Proverbs 1:26

1:26 so ¹  I myself will laugh ²  when disaster strikes you, ³ 

I will mock when what you dread ⁴  comes,

Proverbs 4:16

4:16 For they cannot sleep unless they cause harm; ⁵ 

they are robbed of sleep ⁶  until they make someone stumble. ⁷ 

Proverbs 15:15

15:15 All the days ⁸  of the afflicted ⁹  are bad, ¹⁰ 

but one with ¹¹  a cheerful heart has a continual feast. ¹² 

Proverbs 31:25

31:25 She is clothed ¹³  with strength ¹⁴  and honor, ¹⁵ 

and she can laugh ¹⁶  at the time ¹⁷  to come.

[1:26]  ¹ tn The conclusion or apodosis is now introduced.

[1:26]  ² sn Laughing at the consequences of the fool’s rejection of wisdom does convey hardness against the fool; it reveals the folly of rejecting wisdom (e.g., Ps 2:4). It vindicates wisdom and the appropriateness of the disaster (D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 60).

[1:26]  ³ tn Heb “at your disaster.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix is either (1) a genitive of worth: “the disaster due you” or (2) an objective genitive: “disaster strikes you.” The term “disaster” (אֵיד, ’ed) often refers to final life-ending calamity (Prov 6:15; 24:22; BDB 15 s.v. 3). The preposition ב (bet) focuses upon time here.

[1:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “your dread” (so NASB); KJV “your fear”; NRSV “panic.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix is a subjective genitive: “that which you dread.”

[4:16]  ⁵ sn The verb is רָעַע (ra’a’), which means “to do evil; to harm.” The verse is using the figure of hyperbole to stress the preoccupation of some people with causing trouble. R. L. Alden says, “How sick to find peace only at the price of another man’s misfortune” (Proverbs, 47).

[4:16]  ⁶ sn Heb “their sleep is robbed/seized”; these expressions are metonymical for their restlessness in plotting evil.

[4:16]  ⁷ sn The Hiphil imperfect (Kethib) means “cause to stumble.” This idiom (from hypocatastasis) means “bring injury/ruin to someone” (BDB 505-6 s.v. כָּשַׁל Hiph.1).

[15:15]  ⁹ sn The “days” represent what happens on those days (metonymy of subject).

[15:15]  ¹⁰ tn The contrast is between the “afflicted” and the “good of heart” (a genitive of specification, “cheerful/healthy heart/spirit/attitude”).

[15:15]  ¹¹ tn Or “evil”; or “catastrophic.”

[15:15]  ¹² tn “one with” is supplied.

[15:15]  ¹³ sn The image of a continual feast signifies the enjoyment of what life offers (cf. TEV “happy people…enjoy life”). The figure is a hypocatastasis; among its several implications are joy, fulfillment, abundance, pleasure.

[31:25]  ¹³ sn The idea of clothing and being clothed is a favorite figure in Hebrew. It makes a comparison between wearing clothes and having strength and honor. Just as clothes immediately indicate something of the nature and circumstances of the person, so do these virtues.

[31:25]  ¹⁴ tn The first word of the sixteenth line begins with ע (ayin), the sixteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:25]  ¹⁵ sn This word appears in Ps 111:3 which says that the Lord’s work is honorable, and here the woman is clothed with strength and honor.

[31:25]  ¹⁶ sn Here “laugh” is either a metonymy of adjunct or effect. The point is that she is confident for the future because of all her industry and planning.

[31:25]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “day.” This word is a metonymy of subject meaning any events that take place on the day or in the time to come.