Proverbs 21:7

21:7 The violence ¹  done by the wicked ²  will drag them away

because ³  they refuse to do what is right. ⁴ 

Proverbs 28:18

28:18 The one who walks blamelessly will be delivered, ⁵ 

but whoever is perverse in his ways will fall ⁶  at once. ⁷ 

Ecclesiastes 7:17

7:17 Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool;

otherwise ⁸  you might die before your time.

Isaiah 1:28

1:28 All rebellious sinners will be shattered, ⁹ 

those who abandon the Lord will perish.

[21:7]  ¹ tn The “violence” (שֹׁד, shod) drags away the wicked, probably either to do more sin or to their punishment. “Violence” here is either personified, or it is a metonymy of cause, meaning “the outcome of their violence” drags them away.

[21:7]  ² tn Heb “violence of the wicked.” This is a subjective genitive: “violence which the wicked do.”

[21:7]  ³ tn The second colon of the verse is the causal clause, explaining why they are dragged away. They are not passive victims of their circumstances or their crimes. They choose to persist in their violence and so it destroys them.

[21:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “they refuse to do justice” (so ASV); NASB “refuse to act with justice.”

[28:18]  ⁵ tn The form is the Niphal imperfect of יָשַׁע (yasha’, “will be saved”). In all probability this refers to deliverance from misfortune. Some render it “kept safe” (NIV) or “will be safe” (NRSV, TEV). It must be interpreted in contrast to the corrupt person who will fall.

[28:18]  ⁶ tn The Qal imperfect יִפּוֹל (yipol) is given a future translation in this context, as is the previous verb (“will be delivered”) because the working out of divine retribution appears to be coming suddenly in the future. The idea of “falling” could be a metonymy of adjunct (with the falling accompanying the ruin that comes to the person), or it may simply be a comparison between falling and being destroyed. Cf. NCV “will suddenly be ruined”; NLT “will be destroyed.”

[28:18]  ⁷ tn The last word in the verse, בְּאֶחָת (bÿ’ekhat), means “in one [= at once (?)].” This may indicate a sudden fall, for falling “in one” (the literal meaning) makes no sense. W. McKane wishes to emend the text to read “into a pit” based on v. 10b (Proverbs [OTL], 622); this emendation is followed by NAB, NRSV.

[7:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “Why?” The question is rhetorical.

[1:28]  ⁹ tn Heb “and [there will be] a shattering of rebels and sinners together.”