Proverbs 1:19

1:19 Such ¹  are the ways ²  of all who gain profit unjustly; ³ 

it ⁴  takes away the life ⁵  of those who obtain it! ⁶ 

Proverbs 11:22

11:22 Like a gold ring ⁷  in a pig’s snout ⁸ 

is ⁹  a beautiful woman who rejects ¹⁰  discretion. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 19:24

19:24 The sluggard plunges ¹²  his hand in the dish,

and he will not even bring it back to his mouth! ¹³ 

Proverbs 20:4

20:4 The sluggard will not plow ¹⁴  during the planting season, ¹⁵ 

so at harvest time he looks ¹⁶  for the crop ¹⁷  but has nothing.

Proverbs 22:21

22:21 to show you true and reliable words, ¹⁸ 

so that you may give accurate answers ¹⁹  to those who sent you?

Proverbs 24:34

24:34 and your poverty will come like a bandit,

and your need like an armed robber.” ²⁰ 

Proverbs 25:27

25:27 It is not good ²¹  to eat too much honey,

nor is it honorable for people to seek their own glory. ²² 

Proverbs 26:8

26:8 Like tying a stone in a sling, ²³ 

so is giving honor to a fool.

Proverbs 27:8

27:8 Like a bird that wanders ²⁴  from its nest,

so is a person who wanders from his home. ²⁵ 

Proverbs 27:21

27:21 As the crucible is for silver and the furnace is for gold, ²⁶ 

so a person ²⁷  is proved ²⁸  by the praise he receives. ²⁹ 

[1:19]  ¹ tn The exclamation כֵּן (ken, “so; thus; such”) marks a conclusion (BDB 485 s.v.). It draws a comparison between the destruction of the wicked in v. 18 and the concluding statement in v. 19.

[1:19]  ² tc The MT reads אָרְחוֹת (’orkhot, “paths; ways” as figure for mode of life): “so are the ways [or, paths] of all who gain profit unjustly.” The BHS editors suggest emending the text to אַחֲרִית (’akharit, “end” as figure for their fate) by simple metathesis between ח (khet) and ר (resh) and by orthographic confusion between י (yod) and ו (vav), both common scribal errors: “so is the fate of all who gain profit unjustly.” The external evidence supports MT, which is also the more difficult reading. It adequately fits the context which uses “way” and “path” imagery throughout 1:10-19.

[1:19]  ³ tn Heb “those who unjustly gain unjust gain.” The participle בֹּצֵעַ (boysea’, “those who unjustly gain”) is followed by the cognate accusative of the same root בָּצַע (batsa’, “unjust gain”) to underscore the idea that they gained their wealth through heinous criminal activity.

[1:19]  ⁴ tn The subject of the verb is the noun בָּצַע (“unjust gain”), which is also the referent of the 3rd person masculine singular suffix on בְּעָלָיו (bÿ’alav, “its owners”). Greed takes away the life of those who live by greed (e.g., 15:27; 26:27). See G. R. Driver, “Problems in the Hebrew Text of Proverbs,” Bib 32 (1951): 173-74.

[1:19]  ⁵ tn The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is used as a metonymy (= soul) of association (= life). The noun נֶפֶשׁ often refers to physical “life” (Exod 21:23; Num 17:3; Judg 5:18; Prov 12:10; BDB 659 s.v. 3.c).

[1:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “its owners.”

[11:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “a ring of gold.” The noun זָהָב (zahav, “gold”) is a genitive of material; the ring is made out of gold.

[11:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “in a snout of a swine.” A beautiful ornament and a pig are as incongruous as a beautiful woman who has no taste or ethical judgment.

[11:22]  ⁹ tn The verb “is” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[11:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “turns away [from].”

[11:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “taste.” The term can refer to physical taste (Exod 16:31), intellectual discretion (1 Sam 25:33), or ethical judgment (Ps 119:66). Here it probably means that she has no moral sensibility, no propriety, no good taste – she is unchaste. Her beauty will be put to wrong uses.

