Proverbs 17:20

17:20 The one who has a perverse heart ¹  does not find good, ² 

and the one who is deceitful in speech ³  falls into trouble.

Proverbs 20:6

20:6 Many people profess their loyalty, ⁴ 

but a faithful person ⁵  – who can find? ⁶ 

Proverbs 24:14

24:14 Likewise, know ⁷  that wisdom is sweet ⁸  to your soul;

if you find it, ⁹  you will have a future, ¹⁰ 

and your hope will not be cut off.

[17:20]  ¹ tn The verse parallels two descriptions of the wicked person: “crooked/perverse of heart” (genitive of specification), and “turned away in his tongue” (deceitful). The first phrase describes twisted intentions. The second, using the Niphal participle (“one turned away”) with “tongue,” the metonymy of cause, describes one who has turned away from speaking truth. Cf. NLT “the twisted tongue tumbles into trouble.”

[17:20]  ² tn The phrase “does not find good” is a figure (tapeinosis) meaning, “will experience calamity.” The wicked person can expect trouble ahead.

[17:20]  ³ tn Heb “tongue”; NIV “whose tongue is deceitful.”

[20:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “many a man calls/proclaims a man of his loyal love.” The Syriac and Tg. Prov 20:6 render the verb as passive: “many are called kind.” Other suggestions include: “most men meet people who will do them occasional kindnesses” (RSV); “many men profess friendship” (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 384); “many men invite only the one who has shown them kindness.” The simplest interpretation in this context is “many proclaim [themselves to be] a kind person (= a loyal friend).” The contrast is between many who claim to be loyal friends and the one who actually proves to be faithful.

[20:6]  ⁵ tn The shift to the expression “a man of faithfulness[es]” in the second line indicates that of all those who claim to show faithful love, it is rare to find one who is truly reliable (as the word אֱמוּנִים [’emunim] indicates clearly); cf. NAB, NRSV “one worthy of trust.”

[20:6]  ⁶ sn The point of the rhetorical question is that a truly faithful friend is very difficult to find.

[24:14]  ⁷ tn D. W. Thomas argues for a meaning of “seek” in place of “know” (“Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 38 [1937]: 400-403).

[24:14]  ⁸ tn The phrase “is sweet” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[24:14]  ⁹ tn The term “it” is supplied in the translation.

[24:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “there will be an end.” The word is אַחֲרִית (’akhrit, “after-part, end”). BDB 31 s.v. b says in a passage like this it means “a future,” i.e., a happy close of life, sometimes suggesting the idea of posterity promised to the righteous, often parallel to “hope.”