Proverbs 21:13

21:13 The one who shuts his ears ¹  to the cry ²  of the poor,

he too will cry out and will not be answered. ³ 

Proverbs 21:1

21:1 The king’s heart ⁴  is in the hand ⁵  of the Lord like channels of water; ⁶ 

he turns it wherever he wants.

Proverbs 25:9-11

25:9 When you argue a case ⁷  with your neighbor,

do not reveal the secret of another person, ⁸ 

25:10 lest the one who hears it put you to shame

and your infamy ⁹  will never go away.

25:11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver, ¹⁰ 

so is a word skillfully spoken. ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 5:28

5:28 That is how ¹²  they have grown fat and sleek. ¹³ 

There is no limit to the evil things they do. ¹⁴ 

They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it.

They do not defend the rights of the poor.

Jeremiah 22:15-17

22:15 Does it make you any more of a king

that you outstrip everyone else in ¹⁵  building with cedar?

Just think about your father.

He was content that he had food and drink. ¹⁶ 

He did what was just and right. ¹⁷ 

So things went well with him.

22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.

So things went well for Judah.’ ¹⁸ 

The Lord says,

‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’ ¹⁹ 

22:17 But you are always thinking and looking

for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means.

Your eyes and your heart are set

on killing some innocent person

and committing fraud and oppression. ²⁰ 

Ezekiel 22:7

22:7 They have treated father and mother with contempt ²¹  within you; they have oppressed the foreigner among you; they have wronged the orphan and the widow ²²  within you.

Ezekiel 22:29-31

22:29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have wronged the poor and needy; they have oppressed the foreigner who lives among them and denied them justice. ²³ 

22:30 “I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one. ²⁴  22:31 So I have poured my anger on them, and destroyed them with the fire of my fury. I hereby repay them for what they have done, ²⁵  declares the sovereign Lord.”

Micah 3:1-4

God Will Judge Judah’s Sinful Leaders

3:1 I said,

“Listen, you leaders ²⁶  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ²⁷  of Israel!

You ought to know what is just, ²⁸ 

3:2 yet you ²⁹  hate what is good, ³⁰ 

and love what is evil. ³¹ 

You flay my people’s skin ³² 

and rip the flesh from their bones. ³³ 

3:3 You ³⁴  devour my people’s flesh,

strip off their skin,

and crush their bones.

You chop them up like flesh in a pot ³⁵  –

like meat in a kettle.

3:4 Someday these sinners will cry to the Lord for help, ³⁶ 

but he will not answer them.

He will hide his face from them at that time,

because they have done such wicked deeds.”

[21:13]  ¹ sn The imagery means “pay no attention to” the cry for help or “refuse to help,” so it is a metonymy of cause for the effect.

[21:13]  ² sn “Cry” here would be a metonymy of effect for the cause, the cause being the great needs of the poor.

[21:13]  ³ sn The proverb is teaching that those who show mercy will receive mercy. It involves the principle of talionic justice – those who refuse the needs of others will themselves be refused when they need help (so Luke 16:19-31).

[21:1]  ⁴ sn “Heart” is a metonymy of subject; it signifies the ability to make decisions, if not the decisions themselves.

[21:1]  ⁵ sn “Hand” in this passage is a personification; the word is frequently used idiomatically for “power,” and that is the sense intended here.

[21:1]  ⁶ tn “Channels of water” (פַּלְגֵי, palge) is an adverbial accusative, functioning as a figure of comparison – “like channels of water.” Cf. NAB “Like a stream”; NIV “watercourse”; NRSV, NLT “a stream of water.”

[25:9]  ⁷ tn The verse begins with the direct object רִיבְךָ (ribkha, “your case”) followed by the imperative from the same root, רִיב (riv, “argue”). It is paralleled by the negated Piel jussive. The construction of the clauses indicates that the first colon is foundational to the second: “Argue…but do not reveal,” or better, “When you argue…do not reveal.”

[25:9]  ⁸ sn The concern is that in arguing with one person a secret about another might be divulged, perhaps deliberately in an attempt to clear oneself. The point then is about damaging a friendship by involving the friend without necessity or warrant in someone else’s quarrel.

[25:10]  ⁹ tn The noun דִּבָּה (dibbah, “infamy; defamation; evil report; whispering”) is used of an evil report here (e.g., Gen 37:2), namely a true report of evil doing. So if a person betrays another person’s confidence, he will never be able to live down the bad reputation he made as one who betrays secrets (cf. NIV).

