Proverbs 1:17

1:17 Surely it is futile to spread ¹  a net

in plain sight of ²  any bird, ³ 

Proverbs 24:28

24:28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, ⁴ 

and do not deceive with your words. ⁵ 

Proverbs 1:11

1:11 If they say, “Come with us!

We will ⁶  lie in wait ⁷  to shed blood; ⁸ 

we will ambush ⁹  an innocent person ¹⁰  capriciously. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 3:30

3:30 Do not accuse ¹²  anyone ¹³  without legitimate cause, ¹⁴ 

if he has not treated you wrongly.

Proverbs 26:2

26:2 Like a fluttering bird or like a flying swallow,

so a curse without cause ¹⁵  does not come to rest. ¹⁶ 

Proverbs 23:29

23:29 Who has woe? ¹⁷  Who has sorrow?

Who has contentions? Who has complaints?

Who has wounds without cause? Who has dullness ¹⁸  of the eyes?

[1:17]  ¹ tn Heb “for the net to be spread out.” The Pual participle of זָרָה (zarah) means “to be spread” (HALOT 280 s.v. I זרה pu.1). The subject of this verbal use of the participle is the noun הָרָשֶׁת (harashet, “the net”). It is futile for the net to be spread out in plain view of birds.

[1:17]  ² tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[1:17]  ³ tn Heb “all of the possessors of wings.”

[24:28]  ⁴ sn The legal setting of these sayings continues with this warning against being a false accuser. The “witness” in this line is one who has no basis for his testimony. “Without cause” is the adverb from חָנָן (khanan), which means “to be gracious.” The adverb means “without a cause; gratis; free.” It is also cognate to the word חֵן (“grace” or “unmerited [or, undeserved] favor.” The connotation is that the opposite is due. So the adverb would mean that there was no cause, no justification for the witness, but that the evidence seemed to lie on the other side.

[24:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause; it means “what is said.” Here it refers to what is said in court as a false witness.

[1:11]  ⁷ tn This cohortative נֶאֶרְבָה (ne’ervah) could denote resolve (“We will lie in wait!”) or exhortation (“Let us lie in wait!”). These sinners are either expressing their determination to carry out a violent plan or they are trying to entice the lad to participate with them.

[1:11]  ⁸ tn The verb אָרַב (’arav, “to lie in wait”) it is used for planning murder (Deut 19:11), kidnapping (Judg 21:20), or seduction (Prov 23:28).

[1:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “for blood.” The term דָּם (dam, “blood”) functions as a metonymy of effect for “blood shed violently” through murder (HALOT 224 s.v. 4).

[1:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lie in hiding.”

[1:11]  ¹¹ tn The term “innocent” (נָקִי, naqi) intimates that the person to be attacked is harmless.

[1:11]  ¹² tn Heb “without cause” (so KJV, NASB); NCV “just for fun.” The term חִנָּם (khinnam, “without cause”) emphasizes that the planned attack is completely unwarranted.

[3:30]  ¹⁰ sn The term רִיב (riv) can mean “quarrel” or “legal accusation” (BDB 936 s.v.). Both ideas would work but the more technical legal accusation fits the context better. This is a warning to not bring legal accusations against anyone without a legitimate reason.

[3:30]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a man.”

[3:30]  ¹² tn Heb “gratuitously”; NIV, TEV “for no (+ good NCV) reason.” The adverb חִנָּם (khinam) means “without cause, undeservedly,” especially of groundless hostility (HALOT 334 s.v. 3; BDB 336 s.v. c).

[26:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “causeless curse” (KJV similar) describes an undeserved curse (cf. NIV, NRSV). The Hebrew word translated “causeless” is the adverb from ָחנַן (khanan); it means “without cause; gratuitous.”

[26:2]  ¹⁴ tc The MT has the negative with the verb “to enter; to come” to mean “will not come” (לֹא תָבֹא, lo’ tavo’). This is interpreted to mean “will not come to rest” or “will not come home.” Some commentators have taken the Qere reading of לוֹ (lo) instead, and read it as “will come home to him.” This is also a little difficult; but it gives the idea that an undeserved curse will come [back] to him [who gave it]. Just as a bird will fly around and eventually come home, so will the undeserved curse return on the one who gave it. This is plausible; but there is no referent for the suffix, making it syntactically difficult.

[23:29]  ¹⁶ sn The eighteenth saying is about excessive drinking. The style changes here as the sage breaks into a vivid use of the imagination. It begins with a riddle describing the effects of drunkenness (v. 29) and gives the answer in v. 30; instructions follow in v. 31, with the consequences described in v. 32; the direct address continues in vv. 33 and 34; and the whole subject is concluded with the drunkard’s own words in v. 35 (M. E. Andrews, “Variety of Expression in Proverbs 23:29-35,” VT 28 [1978]: 102-3).

[23:29]  ¹⁷ sn The Hebrew word translated “dullness” describes darkness or dullness of the eyes due to intoxication, perhaps “redness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV, NCV, NLT “bloodshot eyes.” NAB understands the situation differently: “black eyes.”