Proverbs 11:18

11:18 The wicked person ¹  earns ²  deceitful wages, ³ 

but the one who sows ⁴  righteousness reaps ⁵  a genuine ⁶  reward. ⁷ 

Proverbs 11:21

11:21 Be assured that ⁸  the evil person will certainly be punished, ⁹ 

but the descendants of the righteous ¹⁰  will not suffer unjust judgment. ¹¹ 

[11:18]  ¹ tn The form is the masculine singular adjective used as a substantive.

[11:18]  ² tn Heb “makes” (so NAB).

[11:18]  ³ tn Heb “wages of deception.”

[11:18]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “true” (so NASB, NRSV); KJV, NAB, NIV “sure.”

[11:18]  ⁷ 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.

[11:21]  ⁸ tn The expression “hand to hand” refers the custom of striking hands to confirm an agreement (M. Anbar, “Proverbes 11:21; 16:15; יד ליד, «sur le champ»,” Bib 53 [1972]: 537-38). Tg. Prov 11:21 interprets it differently: “he who lifts up his hand against his neighbor will not go unpunished.”

[11:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “will not be free.” The verb נָקָה (naqah) means “to be clean; to be empty.” In the Niphal it means “to be free of guilt; to be clean; to be innocent,” and therefore “to be exempt from punishment” (BDB 667 s.v. Niph). The phrase “will not go unpunished” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) is an example of tapeinosis (a negative statement that emphasizes the positive opposite statement): “will certainly be punished” (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

[11:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the seed of the righteous.” This is an idiom that describes a class of people who share the nature of righteousness (e.g., Isa 1:4; 65:23). The word “seed” (hypocatastasis) means “offspring.” Some take it literally, as if it meant that the children of the righteous will escape judgment (Saadia, a Jewish scholar who lived a.d. 882-942). The LXX translates it in a different sense: “he that sows righteousness will receive a faithful reward.”

[11:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “will be delivered” (so NASB). The phrase “from unjust judgment” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied by the idiom.