7

59:7 They are eager to do evil, ⁶ 

quick to shed innocent blood. ⁷ 

Their thoughts are sinful;

they crush and destroy. ⁸ 

Romans 3:15

3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,

[1:16]  ¹ tn Heb “their feet.” The term “feet” is a synecdoche of the part (= their feet) for the whole person (= they), stressing the eagerness of the robbers.

[1:16]  ² tn Heb “run.” The verb רוּץ (ruts, “run”) functions here as a metonymy of association, meaning “to be eager” to do something (BDB 930 s.v.).

[1:16]  ³ tn Heb “to harm.” The noun רַע (ra’) has a four-fold range of meanings: (1) “pain, harm” (Prov 3:30), (2) “calamity, disaster” (13:21), (3) “distress, misery” (14:32) and (4) “moral evil” (8:13; see BDB 948-49 s.v.). The parallelism with “swift to shed blood” suggests it means “to inflict harm, injury.”

[1:16]  ⁴ tn The imperfect tense verbs may be classified as habitual or progressive imperfects describing their ongoing continual activity.

[1:16]  ⁵ tc The BHS editors suggest deleting this entire verse from MT because it does not appear in several versions (Codex B of the LXX, Coptic, Arabic) and is similar to Isa 59:7a. It is possible that it was a scribal gloss (intentional addition) copied into the margin from Isaiah. But this does not adequately explain the differences. It does fit the context well enough to be original.

[59:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “their feet run to evil.”

[59:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “they quickly pour out innocent blood.”

[59:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “their thoughts are thoughts of sin, destruction and crushing [are] in their roadways.”