[25:11]  ¹⁰ sn The verse uses emblematic parallelism, stating the simile in the first part and the point in the second. The meaning of the simile is not entirely clear, but it does speak of beauty, value, and artistry. The “apples of gold” (possibly citrons, quinces, oranges, or apricots) may refer to carvings of fruit in gold on columns.

[25:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “on its wheels.” This expression means “aptly, fittingly.” The point is obviously about the immense value and memorable beauty of words used skillfully (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 148). Noting the meaning of the term and the dual form of the word, W. McKane suggests that the expression is metaphorical for the balancing halves of a Hebrew parallel wisdom saying: “The stichos is a wheel, and the sentence consisting of two wheels is a ‘well-turned’ expression” (Proverbs [OTL], 584). The line then would be describing a balanced, well-turned saying, a proverb; it is skillfully constructed, beautifully written, and of lasting value.

[5:28]  ¹² tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show that this line is parallel with the preceding.

[5:28]  ¹³ tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. This verb occurs only here. The lexicons generally relate it to the word translated “plate” in Song 5:14 and understand it to mean “smooth, shiny” (so BDB 799 s.v. I עֶשֶׁת) or “fat” (so HALOT 850 s.v. II עֶשֶׁת). The word in Song 5:14 more likely means “smooth” than “plate” (so TEV). So “sleek” is most likely here.

[5:28]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “they cross over/transgress with respect to matters of evil.”

[22:15]  ¹⁵ tn For the use of this verb see Jer 12:5 where it is used of Jeremiah “competing” with horses. The form is a rare Tiphel (see GKC 153 §55.h).

[22:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Your father, did he not eat and drink and do justice and right.” The copulative vav in front of the verbs here (all Hebrew perfects) shows that these actions are all coordinate not sequential. The contrast drawn here between the actions of Jehoiakim and Josiah show that the phrase eating and drinking should be read in the light of the same contrasts in Eccl 2 which ends with the note of contentment in Eccl 2:24 (see also Eccl 3:13; 5:18 [5:17 HT]; 8:15). The question is, of course, rhetorical setting forth the positive role model against which Jehoiakim’s actions are to be condemned. The key terms here are “then things went well with him” which is repeated in the next verse after the reiteration of Josiah’s practice of justice.

[22:15]  ¹⁷ sn The father referred to here is the godly king Josiah. He followed the requirements for kings set forth in 22:3 in contrast to his son who did not (22:13).

[22:16]  ¹⁸ tn The words “for Judah” are not in the text, but the absence of the preposition plus object as in the preceding verse suggests that this is a more general statement, i.e., “things went well for everyone.”

[22:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Is that not what it means to know me.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer. It is translated in the light of the context.

[22:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Your eyes and your heart do not exist except for dishonest gain and for innocent blood to shed [it] and for fraud and for oppression to do [them].” The sentence has been broken up to conform more to English style and the significance of “eyes” and “heart” explained before they are introduced into the translation.

[22:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “treated lightly, cursed.”

[22:7]  ²² tn Widows and orphans are often coupled together in the OT (Deut 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:19-21; 26:12-13; Jer 7:6; 22:3). They represented all who were poor and vulnerable to economic exploitation.

[22:29]  ²³ tn Heb “and the foreigner they have oppressed without justice.”

[22:30]  ²⁴ tn Heb “I did not find.”

[22:31]  ²⁵ tn Heb “their way on their head I have placed.”

[3:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “heads.”

[3:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[3:1]  ²⁸ tn Heb “Should you not know justice?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you should!”

[3:2]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the ones who.”

[3:2]  ³⁰ tn Or “good.”

[3:2]  ³¹ tn Or “evil.”

[3:2]  ³² tn Heb “their skin from upon them.” The referent of the pronoun (“my people,” referring to Jacob and/or the house of Israel, with the Lord as the speaker) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ³³ tn Heb “and their flesh from their bones.”

[3:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “who.”

[3:3]  ³⁵ tc The MT reads “and they chop up as in a pot.” The translation assumes an emendation of כַּאֲשֶׁר (ka’asher, “as”) to כִּשְׁאֵר (kish’er, “like flesh”).

[3:4]  ³⁶ tn Heb “then they will cry out to the Lord.” The words “Someday these sinners” have been supplied in the translation for clarification.