Proverbs 20:8

20:8 A king sitting on the throne to judge ¹ 

separates out ²  all evil with his eyes. ³ 

Proverbs 20:2

20:2 The king’s terrifying anger ⁴  is like the roar of a lion;

whoever provokes him ⁵  sins against himself. ⁶ 

Proverbs 4:9-12

4:9 She will place a fair ⁷  garland on your head;

she will bestow ⁸  a beautiful crown ⁹  on you.”

4:10 Listen, my child, ¹⁰  and accept my words,

so that ¹¹  the years of your life will be many. ¹² 

4:11 I will guide you ¹³  in the way of wisdom

and I will lead you in upright paths. ¹⁴ 

4:12 When you walk, your steps ¹⁵  will not be hampered, ¹⁶ 

and when you run, ¹⁷  you will not stumble.

Psalms 101:5-8

101:5 I will destroy anyone who slanders his neighbor in secret.

I will not tolerate anyone who has a cocky demeanor and an arrogant attitude. ¹⁸ 

101:6 I will favor the honest people of the land, ¹⁹ 

and allow them to live with me. ²⁰ 

Those who walk in the way of integrity will attend me. ²¹ 

101:7 Deceitful people will not live in my palace. ²² 

Liars will not be welcome in my presence. ²³ 

101:8 Each morning I will destroy all the wicked people in the land,

and remove all evildoers from the city of the Lord.

[20:8]  ¹ tn The infinitive construct is דִּין; it indicates purpose, “to judge” (so NIV, NCV) even though it does not have the preposition with it.

[20:8]  ² tn The second line uses the image of winnowing (cf. NIV, NRSV) to state that the king’s judgment removes evil from the realm. The verb form is מִזָרֶה (mÿzareh), the Piel participle. It has been translated “to sift; to winnow; to scatter” and “to separate” – i.e., separate out evil from the land. The text is saying that a just government roots out evil (cf. NAB “dispels all evil”), but few governments have been consistently just.

[20:8]  ³ sn The phrase with his eyes indicates that the king will closely examine or look into all the cases that come before him.

[20:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “the terror of a king” (so ASV, NASB); The term “terror” is a metonymy of effect for cause: the anger of a king that causes terror among the people. The term “king” functions as a possessive genitive: “a king’s anger” (cf. NIV “A king’s wrath”; NLT “The king’s fury”).

[20:2]  ⁵ tn The verb מִתְעַבְּרוֹ (mit’abbÿro) is problematic; in the MT the form is the Hitpael participle with a pronominal suffix, which is unusual, for the direct object of this verb usually takes a preposition first: “is angry with.” The LXX rendered it “angers [or, irritates].”

[20:2]  ⁶ sn The expression “sins against himself” has been taken by some to mean “forfeits his life” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “endangers his life” (cf. NCV, NLT). That may be the implication of getting oneself in trouble with an angry king (cf. TEV “making him angry is suicide”).

[4:9]  ⁷ sn The personification of wisdom continues with the bestowal of a wreath for the head (e.g., 1:9). The point is that grace will be given to the individual like a wreath about the head.

[4:9]  ⁸ tn The verb מָגַן (magan) is a Piel (denominative) verb from the noun “shield.” Here it means “to bestow” (BDB 171 s.v.).

[4:9]  ⁹ sn This verse uses wedding imagery: The wife (wisdom) who is embraced by her husband (the disciple) will place the wedding crown on the head of her new bridegroom. Wisdom, like a virtuous wife, will crown the individual with honor and grace.

[4:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my son” (likewise in v. 20).

[4:10]  ¹¹ tn The vav prefixed to the imperfect verb follows an imperative; this volitive sequence depicts purpose/result.

[4:10]  ¹² tn Heb “and the years of life will be many for you.”

[4:11]  ¹³ tn The form הֹרֵתִיךָ (horetikha) is the Hiphil perfect with a suffix from the root יָרָה (yarah, “to guide”). This and the parallel verb should be taken as instantaneous perfects, translated as an English present tense: The sage is now instructing or pointing the way.

[4:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in the tracks of uprightness”; cf. NAB “on straightforward paths.” Both the verb and the object of the preposition make use of the idiom – the verb is the Hiphil perfect from דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, related to “road; way”) and the object is “wagon tracks, paths.”

[4:12]  ¹⁵ sn The noun צַעֲדֶךָ (tsa’adekha, “your steps”) and the temporal infinitive בְּלֶכְתְּךָ (belekhtÿkha, “when you walk”) use the idiom of walking to represent the course of life. On that course there will be no obstacles; the “path” will be straight – morally and practically.

[4:12]  ¹⁶ sn The verb צָרַר (tsarar, “to be narrow; to be constricted”) refers to that which is narrow or constricted, signifying distress, trouble, adversity; that which was wide-open or broad represents freedom and deliverance.

[4:12]  ¹⁷ sn The progression from walking to running is an idiom called “anabasis,” suggesting that as greater and swifter progress is made, there will be nothing to impede the progress (e.g., Isa 40:31).

[101:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[one who has] pride of eyes and wideness [i.e., arrogance] of heart, him I will not endure.”

[101:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “my eyes [are] on the faithful of the land.”

[101:6]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew text simply reads, “in order to live with me.”

[101:6]  ²¹ tn Heb “one who walks in the way of integrity, he will minister to me.”

[101:7]  ²² tn Heb “he will not live in the midst of my house, one who does deceit.”

[101:7]  ²³ tn Heb “one who speaks lies will not be established before my eyes.”