Proverbs 10:2

10:2 Treasures gained by wickedness ¹  do not profit,

but righteousness ²  delivers from mortal danger. ³ 

Proverbs 11:4-5

11:4 Wealth does not profit in the day of wrath, ⁴ 

but righteousness delivers from mortal danger. ⁵ 

11:5 The righteousness of the blameless will make straight their way, ⁶ 

but the wicked person will fall by his own wickedness. ⁷ 

Proverbs 11:18

11:18 The wicked person ⁸  earns ⁹  deceitful wages, ¹⁰ 

but the one who sows ¹¹  righteousness reaps ¹²  a genuine ¹³  reward. ¹⁴ 

Proverbs 12:28

12:28 In the path of righteousness there is life,

but another path leads to death. ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 13:6

13:6 Righteousness ¹⁶  guards the one who lives with integrity, ¹⁷ 

but wickedness ¹⁸  overthrows the sinner.

Proverbs 15:9

15:9 The Lord abhors ¹⁹  the way of the wicked,

but he loves those ²⁰  who pursue ²¹  righteousness.

Proverbs 16:8

16:8 Better to have a little with righteousness ²² 

than to have abundant income without justice. ²³ 

Proverbs 16:12

16:12 Doing wickedness ²⁴  is an abomination to kings,

because a throne ²⁵  is established in righteousness.

[10:2]  ¹ tn Heb “treasures of wickedness” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “Ill-gotten gains”; TEV “Wealth that you get by dishonesty.”

[10:2]  ² sn The term “righteousness” here means honesty (cf. TEV). Wealth has limited value even if gained honestly; but honesty delivers from mortal danger.

[10:2]  ³ tn Heb “death.” This could refer to literal death, but it is probably figurative here for mortal danger or ruin.

[11:4]  ⁴ sn The “day of wrath” refers to divine punishment in this life (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 67; e.g., also Job 21:30; Ezek 7:19; Zeph 1:18). Righteousness and not wealth is more valuable in anticipating judgment.

[11:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “from death.”

[11:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “his way.”

[11:5]  ⁸ sn The righteous will enjoy security and serenity throughout life. Righteousness makes the path straight; wickedness destroys the wicked.

[11:18]  ¹⁰ tn The form is the masculine singular adjective used as a substantive.

[11:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “makes” (so NAB).

[11:18]  ¹² tn Heb “wages of deception.”

[11:18]  ¹³ sn The participle “sowing” provides an implied comparison (the figure is known as hypocatastasis) with the point of practicing righteousness and inspiring others to do the same. What is sown will yield fruit (1 Cor 9:11; 2 Cor 9:6; Jas 3:18).

[11:18]  ¹⁴ tn The term “reaps” does not appear in the Hebrew but has been supplied in the translation from context for the sake of smoothness.

[11:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “true” (so NASB, NRSV); KJV, NAB, NIV “sure.”

[11:18]  ¹⁶ sn A wordplay (paronomasia) occurs between “deceptive” (שָׁקֶר, shaqer) and “reward” (שֶׂכֶר, sekher), underscoring the contrast by the repetition of sounds. The wages of the wicked are deceptive; the reward of the righteous is sure.

[12:28]  ¹³ tc The consonants אל־מות (’l-mvt) are vocalized by the MT as אַל־מָוֶת (’al-mavet, “no death”), meaning: “the journey of her path is no-death” = immortality. However, many medieval Hebrew mss and all the versions vocalize it as אֶל־מָוֶת (’el-mavet, “to death”), meaning: “but another path leads to death” (cf. NAB, NCV). W. McKane adopts this reading, and suggests that MT is a scribal change toward eternal life (Proverbs [OTL], 451-52). Others adopt this reading because they do not find the term “life” used in Proverbs for eternal life, nor do they find references to immortality elsewhere in Proverbs.

[13:6]  ¹⁶ sn Righteousness refers to that which conforms to law and order. One who behaves with integrity will be safe from consequences of sin.

[13:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “blameless of way.” The term דָּרֶךְ (darekh) is a genitive of specification: “blameless in respect to his way.” This means living above reproach in their course of life. Cf. NASB “whose way is blameless”; NAB “who walks honestly.”

[13:6]  ¹⁸ sn Righteousness and wickedness are personified in this proverb to make the point of security and insecurity for the two courses of life.

[15:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) functions as a subjective genitive: “the Lord abhors.”

[15:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the one who” (so NRSV).

[15:9]  ²¹ sn God hates the way of the wicked, that is, their lifestyle and things they do. God loves those who pursue righteousness, the Piel verb signifying a persistent pursuit. W. G. Plaut says, “He who loves God will be moved to an active, persistent, and even dangerous search for justice” (Proverbs, 170).

[16:8]  ²² sn The lines contrast the modest income with the abundant income; but the real contrast is between righteousness and the lack of justice (or injustice). “Justice” is used for both legal justice and ethical conduct. It is contrasted with righteousness in 12:5 and 21:7; it describes ethical behavior in 21:3. Here the point is that unethical behavior tarnishes the great gain and will be judged by God.

[16:8]  ²³ sn This is another “better” saying; between these two things, the first is better. There are other options – such as righteousness with wealth – but the proverb is not concerned with that. A similar saying appears in Amenemope 8:19-20 (ANET 422).

[16:12]  ²⁵ sn The “wickedness” mentioned here (רֶשַׁע, resha’) might better be understood as a criminal act, for the related word “wicked” can also mean the guilty criminal. If a king is trying to have a righteous administration, he will detest any criminal acts.

[16:12]  ²⁶ tn The “throne” represents the administration, or the decisions made from the throne by the king, and so the word is a metonymy of adjunct (cf. NLT “his rule”).