Proverbs 11:1

11:1 The Lord abhors ¹  dishonest scales, ² 

but an accurate weight ³  is his delight.

Proverbs 12:5

12:5 The plans ⁴  of the righteous are just;

the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. ⁵ 

Proverbs 12:17

12:17 The faithful witness ⁶  tells what is right, ⁷ 

but a false witness ⁸  speaks ⁹  deceit.

Proverbs 12:20

12:20 Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil, ¹⁰ 

but those who promote peace ¹¹  have joy.

Proverbs 14:8

14:8 The wisdom of the shrewd person ¹²  is to discern ¹³  his way,

but the folly of fools is deception. ¹⁴ 

[11:1]  ¹ tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) is a subjective genitive.

[11:1]  ² tn Heb “scales of deception.” The genitive is attributive: “deceptive scales.” This refers to dishonesty in the market where silver was weighed in the scales. God condemns dishonest business practices (Deut 25:13-16; Lev 10:35-36), as did the ancient Near East (ANET 388, 423).

[11:1]  ³ tn Heb “a perfect stone.” Stones were used for measuring amounts of silver on the scales; here the stone that pleases the Lord is whole, complete, perfect (from שָׁלֵם, shalem). It was one that would give an honest, accurate measurement.

[12:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “thoughts.” This term refers not just to random thoughts, however, but to what is planned or devised.

[12:5]  ⁵ 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.

[12:17]  ⁶ tn The text has “he pours out faithfully”; the word rendered “faithfully” or “reliably” (אֱמוּנָה, ’emunah) is used frequently for giving testimony in court, and so here the subject matter is the reliable witness.

[12:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “righteousness.”

[12:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “witness of falsehoods.” The genitive noun functions attributively, and the plural form depicts habitual action or moral characteristic. This describes a person who habitually lies. A false witness cannot be counted on to help the cause of justice.

[12:17]  ⁹ tn The term “speaks” does not appear in this line but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[12:20]  ¹⁰ sn The contrast here is between “evil” (= pain and calamity) and “peace” (= social wholeness and well-being); see, e.g., Pss 34:14 and 37:37.

[12:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “those who are counselors of peace.” The term שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is an objective genitive, so the genitive-construct “counselors of peace” means those who advise, advocate or promote peace (cf. NAB, NIV).

[14:8]  ¹² tn Or “the prudent [person]” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV).

[14:8]  ¹³ tn The Hiphil infinitive construct denotes purpose. Those who are shrewd will use it to give careful consideration to all their ways.

[14:8]  ¹⁴ tn The word means “deception,” but some suggest “self-deception” here (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 466; and D. W. Thomas, “Textual and Philological Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 286); cf. NLT “fools deceive themselves.” The parallelism would favor this, but there is little support for it. The word usually means “craft practiced on others.” If the line is saying the fool is deceitful, there is only a loose antithesis between the cola.