Proverbs 15:15

15:15 All the days ¹  of the afflicted ²  are bad, ³ 

but one with ⁴  a cheerful heart has a continual feast. ⁵ 

Proverbs 31:9

31:9 Open your mouth, judge in righteousness, ⁶ 

and plead the cause ⁷  of the poor and needy.

Proverbs 22:22

22:22 Do not exploit ⁸  a poor person because he is poor

and do not crush the needy in court, ⁹ 

Proverbs 31:5

31:5 lest they drink and forget what is decreed,

and remove ¹⁰  from all the poor ¹¹  their legal rights. ¹² 

[15:15]  ¹ sn The “days” represent what happens on those days (metonymy of subject).

[15:15]  ² tn The contrast is between the “afflicted” and the “good of heart” (a genitive of specification, “cheerful/healthy heart/spirit/attitude”).

[15:15]  ³ tn Or “evil”; or “catastrophic.”

[15:15]  ⁴ tn “one with” is supplied.

[15:15]  ⁵ sn The image of a continual feast signifies the enjoyment of what life offers (cf. TEV “happy people…enjoy life”). The figure is a hypocatastasis; among its several implications are joy, fulfillment, abundance, pleasure.

[31:9]  ⁶ tn The noun צֶדֶק (tsedeq) serves here as an adverbial accusative of manner. The decisions reached (שְׁפָט, shÿfat) in this advocacy must conform to the standard of the law. So it is a little stronger than “judging fairly” (cf. NIV, NCV), although it will be fair if it is done righteously for all.

[31:9]  ⁷ sn Previously the noun דִּין (din, judgment”) was used, signifying the legal rights or the pleas of the people. Now the imperative דִּין is used. It could be translated “judge,” but in this context “judge the poor” could be misunderstood to mean “condemn.” Here advocacy is in view, and so “plead the cause” is a better translation (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV “defend the rights”). It was – and is – the responsibility of the king (ruler) to champion the rights of the poor and needy, who otherwise would be ignored and oppressed. They are the ones left destitute by the cruelties and inequalities of life (e.g., 2 Sam 14:4-11; 1 Kgs 3:16-28; Pss 45:3-5, 72:4; Isa 9:6-7).

[22:22]  ¹¹ tn Two negated jussives form the instruction here: אַל־תִּגְזָל (’al-tigzal, “do not exploit”) and וְאַל־תְּדַכֵּא (ve’al-tÿdakke’, “do not crush”).

[22:22]  ¹² tn Heb “in the gate” (so KJV); NAB, NASB, NRSV “at the gate.” The “gate” of the city was the center of activity, the place of business as well as the place for settling legal disputes. The language of the next verse suggests a legal setting, so “court” is an appropriate translation here.

[31:5]  ¹⁶ tn The verb means “change,” perhaps expressed in reversing decisions or removing rights.

[31:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “all the children of poverty.” This expression refers to the poor by nature. Cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “the afflicted”; NIV “oppressed.”

[31:5]  ¹⁸ sn The word is דִּין (din, “judgment”; so KJV). In this passage it refers to the cause or the plea for justice, i.e., the “legal rights.”