Proverbs 14:34

14:34 Righteousness exalts ¹  a nation,

but sin is a disgrace ²  to any people.

Proverbs 24:9

24:9 A foolish scheme ³  is sin,

and the scorner is an abomination to people. ⁴ 

Proverbs 13:6

13:6 Righteousness ⁵  guards the one who lives with integrity, ⁶ 

but wickedness ⁷  overthrows the sinner.

Proverbs 21:4

21:4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart –

the agricultural product ⁸  of the wicked is sin.

[14:34]  ¹ sn The verb תְּרוֹמֵם (tÿromem, translated “exalts”) is a Polel imperfect; it means “to lift up; to raise up; to elevate.” Here the upright dealings of the leaders and the people will lift up the people. The people’s condition in that nation will be raised.

[14:34]  ² tn The term is the homonymic root II חֶסֶד (khesed, “shame; reproach”; BDB 340 s.v.), as reflected by the LXX translation. Rabbinic exegesis generally took it as I חֶסֶד (“loyal love; kindness”) as if it said, “even the kindness of some nations is a sin because they do it only for a show” (so Rashi, a Jewish scholar who lived a.d. 1040-1105).

[24:9]  ³ tn Heb “the scheme of folly” (NIV similar). The genitive functions as an attributive genitive, meaning “foolish scheme.” But it could also be interpreted as a genitive of source, the scheme that comes from folly (or from the fool if “folly” were metonymical).

[24:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “to a man”; cf. CEV “Everyone hates senseless fools.”

[13:6]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ sn Righteousness and wickedness are personified in this proverb to make the point of security and insecurity for the two courses of life.

[21:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “the tillage [נִר, nir] of the wicked is sin” (so NAB). The subject picks up the subjects of the first half of the verse, indicating they are equal – the tillage consists of the arrogance and pride. The word “tillage” is figurative, of course, signifying that the agricultural product (the point of the comparison) of the wicked is sin. The relationship between the ideas is then problematic. Are pride and arrogance what the wicked produce? Some (ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV) have followed the LXX and Tg. Prov 21:4 to read “lamp” instead (נֵר, ner), but that does not solve the difficulty of the relationship between the expressions. It does, however, say that the life ( = lamp), which is arrogance and pride, is sin.