[19:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “buries” (so many English versions); KJV “hideth”; NAB “loses.”

[19:24]  ¹⁴ sn This humorous portrayal is an exaggeration; but the point is that laziness can overcome hunger. It would have a wider application for anyone who would start a project and then lack the interest or energy to finish it (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 111). Ibn Ezra proposes that the dish was empty, because the sluggard was too lazy to provide for himself.

[20:4]  ¹⁹ sn The act of plowing is put for the whole process of planting a crop.

[20:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “in the autumn”; ASV “by reason of the winter.” The noun means “autumn, harvest time.” The right time for planting was after the harvest and the rainy season of autumn and winter began.

[20:4]  ²¹ tn The Piel of the verb שָׁאַל (sha’al, “to ask”) means “to beg” or “to inquire carefully.” At the harvest time he looks for produce but there is none. The Piel might suggest, however, that because he did not plant, or did not do it at the right time, he is reduced to begging and will have nothing (cf. KJV, ASV; NASB “he begs during the harvest”).

[20:4]  ²² tn The phrase “for the crop” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[22:21]  ²⁵ tn Heb “to cause you to know the truth of words of truth” (NASB similar).

[22:21]  ²⁶ tn Heb “to return true words”; NAB “a dependable report”; NIV “sound answers.”

[24:34]  ³¹ tn Heb “a man of shield.” This could refer to an armed warrior (so NRSV) but in this context, in collocation with the other word for “robber” in the previous line, it must refer to an armed criminal.

[25:27]  ³⁷ sn This is a figure of speech known as tapeinosis – a deliberate understatement to emphasize a worst-case scenario: “it is bad!”

[25:27]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and the investigation of their glory is not glory.” This line is difficult to understand but it forms an analogy to honey – glory, like honey, is good, but not to excess. The LXX rendered this, “it is proper to honor notable sayings.” A. A. MacIntosh suggests, “He who searches for glory will be distressed” (“A Note on Prov 25:27,” VT 20 [1970]: 112-14). G. E. Bryce has “to search out difficult things is glorious” (“Another Wisdom ‘Book’ in Proverbs,” JBL 91 (1972): 145-47). R. C. Van Leeuwen suggests, “to seek difficult things is as glory” (“Proverbs 25:27 Once Again,” VT 36 [1986]: 105-14). The Hebrew is cryptic, but not unintelligible: “seeking their glory [is not] glory.” It is saying that seeking one’s own glory is dishonorable.

[26:8]  ⁴³ tn The translation “like tying a stone in a sling” seems to make the most sense, even though the word for “sling” occurs only here.

[27:8]  ⁴⁹ tn The form נוֹדֶדֶת (nodedet) is the Qal participle from נָדַד (nadad), “to wander; to stray; to flutter; to retreat; to depart”; cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT “strays.” It will be directly paralleled with the masculine participle in the second colon.

[27:8]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “place” (so KJV, ASV); most other English versions translate as “home.”

[27:21]  ⁵⁵ sn Once again this proverb uses emblematic parallelism. The crucible and the furnace are used to refine and thus reveal the pure metals. The analogy is that praise will reveal the person because others will examine and evaluate what an individual has done in order to make the public acclamation.

[27:21]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and a man,” but the context does not indicate this is limited only to males.

[27:21]  ⁵⁷ tn The verb “is proved” was supplied in the translation in view of the analogy. Many English versions supply “tested” for the same reason.

[27:21]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “by [the] praise of him.” The pronominal suffix is an objective genitive, meaning “the praise about him” (= “the praise he receives”). Some commentators would take the suffix as a subjective genitive, meaning “the praise he gives”; this would mean people stand revealed by what they praise (D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 168). That does not seem to work as well with the emblem of the first line which indicates being tested. The LXX adds a couplet: “The heart of the transgressor seeks evil; but the upright heart seeks knowledge.”