Proverbs 15:3

15:3 The eyes of the Lord ¹  are in every place,

keeping watch ²  on those who are evil and those who are good.

Proverbs 22:12

22:12 The eyes of the Lord ³  guard knowledge, ⁴ 

but he overthrows the words of the faithless person. ⁵ 

Proverbs 29:13

29:13 The poor person and the oppressor ⁶  have this in common: ⁷ 

the Lord gives light ⁸  to the eyes of them both.

Proverbs 5:21

5:21 For the ways of a person ⁹  are in front of the Lord’s eyes,

and the Lord ¹⁰  weighs ¹¹  all that person’s ¹²  paths.

[15:3]  ¹ sn The proverb uses anthropomorphic language to describe God’s exacting and evaluating knowledge of all people.

[15:3]  ² tn The form צֹפוֹת (tsofot, “watching”) is a feminine plural participle agreeing with “eyes.” God’s watching eyes comfort good people but convict evil.

[22:12]  ³ sn The “eyes of the Lord” is an anthropomorphic expression; the omniscience of God is the intended meaning. When scripture uses the “eyes” of the Lord, it usually means evaluation, superintending, or safeguarding.

[22:12]  ⁴ tn There is a slight difficulty in that the abstract noun “knowledge” is used nowhere else in the book of Proverbs with the word “watch.” C. H. Toy (Proverbs [ICC], 418) wants to make a major change to read “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,” but there is no support for this and it reduces the line to a common idea. D. W. Thomas suggests changing the word “knowledge” to “lawsuit” based on an Arabic cognate (“A Note on דַּעַת in Proverbs 22:12,” JTS 14 [1963]: 93-94).

[22:12]  ⁵ tn The object of the verb is the “words of the traitor” (בֹגֵד דִּבְרֵי, divre voged); cf. NASB “the words of the treacherous man.” What treacherous people say is treachery. In this context “traitor, treacherous” refers to one who is “unfaithful” (cf. NIV).

[29:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “a man of oppressions”; KJV “the deceitful man.” The noun תֹּךְ (tokh) means “injury; oppression” (BDB 1067 s.v.). Such men were usually the rich and powerful. The Greek and the Latin versions have “the debtor and creditor.”

[29:13]  ⁶ tn The verb פָּגַשׁ (pagash) means “to meet; to encounter.” In the Niphal it means “to meet each other; to meet together” (cf. KJV, ASV). The focus in this passage is on what they share in common.

[29:13]  ⁷ sn The expression gives light to the eyes means “gives them sight” (cf. NIV). The expression means that by giving them sight the Lord gives them the light of life (e.g., Job 33:30; Ps 13:3). God creates and controls them all. So in spite of their circumstances in life, all people receive their life from God.

[5:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “man.”

[5:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:21]  ⁹ tn BDB 814 s.v. פָּלַס 2 suggests that the participle מְפַּלֵּס (mÿpalles) means “to make level [or, straight].” As one’s ways are in front of the eyes of the Lord, they become straight or right. It could be translated “weighs” since it is a denominative from the noun for “balance, scale”; the Lord weighs or examines the actions.

[5:21]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all his”; the referent (the person mentioned in the first half of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.