Proverbs 13:6

13:6 Righteousness ¹  guards the one who lives with integrity, ² 

but wickedness ³  overthrows the sinner.

Proverbs 19:3

19:3 A person’s folly ⁴  subverts ⁵  his way,

and ⁶  his heart rages ⁷  against the Lord.

[13:6]  ¹ sn Righteousness refers to that which conforms to law and order. One who behaves with integrity will be safe from consequences of sin.

[13:6]  ² tn Heb “blameless of way.” The term דָּרֶךְ (darekh) is a genitive of specification: “blameless in respect to his way.” This means living above reproach in their course of life. Cf. NASB “whose way is blameless”; NAB “who walks honestly.”

[13:6]  ³ sn Righteousness and wickedness are personified in this proverb to make the point of security and insecurity for the two courses of life.

[19:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “the folly of a man.”

[19:3]  ⁵ tn The verb סָלַף (salaf) normally means “to twist; to pervert; to overturn,” but in this context it means “to subvert” (BDB 701 s.v.); cf. ASV “subverteth.”

[19:3]  ⁶ tn The clause begins with vav on the nonverb phrase “against the Lord.” While clause structure and word order is less compelling in a book like Proverbs, this fits well as a circumstantial clause indicating concession.

[19:3]  ⁷ sn The “heart raging” is a metonymy of cause (or adjunct); it represents the emotions that will lead to blaming God for the frustration. Genesis 42:28 offers a calmer illustration of this as the brothers ask what God was doing to them.