Discovery BoxProverbs 18:17
Context18:17 The first to state his case 1 seems 2 right,
until his opponent 3 begins to 4 cross-examine him. 5
Proverbs 19:1
Context19:1 Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity 6
than one who is perverse in his speech 7 and is a fool. 8
Job 32:9
Context32:9 It is not the aged 9 who are wise,
nor old men who understand what is right.
Ecclesiastes 9:15-17
Context9:15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, 10
and he could have delivered 11 the city by his wisdom,
but no one listened 12 to that poor man.
9:16 So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, 13
but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens 14 to his advice. 15
9:17 The words of the wise are heard in quiet,
more than the shouting of a ruler is heard 16 among fools.
[18:17] 1 tn Heb “in his legal case”; NAB “who pleads his case first.”
[18:17] 2 tn The term “seems” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness (cf. KJV “seemeth”).
[18:17] 3 tn Heb “his neighbor”; NRSV “the other.”
[18:17] 4 tn Heb “comes and.” The Kethib is the imperfect יָבֹא (yavo’), and the Qere is the conjunction with the participle/perfect tense form וּבָא (uva’). The latter is reflected in most of the ancient versions. There is not an appreciable difference in the translations, except for the use of the conjunction.
[18:17] 5 sn The proverb is a continuous sentence teaching that there must be cross-examination to settle legal disputes. There are two sides in any disputes, and so even though the first to present his case sounds right, it must be challenged. The verb הָקַר (haqar, translated “cross-examines”) is used for careful, diligent searching and investigating to know something (e.g., Ps 139:1).
[19:1] 6 sn People should follow honesty even if it leads to poverty (e.g., Prov 18:23; 19:22).
[19:1] 7 tn Heb “lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy for what one says with his lips. The expression “perverse in his lips” refers to speech that is morally perverted. Some medieval Hebrew
[19:1] 8 tc The Syriac and Tg. Prov 19:1 read “rich” instead of MT “fool.” This makes tighter antithetical parallelism than MT and is followed by NAB. However, the MT makes sense as it stands; this is an example of metonymical parallelism. The MT reading is also supported by the LXX. The Hebrew construction uses וְהוּא (vÿhu’), “and he [is],” before “fool.” This may be rendered “one who is perverse while a fool” or “a fool at the same time.”
[32:9] 9 tn The MT has “the great” or “the many,” meaning great in years according to the parallelism.
[9:15] 10 tn Heb “was found in it”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:15] 11 tn Or “he delivered.” The verb וּמִלַּט (umillat, from מָלַט, malat, “to deliver”) is functioning either in an indicative sense (past definite action: “he delivered”) or in a modal sense (past potential: “he could have delivered”). The literal meaning of זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) in the following line harmonizes with the indicative: “but no one remembered that poor man [afterward].” However, the modal is supported by v. 16: “A poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice.” This approach must nuance זָכַר (“to remember”) as “[no one] listened to [that poor man].” Most translations favor the indicative approach: “he delivered” or “he saved” (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NAB, ASV, NASB, MLB, NIV); however, some adopt the modal nuance: “he might have saved” (NEB, NJPS, NASB margin).
[9:15] 12 tn Heb “remembered.”
[9:16] 14 tn The participle form נִשְׁמָעִים (nishma’im, Niphal participle mpl from שָׁמַע, “to listen”) is used verbally to emphasize a continual, durative, gnomic action.
[9:16] 15 tn Heb “his words are never listened to.”
[9:17] 16 tn The phrase “is heard” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness. Note its appearance in the previous line.
