Proverbs 24:2

24:2 for their hearts contemplate violence,

and their lips speak harm. ¹ 

Proverbs 24:9

24:9 A foolish scheme ²  is sin,

and the scorner is an abomination to people. ³ 

Proverbs 6:14

6:14 he plots evil with perverse thoughts ⁴  in his heart,

he spreads contention ⁵  at all times.

Proverbs 6:18

6:18 a heart that devises wicked plans, ⁶ 

feet that are swift to run ⁷  to evil,

Proverbs 14:22

14:22 Do not those who devise ⁸  evil go astray?

But those who plan good exhibit ⁹  faithful covenant love. ¹⁰ 

Proverbs 14:1

14:1 Every wise woman ¹¹  builds ¹²  her household, ¹³ 

but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.

Proverbs 2:1

Benefits of Seeking Wisdom ¹⁴ 

2:1 My child, ¹⁵  if ¹⁶  you receive my words,

and store up ¹⁷  my commands within you,

Psalms 21:11

21:11 Yes, ¹⁸  they intend to do you harm; ¹⁹ 

they dream up a scheme, ²⁰  but they do not succeed. ²¹ 

Isaiah 10:7-13

10:7 But he does not agree with this,

his mind does not reason this way, ²² 

for his goal is to destroy,

and to eliminate many nations. ²³ 

10:8 Indeed, ²⁴  he says:

“Are not my officials all kings?

10:9 Is not Calneh like Carchemish?

Hamath like Arpad?

Samaria like Damascus? ²⁵ 

10:10 I overpowered kingdoms ruled by idols, ²⁶ 

whose carved images were more impressive than Jerusalem’s ²⁷  or Samaria’s.

10:11 As I have done to Samaria and its idols,

so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols.” ²⁸ 

10:12 But when ²⁹  the sovereign master ³⁰  finishes judging ³¹  Mount Zion and Jerusalem, then I ³²  will punish the king of Assyria for what he has proudly planned and for the arrogant attitude he displays. ³³  10:13 For he says:

“By my strong hand I have accomplished this,

by my strategy that I devised.

I invaded the territory of nations, ³⁴ 

and looted their storehouses.

Like a mighty conqueror, ³⁵  I brought down rulers. ³⁶ 

Isaiah 32:7

32:7 A deceiver’s methods are evil; ³⁷ 

he dreams up evil plans ³⁸ 

to ruin the poor with lies,

even when the needy are in the right. ³⁹ 

Ezekiel 38:10-11

38:10 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind, ⁴⁰  and you will devise an evil plan. 38:11 You will say, “I will invade ⁴¹  a land of unwalled towns; I will advance against ⁴²  those living quietly in security – all of them living without walls and barred gates –

Nahum 1:11

1:11 From you, O Nineveh, ⁴³  one has marched forth who plots evil against the Lord,

a wicked military strategist. ⁴⁴ 

Romans 1:30

1:30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents,

[24:2]  ¹ sn This nineteenth saying warns against evil associations. Evil people are obsessed with destruction and trouble. See on this theme 1:10-19; 3:31 and 23:17. D. Kidner observes that a close view of sinners is often a good antidote to envying them (Proverbs [TOTC], 153).

[24:9]  ² tn Heb “the scheme of folly” (NIV similar). The genitive functions as an attributive genitive, meaning “foolish scheme.” But it could also be interpreted as a genitive of source, the scheme that comes from folly (or from the fool if “folly” were metonymical).

[24:9]  ³ tn Heb “to a man”; cf. CEV “Everyone hates senseless fools.”

[6:14]  ⁴ tn The noun is an adverbial accusative of manner, explaining the circumstances that inform his evil plans.

[6:14]  ⁵ tn The word “contention” is from the root דִּין (din); the noun means “strife, contention, quarrel.” The normal plural form is represented by the Qere, and the contracted form by the Kethib.

[6:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “heart that devises plans of wickedness.” The latter term is an attributive genitive. The heart (metonymy of subject) represents the will; here it plots evil schemes. The heart is capable of evil schemes (Gen 6:5); the heart that does this is deceitful (Prov 12:20; 14:22).

[6:18]  ⁷ tc The MT reads “make haste to run,” that is, be eager to seize the opportunity. The LXX omits “run,” that is, feet hastening to do evil. It must have appeared to the LXX translator that the verb was unnecessary; only one verb occurs in the other cola.

[14:22]  ⁸ sn The verb חָרַשׁ (kharash) means (1) literally: “to cut in; to engrave; to plow,” describing the work of a craftsman; and (2) figuratively: “to devise,” describing the mental activity of planning evil (what will harm people) in the first colon, and planning good (what will benefit them) in the second colon.

[14:22]  ⁹ tn The term “exhibit” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[14:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “loyal-love and truth.” The two terms חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת (khesed ve’emet) often form a hendiadys: “faithful love” or better “faithful covenant love.”

