Proverbs 11:5

11:5 The righteousness of the blameless will make straight their way, ¹ 

but the wicked person will fall by his own wickedness. ² 

Proverbs 11:14

11:14 When there is no guidance ³  a nation falls,

but there is success ⁴  in the abundance of counselors.

Proverbs 11:28

11:28 The one who trusts in his riches will fall,

but the righteous ⁵  will flourish like a green leaf. ⁶ 

Proverbs 13:17

13:17 An unreliable ⁷  messenger falls ⁸  into trouble, ⁹ 

but a faithful envoy ¹⁰  brings ¹¹  healing.

Proverbs 22:14

22:14 The mouth ¹²  of an adulteress is like ¹³  a deep pit; ¹⁴ 

the one against whom the Lord is angry ¹⁵  will fall into it. ¹⁶ 

Proverbs 26:27

26:27 The one who digs a pit ¹⁷  will fall into it;

the one who rolls a stone – it will come back on him.

[11:5]  ¹ tn Heb “his way.”

[11:5]  ² sn The righteous will enjoy security and serenity throughout life. Righteousness makes the path straight; wickedness destroys the wicked.

[11:14]  ³ tn The word תַּחְבֻּלוֹת (takhvulot, “guidance; direction”) is derived from the root I חָבַל (khaval, “rope-pulling” and “steering” or “directing” a ship; BDB 286 s.v.). Thus spiritual guidance is like steering a ship, here the ship of state (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 68; Prov 1:5). Advice is necessary for the success of a nation.

[11:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “victory.” This term תְּשׁוּעָה (teshu’ah) means “salvation” or “victory” (BDB 448 s.v.); cf. NAB, TEV “security”; NRSV, NLT “safety.” Here, it connotes “success” as the antithesis of the nation falling. The setting could be one of battle or economics. Victory or success will be more likely with good advice. This assumes that the counselors are wise.

[11:28]  ⁵ sn The implication from the parallelism is that the righteous do not trust in their own riches, but in the Lord.

[11:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “leafage” or “leaf” (cf. KJV “as a branch”); TEV “leaves of summer”; NLT “leaves in spring.” The simile of a leaf is a figure of prosperity and fertility throughout the ancient Near East.

[13:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “bad.”

[13:17]  ⁸ tn The RSV changes this to a Hiphil to read, “plunges [men] into trouble.” But the text simply says the wicked messenger “falls into trouble,” perhaps referring to punishment for his bad service.

[13:17]  ⁹ tn Or “evil.”

[13:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “an envoy of faithfulness.” The genitive אֱמוּנִים (’emunim, “faithfulness”) functions as an attributive adjective: “faithful envoy.” The plural form אמונים (literally, “faithfulnesses”) is characteristic of abstract nouns. The term “envoy” (צִיר, tsir) suggests that the person is in some kind of government service (e.g., Isa 18:2; Jer 49:14; cf. KJV, ASV “ambassador”). This individual can be trusted to “bring healing” – be successful in the mission. The wisdom literature of the ancient Neat East has much to say about messengers.

[13:17]  ¹¹ tn The verb “brings” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[22:14]  ⁹ sn The word “mouth” is a metonymy of cause; it refers to the seductive speech of the strange woman (e.g., 2:16-22; and chs. 5, 7).

[22:14]  ¹⁰ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[22:14]  ¹¹ sn The point of the metaphor is that what the adulteress says is like a deep pit. The pit is like the hunter’s snare; it is a trap that is difficult to escape. So to succumb to the adulteress – or to any other folly this represents – is to get oneself into a difficulty that has no easy escape.

[22:14]  ¹² tn Heb “the one who is cursed by the Lord” (cf. NASB). The construction uses the passive participle in construct with Yahweh. The “Lord” is genitive of agency after the passive form. The verb means “be indignant, express indignation.” So it is talking about one against whom the Lord is angry.

[22:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “will fall there.” The “falling” could refer to the curse itself or to the result of the curse.

[26:27]  ¹¹ sn The verse is teaching talionic justice (“an eye for an eye,” etc.), and so the activities described should be interpreted as evil in their intent. “Digging a pit” would mean laying a trap for someone (the figure of speech would be a metonymy of cause for the effect of ruining someone, if an actual pit is being dug; the figure would be hypocatastasis if digging a pit is being compared to laying a trap, but no pit is being dug). Likewise, “rolling a stone” on someone means to destroy that individual.