Proverbs 10:7

10:7 The memory ¹  of the righteous is a blessing,

but the reputation ²  of the wicked will rot. ³ 

Proverbs 10:16

10:16 The reward ⁴  which the righteous receive ⁵  is life;

the recompense ⁶  which the wicked receive ⁷  is judgment. ⁸ 

Proverbs 10:28

10:28 The hope ⁹  of the righteous is joy,

but the expectation of the wicked will remain unfulfilled. ¹⁰ 

Proverbs 11:8

11:8 The righteous person is delivered ¹¹  out of trouble,

and the wicked turns up in his stead. ¹² 

Proverbs 12:5

12:5 The plans ¹³  of the righteous are just;

the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. ¹⁴ 

Proverbs 12:7

12:7 The wicked are overthrown ¹⁵  and perish, ¹⁶ 

but the righteous household ¹⁷  will stand.

Proverbs 12:26

12:26 The righteous person is cautious in his friendship, ¹⁸ 

but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

Proverbs 13:9

13:9 The light ¹⁹  of the righteous shines brightly, ²⁰ 

but the lamp ²¹  of the wicked goes out. ²² 

Proverbs 14:32

14:32 The wicked will be thrown down in his trouble, ²³ 

but the righteous have refuge ²⁴  even in the threat of death. ²⁵ 

Proverbs 15:29

15:29 The Lord is far ²⁶  from the wicked,

but he hears ²⁷  the prayer of the righteous. ²⁸ 

Proverbs 18:17

18:17 The first to state his case ²⁹  seems ³⁰  right,

until his opponent ³¹  begins to ³²  cross-examine him. ³³ 

Proverbs 20:7

20:7 The righteous person ³⁴  behaves in integrity; ³⁵ 

blessed are his children after him. ³⁶ 

Proverbs 21:18

21:18 The wicked become ³⁷  a ransom ³⁸  for the righteous,

and the faithless ³⁹  are taken ⁴⁰  in the place of the upright.

[10:7]  ¹ sn “Memory” (זֵכֶר, zekher) and “name” are often paired as synonyms. “Memory” in this sense has to do with reputation, fame. One’s reputation will be good or bad by righteousness or wickedness respectively.

[10:7]  ² tn Heb “name.” The term “name” often functions as a metonymy of association for reputation (BDB 1028 s.v. שֵׁם 2.b).

[10:7]  ³ tn The editors of BHS suggest a reading “will be cursed” to make a better parallelism, but the reading of the MT is more striking as a metaphor.

[10:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “recompense” (so NAB); NASB, NIV “wages.” The noun פְּעֻלַּה (pÿ’ullah) has a two-fold range of meanings: (1) “work; deed” and (2) “reward; recompense” (BDB 821 s.v.). There is a clear correlation between a person’s conduct and its consequences. Rewards are determined by moral choices. What one receives in life depends on the use of gifts and a righteous character.

[10:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “the recompense of the righteous.”

[10:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “harvest.” The term תְּבוּאַת (tÿvu’at, “harvest; yield”) is used figuratively here (hypocatastasis), drawing an implied comparison between the agricultural yield of a farmer’s labors with the consequences of the actions of the wicked. They will “reap” (= judgment) what they “sow” (= sin).

[10:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “the harvest of the wicked.”

[10:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “sin.” The term חַטָּאת (khatta’t, “sin”) functions as a metonymy of cause (= sin) for effect (= punishment). In contrast to the righteous who receive a reward, the wicked receive punishment for their sin (cf. NASB, NIV, NCV). See D. W. Thomas, “The Meaning of חַטָּאת in Proverbs X.16,” JTS 15 (1964): 295-96.

[10:28]  ⁷ sn This proverb contrasts the hopes of the righteous and the wicked. The righteous will see their hopes fulfilled. The saying is concerned with God’s justice. The words תּוֹחֶלֶת (tokhelet, from יָחַל, yakhal) and תִּקְוַת (tiqvat, from קָוָה, qavah) are synonyms, both emphasizing eager expectations, longings, waiting in hope.

[10:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “will perish”; NAB “comes to nought.”

[11:8]  ¹⁰ tn The verb is the Niphal perfect from the first root חָלַץ (khalats), meaning “to draw off; to withdraw,” and hence “to be delivered.”

[11:8]  ¹¹ tn The verb is masculine singular, so the subject cannot be “trouble.” The trouble from which the righteous escape will come on the wicked – but the Hebrew text literally says that the wicked “comes [= arrives; turns up; shows up] in the place of the righteous.” Cf. NASB “the wicked takes his place”; NRSV “the wicked get into it instead”; NIV “it comes on the wicked instead.”

[12:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “thoughts.” This term refers not just to random thoughts, however, but to what is planned or devised.

[12:5]  ¹⁴ sn The plans of good people are directed toward what is right. Advice from the wicked, however, is deceitful and can only lead to trouble.

[12:7]  ¹⁶ sn This proverb is about the stability of the righteous in times of trouble. The term “overthrown” might allude to Gen 19:21.

[12:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and they are not.”

[12:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the house of the righteous.” The genitive צַדִּיקִים (tsadiqim) functions as an attributive adjective: “righteous house.” The noun בֵּית (bet, “house”) functions as a synecdoche of container (= house) for the contents (= family, household; perhaps household possessions). Cf. NCV “a good person’s family”; NLT “the children of the godly.”

