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Proverbs 21:13

Context

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 25:18

Context

25:18 Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow, 4 

so is the one who testifies against 5  his neighbor as a false witness. 6 

Proverbs 26:4

Context

26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, 7 

lest you yourself also be like him. 8 

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[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).

[25:18]  4 sn The first line identifies the emblem of the proverb: False witnesses are here compared to deadly weapons because they can cause the death of innocent people (e.g., Exod 20:16; Deut 5:20; and Prov 14:5).

[25:18]  5 tn The verb עָנָה (’anah) followed by the preposition בְּ (bet) with its object means “to testify against” (answer against someone). With the preposition לְ (lamed) it would mean “to testify for” someone. Here the false witness is an adversary, hence the comparison with deadly weapons.

[25:18]  6 tn While עֵד (’ed) could be interpreted as “evidence” (a meaning that came from a metonymy – what the witness gives in court), its normal meaning is “witness.” Here it would function as an adverbial accusative, specifying how he would answer in court.

[26:4]  7 sn One should not answer a fool’s foolish questions in line with the fool’s mode of reasoning (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 274).

[26:4]  8 sn The person who descends to the level of a fool to argue with him only looks like a fool as well.



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