Proverbs 17:8

17:8 A bribe works like ¹  a charm ²  for the one who offers it; ³ 

in whatever he does ⁴  he succeeds. ⁵ 

Proverbs 18:16

18:16 A person’s gift ⁶  makes room for him,

and leads him ⁷  before important people.

Proverbs 21:14

21:14 A gift given ⁸  in secret subdues ⁹  anger,

and a bribe given secretly ¹⁰  subdues ¹¹  strong wrath. ¹² 

Genesis 32:20

32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ¹³  Jacob thought, ¹⁴  “I will first appease him ¹⁵  by sending a gift ahead of me. ¹⁶  After that I will meet him. ¹⁷  Perhaps he will accept me.” ¹⁸ 

Genesis 43:15

43:15 So the men took these gifts, and they took double the money with them, along with Benjamin. Then they hurried down to Egypt ¹⁹  and stood before Joseph.

Romans 6:23

6:23 For the payoff ²⁰  of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[17:8]  ¹ tn The phrase “works like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[17:8]  ² tn Heb “a stone of favors”; NAB, NRSV “a magic stone.” The term שֹׁחַד (shokhad, “bribe”) could be simply translated as “a gift”; but the second half of the verse says that the one who offers it is successful. At best it could be a gift that opens doors; at worst it is a bribe. The word שֹׁחַד is never used of a disinterested gift, so there is always something of the bribe in it (e.g., Ps 15:5; Isa 1:23). Here it is “a stone that brings favor,” the genitive being the effect or the result of the gift. In other words, it has magical properties and “works like a charm.”

[17:8]  ³ tn Heb “in the eyes of its owner.”

[17:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “in all that he turns”; NASB, NIV “wherever he turns.”

[17:8]  ⁵ sn As C. H. Toy points out, the sage is merely affirming a point without making a comment – those who use bribery meet with widespread success (Proverbs [ICC], 341). This does not amount to an endorsement of bribery.

[18:16]  ⁶ sn The Hebrew term translated “gift” is a more general term than “bribe” (שֹׁחַד, shokhad), used in 17:8, 23. But it also has danger (e.g., 15:27; 21:14), for by giving gifts one might learn how influential they are and use them for bribes. The proverb simply states that a gift can expedite matters.

[18:16]  ⁷ sn The two verbs here show a progression, helping to form the synthetic parallelism. The gift first “makes room” (יַרְחִיב, yarkhiv) for the person, that is, extending a place for him, and then “ushers him in” (יַנְחֵנּוּ, yakhenu) among the greats.

[21:14]  ⁸ sn The synonymous parallelism joins the more neutral term “gift” with the more specific “bribe.” D. Kidner notes that this underscores how hard it is to tell the difference between them, especially since they accomplish similar things (Proverbs [TOTC], 143).

[21:14]  ⁹ tn The word כָּפָה (kafah) occurs only here; it means “to subdue,” but in New Hebrew it means “to overturn; to compel.” The BHS editors suggest a change to כָּבָה (kavah), “to be quenched,” based on Symmachus and Tg. Prov 21:14, but there is no substantial improvement in the text’s meaning with such a change.

[21:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a bribe in the bosom” (so NASB). This refers to a gift hidden in the folds of the garment, i.e., given secretly (cf. NIV “a bribe concealed in the cloak”).

[21:14]  ¹¹ tn The repetition of the term “subdues” in the second line is supplied in the translation.

[21:14]  ¹² tc The LXX offers a moralizing translation not too closely tied to the MT: “he who withholds a gift stirs up violent wrath.”

[32:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “and look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.”

[32:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for he said.” The referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally represents Jacob’s thought or reasoning, and is therefore translated “thought.”

[32:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “I will appease his face.” The cohortative here expresses Jacob’s resolve. In the Book of Leviticus the Hebrew verb translated “appease” has the idea of removing anger due to sin or guilt, a nuance that fits this passage very well. Jacob wanted to buy Esau off with a gift of more than five hundred and fifty animals.

[32:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “with a gift going before me.”

[32:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will see his face.”

[32:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Perhaps he will lift up my face.” In this context the idiom refers to acceptance.

[43:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they arose and went down to Egypt.” The first verb has an adverbial function and emphasizes that they departed right away.

[6:23]  ²⁰ tn A figurative extension of ὀψώνιον (oywnion), which refers to a soldier’s pay or wages. Here it refers to the end result of an activity, seen as something one receives back in return. In this case the activity is sin, and the translation “payoff” captures this thought. See also L&N 89.42.