[12:26]  ¹⁹ tn The line has several possible translations: (1) The verb יָתֵר (yater) can mean “to spy out; to examine,” which makes a good contrast to “lead astray” in the parallel colon. (2) יָתֵר could be the Hophal of נָתַר (natar, Hiphil “to set free”; Hophal “to be set free”): “the righteous is delivered from harm” [reading mera`ah] (J. A. Emerton, “A Note on Proverbs 12:26,” ZAW 76 [1964]: 191-93). (3) Another option is, “the righteous guides his friend aright” (cf. NRSV, NLT).

[13:9]  ²² sn The images of “light” and “darkness” are used frequently in scripture. Here “light” is an implied comparison: “light” represents life, joy, and prosperity; “darkness” signifies adversity and death. So the “light of the righteous” represents the prosperous life of the righteous.

[13:9]  ²³ tn The verb יִשְׂמָח (yismah) is normally translated “to make glad; to rejoice.” But with “light” as the subject, it has the connotation “to shine brightly” (see G. R. Driver, “Problems in the Hebrew Text of Proverbs,” Bib 32 [1951]: 180).

[13:9]  ²⁴ sn The lamp is an implied comparison as well, comparing the life of the wicked to a lamp that is going to be extinguished.

[13:9]  ²⁵ tc The LXX adds, “Deceitful souls go astray in sins, but the righteous are pitiful and merciful.”

[14:32]  ²⁵ tn The prepositional phrase must be “in his time of trouble” (i.e., when catastrophe comes). Cf. CEV “In times of trouble the wicked are destroyed.” A wicked person has nothing to fall back on in such times.

[14:32]  ²⁶ sn The righteous have hope in a just retribution – they have a place of safety even in death.

[14:32]  ²⁷ tc The LXX reads this as “in his integrity,” as if it were בְּתוּמּוֹ (bÿtumo) instead of “in his death” (בְּמוֹתוֹ, bÿmoto). The LXX is followed by some English versions (e.g., NAB “in his honesty,” NRSV “in their integrity,” and TEV “by their integrity”).

[15:29]  ²⁸ sn To say that the Lord is “far” from the wicked is to say that he has made himself unavailable to their appeal – he does not answer them. This motif is used by David throughout Psalm 22 for the problem of unanswered prayer – “Why are you far off?”

[15:29]  ²⁹ sn The verb “hear” (שָׁמַע, shama’) has more of the sense of “respond to” in this context. If one “listens to the voice of the Lord,” for example, it means that he obeys the Lord. If one wishes God to “hear his prayer,” it means he wishes God to answer it.

[15:29]  ³⁰ sn God’s response to prayer is determined by the righteousness of the one who prays. A prayer of repentance by the wicked is an exception, for by it they would become the righteous (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 316).

[18:17]  ³¹ tn Heb “in his legal case”; NAB “who pleads his case first.”

[18:17]  ³² tn The term “seems” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness (cf. KJV “seemeth”).

[18:17]  ³³ tn Heb “his neighbor”; NRSV “the other.”

[18:17]  ³⁴ tn Heb “comes and.” The Kethib is the imperfect יָבֹא (yavo’), and the Qere is the conjunction with the participle/perfect tense form וּבָא (uva’). The latter is reflected in most of the ancient versions. There is not an appreciable difference in the translations, except for the use of the conjunction.

[18:17]  ³⁵ sn The proverb is a continuous sentence teaching that there must be cross-examination to settle legal disputes. There are two sides in any disputes, and so even though the first to present his case sounds right, it must be challenged. The verb הָקַר (haqar, translated “cross-examines”) is used for careful, diligent searching and investigating to know something (e.g., Ps 139:1).

[20:7]  ³⁴ sn Two terms describe the subject of this proverb: “righteous” and “integrity.” The first describes the person as a member of the covenant community who strives to live according to God’s standards; the second emphasizes that his lifestyle is blameless.

[20:7]  ³⁵ tn Heb “walks in his integrity” (so NASB); cf. NIV “leads a blameless life.” The Hitpael participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) means “to walk about; to walk to and fro.” The idiom of walking representing living is intensified here in this stem. This verbal stem is used in scripture to describe people “walking with” God.

[20:7]  ³⁶ sn The nature and the actions of parents have an effect on children (e.g., Exod 20:4-6); if the parents are righteous, the children will enjoy a blessing – the respect and the happiness which the parent reflects on them.

[21:18]  ³⁷ tn The term “become” is supplied in the translation.

[21:18]  ³⁸ sn The Hebrew word translated “ransom” (כֹּפֶר, kofer) normally refers to the price paid to free a prisoner. R. N. Whybray (Proverbs [CBC], 121) gives options for the meaning of the verse: (1) If it means that the wicked obtain good things that should go to the righteous, it is then a despairing plea for justice (which would be unusual in the book of Proverbs); but if (2) it is taken to mean that the wicked suffers the evil he has prepared for the righteous, then it harmonizes with Proverbs elsewhere (e.g., 11:8). The ideal this proverb presents – and the future reality – is that in calamity the righteous escape and the wicked suffer in their place (e.g., Haman in the book of Esther).

[21:18]  ³⁹ tn Or “treacherous” (so ASV, NASB, NLT); NIV “the unfaithful.”

[21:18]  ⁴⁰ tn The phrase “are taken” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for smoothness.