Proverbs 16:20

16:20 The one who deals wisely ¹  in a matter ²  will find success, ³ 

and blessed ⁴  is the one who trusts in the Lord. ⁵ 

Proverbs 18:10

18:10 The name of the Lord ⁶  is like ⁷  a strong tower; ⁸ 

the righteous person runs ⁹  to it and is set safely on high. ¹⁰ 

Proverbs 30:5

30:5 Every word of God is purified; ¹¹ 

he is like ¹²  a shield for those who take refuge in him. ¹³ 

Proverbs 30:1

The Words of Agur ¹⁴ 

30:1 The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh; an oracle: ¹⁵ 

This ¹⁶  man says ¹⁷  to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ukal: ¹⁸ 

Proverbs 5:20

5:20 But why should you be captivated, ¹⁹  my son, by an adulteress,

and embrace the bosom of a different woman? ²⁰ 

Psalms 118:8

118:8 It is better to take shelter ²¹  in the Lord

than to trust in people.

Psalms 125:1

Psalm 125 ²² 

A song of ascents. ²³ 

125:1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion;

it cannot be upended and will endure forever.

Ecclesiastes 7:18

7:18 It is best to take hold of one warning ²⁴  without letting go of the other warning; ²⁵ 

for the one who fears God will follow ²⁶  both warnings. ²⁷ 

Daniel 3:28

3:28 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, ²⁸  “Praised be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent forth his angel ²⁹  and has rescued his servants who trusted in him, ignoring ³⁰  the edict of the king and giving up their bodies rather than ³¹  serve or pay homage to any god other than their God!

Daniel 6:23

6:23 Then the king was delighted and gave an order to haul Daniel up from the den. So Daniel was hauled up out of the den. He had no injury of any kind, because he had trusted in his God.

Daniel 6:1

Daniel is Thrown into a Lions’ Den

6:1 It seemed like a good idea to Darius ³²  to appoint over the kingdom 120 satraps ³³  who would be in charge of the entire kingdom.

Daniel 1:21

1:21 Now Daniel lived on until the first ³⁴  year of Cyrus the king.

[16:20]  ¹ tn Heb “he who is prudent” or “he who deals wisely” (cf. KJV). The proverb seems to be referring to wise business concerns and the reward for the righteous. One who deals wisely in a matter will find good results. R. N. Whybray sees a contrast here: “The shrewd man of business will succeed well, but the happy man is he who trusts the Lord” (Proverbs [CBC], 92). Synonymous parallelism is more appropriate.

[16:20]  ² tn Or “he who gives heed to a word,” that is, “who listens to instruction” (cf. NIV, NLT).

[16:20]  ³ tn Heb “good” (so KJV, ASV).

[16:20]  ⁴ tn Although traditionally this word is translated “happy” (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NRSV, NLT), such a translation can be misleading because the word means far more than that. It describes the heavenly bliss that comes from knowing one is right with God and following God’s precepts. The “blessed” could be at odds with the world (Ps 1:1-3).

[16:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the one who trusts in the Lord – blessed is he.”

[18:10]  ⁶ sn The “name of the Lord” is a metonymy of subject. The “name” here signifies not the personal name “Yahweh,” for that would be redundant in the expression “the name of Yahweh,” but the attributes of the Lord (cf. Exod 34:5-7) – here his power to protect.

[18:10]  ⁷ 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.

[18:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “a tower of strength,” with “strength” regarded as attributive by most English versions. The metaphor “strong tower” indicates that God is a secure refuge. The figure is qualified in the second colon.

[18:10]  ⁹ sn The metaphor of “running” to the Lord refers to a whole-hearted and unwavering trust in God’s protection (e.g., Isa 40:31).

[18:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “is high” or “is inaccessible.” This military-type expression stresses the effect of the trust – security, being out of danger (see HALOT 1305 s.v. שׂגב). Other scriptures will supply the ways that God actually protects people who trust him.

[30:5]  ¹¹ sn The text here uses an implied comparison (a figure of speech known as hypocatastasis): It compares the perfection of every word from God with some precious metal that has been refined and purified (e.g., Ps 12:6). The point is that God’s word is trustworthy; it has no defects and flaws, nothing false or misleading. The second half of the verse explains the significance of this point – it is safe to trust the Lord.

[30:5]  ¹² tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[30:5]  ¹³ sn The line uses two more figures of speech to declare that God can be trusted for security and salvation. “Shield” is a simple metaphor – God protects. “Take refuge” is another implied comparison (hypocatastasis) – God provides spiritual rest and security for those who put their trust in him.

[30:1]  ¹⁴ sn This chapter has a title (30:1), Agur’s confession and petition (30:2-9), and a series of Agur’s admonitions (30:10-33).

[30:1]  ¹⁵ tn The title הַמַּשָּׂא (hammasa’) means “the burden,” a frequently used title in prophetic oracles. It may be that the word is a place name, although it is more likely that it describes what follows as an important revelation.

[30:1]  ¹⁶ tn The definite article is used here as a demonstrative, clarifying the reference to Agur.

[30:1]  ¹⁷ sn The word translated “says” (נְאֻם, nÿ’um) is a verbal noun; it is also a term that describes an oracle. It is usually followed by the subjective genitive: “the oracle of this man to Ithiel.”

