Proverbs 24:8

24:8 The one who plans to do evil

will be called a scheming person. ¹ 

Proverbs 16:9

16:9 A person ²  plans his course, ³ 

but the Lord directs ⁴  his steps. ⁵ 

Proverbs 16:30

16:30 The one who winks his eyes ⁶  devises perverse things,

and ⁷  one who compresses his lips ⁸  brings about ⁹  evil.

Proverbs 17:28

17:28 Even a fool who remains silent is considered ¹⁰  wise,

and the one who holds his tongue is deemed discerning. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 27:14

27:14 If someone blesses ¹²  his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, ¹³ 

it will be counted as a curse to him. ¹⁴ 

[24:8]  ¹ tn Heb “possessor of schemes”; NAB “an intriguer.” The picture of the wicked person is graphic: He devises plans to do evil and is known as a schemer. Elsewhere the “schemes” are outrageous and lewd (e.g., Lev 18:7; Judg 20:6). Here the description portrays him as a cold, calculating, active person: “the fool is capable of intense mental activity but it adds up to sin” (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 399).

[16:9]  ² tn Heb “the heart of a man.” This stresses that it is within the heart that plans are made. Only those plans that are approved by God will succeed.

[16:9]  ³ tn Heb “his way” (so KJV, NASB).

[16:9]  ⁴ tn The verb כּוּן (kun, “to establish; to confirm”) with צַעַד (tsa’ad, “step”) means “to direct” (e.g., Ps 119:133; Jer 10:23). This contrasts what people plan and what actually happens – God determines the latter.

[16:9]  ⁵ sn “Steps” is an implied comparison, along with “way,” to indicate the events of the plan as they work out.

[16:30]  ³ sn The participle עֹצֶה (’otseh) describes one as shutting his eyes (cf. KJV, ASV). This could mean simply “closing the eyes,” or it could refer to “winking” (so many English versions). The proverb is saying that facial expressions often reveal if someone is plotting evil (e.g., 6:13-14).

[16:30]  ⁴ tn The conjunction “and” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied by the synonymous parallelism.

[16:30]  ⁵ tn The participle קֹרֵץ (qorets) indicates that the person involved is pinching, compressing, or biting his lips (cf. NIV “purses his lips”).

[16:30]  ⁶ tn The verb is a Piel perfect; it means “complete, finish, bring to an end.” The two cola may form the whole process: The first line has “to devise” evil, and the second has “he completes” evil. BDB, however, classifies this use of the Piel as “to accomplish in thought” meaning “to determine” something (BDB 478 s.v. כָּלָה 1f). In that case the two lines would have synonymous ideas, i.e., using facial expressions to plan evil actions.

[17:28]  ⁴ tn The imperfect tense here denotes possibility: One who holds his tongue [may be considered] discerning.

[17:28]  ⁵ tn The Niphal participle is used in the declarative/estimative sense with stative verbs: “to be discerning” (Qal) becomes “to be declared discerning” (Niphal). The proverb is teaching that silence is one evidence of wisdom, and that even a fool can thereby appear wise. D. Kidner says that a fool who takes this advice is no longer a complete fool (Proverbs [TOTC], 127). He does not, of course, become wise – he just hides his folly.

[27:14]  ⁵ tn The verse begins with the Piel participle from בָּרַךְ (barach). It could be taken as the subject, with the resulting translation: “Blessing…will be counted as a curse.” However, that would be rather awkward. So it is preferable to take the first line as the condition (“if someone blesses”) and the second as the consequence (“[then] it will be counted”).

[27:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “rising early in the morning” (so KJV, ASV). The infinitive explains the verb “bless,” giving the circumstances of its action. The individual rises early to give his blessing.

[27:14]  ⁷ sn The point of the proverb is that loud and untimely greetings are not appreciated. What was given as a “blessing” will be considered a “curse” – the two words being antonyms. The proverb makes the point that how, when, and why they say what they say is important too (D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 166).