[14:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “wise ones of women.” The construct phrase חַכְמוֹת נָשִׁים (khakhmot nashim) features a wholistic genitive: “wise women.” The plural functions in a distributive sense: “every wise woman.” The contrast is between wise and foolish women (e.g., Prov 7:10-23; 31:10-31).

[14:1]  ¹² tn The perfect tense verb in the first colon functions in a gnomic sense, while the imperfect tense in the second colon is a habitual imperfect.

[14:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “house.” This term functions as a synecdoche of container (= house) for contents (= household, family).

[2:1]  ¹⁴ sn The chapter begins with an admonition to receive wisdom (1-4) and then traces the benefits: the knowledge of God and his protection (5-8), moral discernment for living (9-11), protection from evil men (12-15) and immoral women (16-19), and enablement for righteous living (20-22).

[2:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “my son.”

[2:1]  ¹⁶ sn Verses 1-11 form one long conditional sentence in the Hebrew text: (1) the protasis (“if…”) encompasses vv. 1-4 and (2) the apodosis (“then…”) consists of two parallel panels in vv. 5-8 and vv. 9-11 both of which are introduced by the particle אָז (’az, “then”).

[2:1]  ¹⁷ sn The verb “to store up” (צָפַן, tsafan; cf. NAB, NLT “treasure”) in the second colon qualifies the term “receive” (לָקַח, laqakh) in the first, just as “commands” intensifies “words.” This pattern of intensification through parallelism occurs throughout the next three verses. The verb “to store up; to treasure” is used in reference to things of value for future use, e.g., wealth, dowry for a bride. Since proverbs will be useful throughout life and not always immediately applicable, the idea of storing up the sayings is fitting. They will form the way people think which in turn will influence attitudes (W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 43).

[21:11]  ¹⁸ tn Or “for.”

[21:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “they extend against you harm.” The perfect verbal forms in v. 11 are taken as generalizing, stating factually what the king’s enemies typically do. Another option is to translate with the past tense (“they intended…planned”).

[21:11]  ²⁰ sn See Ps 10:2.

[21:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “they lack ability.”

[10:7]  ²² tn Heb “but he, not so does he intend, and his heart, not so does it think.”

[10:7]  ²³ tn Heb “for to destroy [is] in his heart, and to cut off nations, not a few.”

[10:8]  ²⁴ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[10:9]  ²⁵ sn Calneh … Carchemish … Hamath … Arpad … Samaria … Damascus. The city states listed here were conquered by the Assyrians between 740-717 b.c. The point of the rhetorical questions is that no one can stand before Assyria’s might. On the geographical, rather than chronological arrangement of the cities, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:264, n. 4.

[10:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Just as my hand found the kingdoms of the idol[s].” The comparison is expanded in v. 11a (note “as”) and completed in v. 11b (note “so”).

[10:10]  ²⁷ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:11]  ²⁸ tn The statement is constructed as a rhetorical question in the Hebrew text: “Is it not [true that] just as I have done to Samaria and its idols, so I will do to Jerusalem and its idols?”

[10:12]  ²⁹ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[10:12]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 23, 24, 33 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[10:12]  ³¹ tn Heb “his work on/against.” Cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV “on”; NIV “against.”

[10:12]  ³² tn The Lord is speaking here, as in vv. 5-6a.

[10:12]  ³³ tn Heb “I will visit [judgment] on the fruit of the greatness of the heart of the king of Assyria, and on the glory of the height of his eyes.” The proud Assyrian king is likened to a large, beautiful fruit tree.

[10:13]  ³⁴ tn Heb “removed the borders of nations”; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV “boundaries.”

[10:13]  ³⁵ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has כְּאַבִּיר (kÿ’abir, “like a strong one”); the marginal reading (Qere) is כַּבִיר (kavir, “mighty one”).

[10:13]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and I brought down, like a strong one, ones sitting [or “living”].” The participle יוֹשְׁבִים (yoshÿvim, “ones sitting”) could refer to the inhabitants of the nations, but the translation assumes that it refers to those who sit on thrones, i.e., rulers. See BDB 442 s.v. יָשַׁב and HALOT 444 s.v. ישׁב.

[32:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “as for a deceiver, his implements [or “weapons”] are evil.”

[32:7]  ³⁸ tn Or “he plans evil things”; NIV “he makes up evil schemes.”

[32:7]  ³⁹ tn Heb “to ruin the poor with words of falsehood, even when the needy speak what is just.”

[38:10]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “words will go up upon your heart.”

[38:11]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “go up against.”

[38:11]  ⁴² tn Heb “come (to).”

[1:11]  ⁴³ tn The words “O Nineveh” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity. The preceding pronoun is feminine singular, indicating the personified city is in view. See 2:1 (2:2 HT).

[1:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “a counselor of wickedness”; NASB “a wicked counselor”; NAB “the scoundrel planner.”