[30:1]  ¹⁸ tn There have been numerous attempts to reinterpret the first two verses of the chapter. The Greek version translated the names “Ithiel” and “Ukal,” resulting in “I am weary, O God, I am weary and faint” (C. C. Torrey, “Proverbs Chapter 30,” JBL 73 [1954]: 93-96). The LXX’s approach is followed by some English versions (e.g., NRSV, NLT). The Midrash tried through a clever etymologizing translation to attribute the works to Solomon (explained by W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 299). It is most likely that someone other than Solomon wrote these sayings; they have a different, almost non-proverbial, tone to them. See P. Franklyn, “The Sayings of Agur in Proverbs 30: Piety or Skepticism,” ZAW 95 (1983): 239-52.

[5:20]  ¹⁹ tn In the interrogative clause the imperfect has a deliberative nuance.

[5:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “foreigner” (so ASV, NASB), but this does not mean that the woman is non-Israelite. This term describes a woman who is outside the moral boundaries of the covenant community – she is another man’s wife, but since she acts with moral abandonment she is called “foreign.”

[118:8]  ²¹ tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[125:1]  ²² sn Psalm 125. The psalmist affirms his confidence in the Lord’s protection and justice.

[125:1]  ²³ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

[7:18]  ²⁴ tn The word “warning” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation two times in this line for clarity.

[7:18]  ²⁵ sn The other warning. Qoheleth is referring to the two words of advice in 7:16-17. He is not, as some suggest, urging his readers to grasp righteousness without letting go of wickedness. His point is not that people should live their lives with a balance of modest righteousness and modest wickedness. Because he urges the fear of God in 7:18b, he cannot be inconsistent in suggesting that his readers offend the fear of God by indulging in some degree of sin in order to counterbalance an overly righteous life. Rather, the proper fear of God will prevent a person from trusting in righteousness and wisdom alone for his security, and it will also prevent indulgence in wickedness and folly.

[7:18]  ²⁶ tn Or “will escape both”; or “will go forth in both.” The Hebrew phrase יֵצֵא אֶת־כֻּלָּם (yetse’ ’et-kullam, “he will follow both of them”) has been interpreted in several ways: (1) To adopt a balanced lifestyle that is moderately righteous while allowing for self-indulgence in moderate wickedness (“to follow both of them,” that is, to follow both righteousness and wickedness). However, this seems to unnecessarily encourage an antinomian rationalization of sin and moral compromise. (2) To avoid the two extremes of being over-righteous and over-wicked. This takes יֵצֵא in the sense of “to escape,” e.g., Gen 39:12, 15; 1 Sam 14:14; Jer 11:11; 48:9; cf. HALOT 426 s.v. יצא 6.c; BDB 423 s.v. יָצָא 1.d. (3) To follow both of the warnings given in 7:16-17. This approach finds parallels in postbiblical rabbinic literature denoting the action of discharging one’s duty of obedience and complying with instruction. In postbiblical rabbinic literature the phrase יַדֵי יֵצֵא (yetse’ yade, “to go out of the hands”) is an idiom meaning “to comply with the requirements of the law” (Jastrow 587 s.v. יָצָא Hif.5.a). This fits nicely with the context of 7:16-17 in which Qoheleth issued two warnings. In 7:18a Qoheleth exhorted his readers to follow both of his warnings: “It is best to grasp the first warning without letting go of the second warning.” The person who fears God will heed both warnings. He will not depend upon his own righteousness and wisdom, but upon God’s sovereign bestowal of blessings. Likewise, he will not exploit the exceptions to the doctrine of retribution to indulge in sin, rationalizing sin away just because the wicked sometimes do not get what they deserve.

[7:18]  ²⁷ tn Heb “both.” The term “warnings” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity. Alternately, “both [extremes]” or “both [fates].” The point of this expression is either (1) “ he achieves both things,” (2) “he escapes all these misfortunes,” (3) “he does his duty by both,” or (4) “he avoids both extremes.” See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 3:580–81.

[3:28]  ²⁸ tn Aram “answered and said.”

[3:28]  ²⁹ sn The king identifies the “son of the gods” (v. 25) as an angel. Comparable Hebrew expressions are used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible for the members of God’s angelic assembly (see Gen 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Pss 29:1; 89:6). An angel later comes to rescue Daniel from the lions (Dan 6:22).

[3:28]  ³⁰ tn Aram “they changed” or “violated.”

[3:28]  ³¹ tn Aram “so that they might not.”

[6:1]  ³² tn Aram “It was pleasing before Darius.”

[6:1]  ³³ tn This is a technical term for an official placed in charge of a region of the empire (cf. KJV, NLT “prince[s]”; NCV, TEV “governors”). These satraps were answerable to a supervisor, who in turn answered to Darius.

[1:21]  ³⁴ sn The Persian king Cyrus’ first year in control of Babylon was 539 B.C. Daniel actually lived beyond the first year of Cyrus, as is clear from 10:1. The purpose of the statement in 1:21 is merely to say that Daniel’s life spanned the entire period of the neo-Babylonian empire. His life span also included the early years of the Persian control of Babylon. However, by that time his age was quite advanced; he probably died sometime in the 530’s B.C.