Proverbs 10:30

10:30 The righteous will never be moved,

but the wicked will not inhabit the land. ¹ 

Proverbs 12:3

12:3 No one ²  can be established ³  through wickedness,

but a righteous root ⁴  cannot be moved.

Proverbs 19:23

19:23 Fearing the Lord ⁵  leads ⁶  to life, ⁷ 

and one who does so will live ⁸  satisfied; he will not be afflicted ⁹  by calamity.

Proverbs 24:23

Further Sayings of the Wise

24:23 These sayings also are from the wise:

To show partiality ¹⁰  in judgment is terrible: ¹¹ 

[10:30]  ¹ sn This proverb concerns the enjoyment of covenant blessings – dwelling in the land of Israel. It is promised to the righteous for an eternal inheritance, and so the wicked cannot expect to settle there – they will be exiled.

[12:3]  ² tn Heb “a man cannot be.”

[12:3]  ³ tn The Niphal imperfect of כּוּן (cun, “to be established”) refers to finding permanent “security” (so NRSV, TEV, CEV) before God. Only righteousness can do that.

[12:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “a root of righteousness.” The genitive צַדִּיקִים (tsadiqim, “righteousness”) functions as an attributive adjective. The figure “root” (שֹׁרֶשׁ, shoresh) stresses the security of the righteous; they are firmly planted and cannot be uprooted (cf. NLT “the godly have deep roots”). The righteous are often compared to a tree (e.g., 11:30; Ps 1:3; 92:13).

[19:23]  ³ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This expression features an objective genitive: “fearing the Lord.”

[19:23]  ⁴ tn The term “leads” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and style.

[19:23]  ⁵ tn Here “life” is probably a metonymy of subject for “blessings and prosperity in life.” The plural form often covers a person’s “lifetime.”

[19:23]  ⁶ tn The subject of this verb is probably the one who fears the Lord and enjoys life. So the proverb uses synthetic parallelism; the second half tells what this life is like – it is an abiding contentment that is not threatened by calamity (cf. NCV “unbothered by trouble”).

[19:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “he will not be visited” (so KJV, ASV). The verb פָּקַד (paqad) is often translated “visit.” It describes intervention that will change the destiny. If God “visits” it means he intervenes to bless or to curse. To be “visited by trouble” means that calamity will interfere with the course of life and change the direction or the destiny. Therefore this is not referring to a minor trouble that one might briefly experience. A life in the Lord cannot be disrupted by such major catastrophes that would alter one’s destiny.

[24:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “to recognize faces”; KJV, ASV “to have respect of persons”; NLT “to show favoritism.”

[24:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “not good.” This is a figure known as tapeinosis – a deliberate understatement to emphasize a worst-case scenario: “it is terrible!”