Proverbs 19:9-16

19:9 A false witness will not go unpunished,

and the one who spouts out ¹  lies will perish. ² 

19:10 Luxury is not appropriate ³  for a fool; ⁴ 

how much less for a servant to rule over princes! ⁵ 

19:11 A person’s wisdom ⁶  makes him slow to anger, ⁷ 

and it is his glory ⁸  to overlook ⁹  an offense.

19:12 A king’s wrath is like ¹⁰  the roar of a lion, ¹¹ 

but his favor is like dew on the grass. ¹² 

19:13 A foolish child ¹³  is the ruin of his father,

and a contentious wife ¹⁴  is like ¹⁵  a constant dripping. ¹⁶ 

19:14 A house and wealth are inherited from parents, ¹⁷ 

but a prudent wife ¹⁸  is from the Lord.

19:15 Laziness brings on ¹⁹  a deep sleep, ²⁰ 

and the idle person ²¹  will go hungry. ²² 

19:16 The one who obeys commandments guards ²³  his life;

the one who despises his ways ²⁴  will die. ²⁵ 

[19:9]  ¹ tn Heb “breathes out”; NAB “utters”; NIV “pours out.”

[19:9]  ² sn The verse is the same as v. 5, except that the last word changes to the verb “will perish” (cf. NCV “will die”; CEV, NLT “will be destroyed”; TEV “is doomed”).

[19:10]  ³ tn The form נָאוֶה (na’veh) is an adjective meaning “seemly; comely” in the older English versions like KJV, ASV, “fitting” in more recent ones (e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV). The verbal root נוֹה only occurs in the Pilel stem; but it also has the basic meaning of “being fitting; being comely.” In this sentence the form is a predicate adjective.

[19:10]  ⁴ sn The verse is simply observing two things that are misfits. It is not concerned with a fool who changes and can handle wealth, or a servant who changes to become a nobleman. It is focused on things that are incongruous.

[19:10]  ⁵ sn In the ancient world the prince would be trained for his rule (hence, one of the original purposes of Proverbs). A slave ruling over princes would be arrogant and cruel, or foolish and unwise. For other unbearable things, e.g., 11:22; 17:7; 26:1; and 30:21-23.

[19:11]  ⁵ tn Or “prudence,” the successful use of wisdom in discretion. Cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT “good sense.”

[19:11]  ⁶ tn The Hiphil perfect of אָרַךְ (’arakh, “to be long”) means “to make long; to prolong.” Patience and slowness to anger lead to forgiveness of sins.

[19:11]  ⁷ sn “Glory” signifies the idea of beauty or adornment. D. Kidner explains that such patience “brings out here the glowing colours of a virtue which in practice may look drably unassertive” (Proverbs [TOTC], 133).

[19:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “to pass over” (so KJV, ASV); NCV, TEV “ignore.” The infinitive construct עֲבֹר (’avor) functions as the formal subject of the sentence. This clause provides the cause, whereas the former gave the effect – if one can pass over an offense there will be no anger.

[19:12]  ⁷ sn The verse contrasts the “rage” of the king with his “favor” by using two similes. The first simile presents the king at his most dangerous – his anger (e.g., 20:2; Amos 3:4). The second simile presents his favor as beneficial for life (e.g., 16:14-15; 28:15).

[19:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “is a roaring like a lion.”

[19:12]  ⁹ sn The proverb makes an observation about a king’s power to terrify or to refresh. It advises people to use tact with a king.

[19:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “a foolish son” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, CEV); NRSV “a stupid child.”

[19:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the contentions of a wife” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “the nagging of a wife.” The genitive could be interpreted (1) as genitive of source or subjective genitive – she is quarreling; or (2) it could be a genitive of specification, making the word “contentions” a modifier, as in the present translation.

[19:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “is a constant dripping.” The term “like” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. The metaphor pictures water dropping (perhaps rain through the roof, cf. NRSV, CEV) in a continuous flow: It is annoying and irritating (e.g., Prov 27:15-16).

[19:13]  ¹² tc The LXX makes this moralistic statement for 13b: “vows paid out of hire of a harlot are not pure.” It is not based on the MT and attempts to reconstruct a text using this have been unsuccessful.

[19:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “inheritance of fathers” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[19:14]  ¹² sn This statement describes a wife who has a skillful use of knowledge and discretion that proves to be successful. This contrasts with the preceding verse. The proverb is not concerned about unhappy marriages or bad wives (both of which exist); it simply affirms that when a marriage works out well one should credit it as a gift from God.

[19:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “causes to fall” or “casts”; NAB “plunges…into.”

[19:15]  ¹⁴ tn Or “complete inactivity”; the word תַּרְדֵּמָה (tardemah) can refer to a physical “deep sleep” (e.g., Gen 2:21; Jonah 1:5, 6); but it can also be used figuratively for complete inactivity, as other words for “sleep” can. Here it refers to lethargy or debility and morbidness.

[19:15]  ¹⁵ tn The expression וְנֶפֶשׁ רְמִיָּה (vÿnefesh rÿmiyyah) can be translated “the soul of deceit” or “the soul of slackness.” There are two identical feminine nouns, one from the verb “beguile,” and the other from a cognate Arabic root “grow loose.” The second is more likely here in view of the parallelism (cf. NIV “a shiftless man”; NAB “the sluggard”). One who is slack, that is, idle, will go hungry.

[19:15]  ¹⁶ sn The two lines are related in a metonymical sense: “deep sleep” is the cause of going hungry, and “going hungry” is the effect of deep sleep.

[19:16]  ¹⁵ tn The verb שָׁמַר (shamar) is repeated twice in this line but with two different senses, creating a polysemantic wordplay: “he who obeys/keeps (ֹֹשׁמֵר, shomer) the commandment safeguards/keeps (שֹׁמֵר, shomer) his life.”

[19:16]  ¹⁶ sn The expression his ways could refer either (1) to the conduct of the individual himself, or (2) to the commandments as the Lord’s ways. If the latter is the case, then the punishment is more certain.

[19:16]  ¹⁷ tc The Kethib is יָוְמֻת (yavmut), “will be put to death,” while the Qere reads יָמוּת (yamut, “will die”). The Qere is the preferred reading and is followed by most English versions.