Discovery BoxProverbs 4:19
Context4:19 The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness; 1
they do not know what causes them to stumble. 2
Proverbs 8:2
Context8:2 At the top 3 of the elevated places along the way,
at the intersection 4 of the paths she takes her stand;
Proverbs 10:29
Context10:29 The way of the Lord 5 is like 6 a stronghold for the upright, 7
but it is destruction 8 to evildoers. 9
Proverbs 11:20
Context11:20 The Lord abhors 10 those who are perverse in heart, 11
but those who are blameless in their ways 12 are his delight. 13
Proverbs 12:15
Context12:15 The way of a fool 14 is right 15 in his own opinion, 16
but the one who listens to advice is wise. 17
Proverbs 13:6
Context13:6 Righteousness 18 guards the one who lives with integrity, 19
but wickedness 20 overthrows the sinner.
Proverbs 14:12
Context14:12 There is a way that seems right to a person, 21
but its end is the way that leads to death. 22
Proverbs 15:9
Context15:9 The Lord abhors 23 the way of the wicked,
but he loves those 24 who pursue 25 righteousness.
Proverbs 15:19
Context15:19 The way of the sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, 26
but the path of the upright is like 27 a highway. 28
Proverbs 16:25
Context16:25 There is a way that seems right to a person, 29
but its end is the way that leads to death. 30
Proverbs 21:2
Context21:2 All of a person’s ways seem right in his own opinion, 31
but the Lord evaluates 32 the motives. 33
Proverbs 21:8
Context21:8 The way of the guilty person 34 is devious, 35
but as for the pure, 36 his way is upright.
Proverbs 29:27
Context29:27 An unjust person is an abomination to the righteous,
and the one who lives an upright life is an abomination to the wicked. 37
[4:19] 1 sn The simile describes ignorance or spiritual blindness, sinfulness, calamity, despair.
[4:19] 2 tn Heb “in what they stumble.”
[8:2] 3 tn Heb “head.” The word רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “head”) refers to the highest area or most important place in the elevated area. The contrast with chapter 7 is striking. There the wayward woman lurked at the corners in the street at night; here wisdom is at the highest point in the open places in view of all.
[8:2] 4 tn Heb “at the house of the paths.” The “house” is not literal here, but refers to where the paths meet (cf. ASV, NIV), that is, the “crossroads” (so NAB, NRSV, NLT).
[10:29] 5 sn The “way of the
[10:29] 6 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
[10:29] 7 tn Heb “for the one with integrity” (לַתֹּם, latom).
[10:29] 8 tn Or “ruin” (so NIV).
[10:29] 9 tn Heb “those who practice iniquity.”
[11:20] 7 tn Heb “an abomination of the
[11:20] 8 sn The word עִקְּשֵׁי (“crooked; twisted; perverted”) describes the wicked as having “twisted minds.” Their mentality is turned toward evil things.
[11:20] 9 tn Heb “those who are blameless of way.” The noun דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) is a genitive of specification: “blameless in their way.”
[11:20] 10 sn The noun means “goodwill, favor, acceptance, will”; it is related to the verb רָצַה (ratsah) which means “to be pleased with; to accept favorably.” These words are used frequently in scripture to describe what pleases the
[12:15] 9 sn The way of a fool describes a headlong course of actions (“way” is an idiom for conduct) that is not abandoned even when wise advice is offered.
[12:15] 10 sn The fool believes that his own plans and ideas are perfect or “right” (יָשָׁר, yashar); he is satisfied with his own opinion.
[12:15] 11 tn Heb “in his own eyes.”
[12:15] 12 tn Or “a wise person listens to advice” (cf. NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
[13:6] 11 sn Righteousness refers to that which conforms to law and order. One who behaves with integrity will be safe from consequences of sin.
[13:6] 12 tn Heb “blameless of way.” The term דָּרֶךְ (darekh) is a genitive of specification: “blameless in respect to his way.” This means living above reproach in their course of life. Cf. NASB “whose way is blameless”; NAB “who walks honestly.”
[13:6] 13 sn Righteousness and wickedness are personified in this proverb to make the point of security and insecurity for the two courses of life.
[14:12] 13 tn Heb “which is straight before a man.”
[14:12] 14 tn Heb “the ways of death” (so KJV, ASV). This construct phrase features a genitive of destiny: “ways that lead to [or, end in] death.” Here death means ruin (e.g., Prov 7:27; 16:25). The LXX adds “Hades,” but the verse seems to be concerned with events of this life.
[15:9] 15 tn Heb “an abomination of the
[15:9] 16 tn Heb “the one who” (so NRSV).
[15:9] 17 sn God hates the way of the wicked, that is, their lifestyle and things they do. God loves those who pursue righteousness, the Piel verb signifying a persistent pursuit. W. G. Plaut says, “He who loves God will be moved to an active, persistent, and even dangerous search for justice” (Proverbs, 170).
[15:19] 17 tn Heb “like an overgrowth”; NRSV “overgrown with thorns”; cf. CEV “like walking in a thorn patch.” The point of the simile is that the path of life taken by the lazy person has many obstacles that are painful – it is like trying to break through a hedge of thorns. The LXX has “strewn with thorns.”
[15:19] 18 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
[15:19] 19 sn The contrast to the “thorny way” is the highway, the Hebrew word signifying a well built-up road (סָלַל, salal, “to heap up”). The upright have no reason to swerve, duck, or detour, but may expect “clear sailing.” Other passages pair these two concepts, e.g., Prov 6:10; 10:26; 28:19.
[16:25] 19 tn Heb “There is a way that is right before a man [to the face of a man].”
[16:25] 20 tn Heb “the ways of death” (so KJV, ASV). This construct phrase features a genitive of destiny: “ways that lead to [or, end in] death.”This proverb is identical to 14:12.
[21:2] 21 tn Heb “in his own eyes.” The term “eyes” is a metonymy for estimation, opinion, evaluation.
[21:2] 22 tn Heb “weighs” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “examines”; NCV, TEV “judges.”
[21:2] 23 tn Heb “the hearts.” The term לֵב (lev, “heart”) is used as a metonymy of association for thoughts and motives (BDB 660-61 s.v. 6-7). Even though people think they know themselves, the
[21:8] 23 tn The first line of the proverb is difficult. Since וָזָר (vazar) occurs only here it has been given much attention. The translation of “guilty” is drawn from an Arabic cognate meaning “to bear a burden” and so “to be sin laden” or “guilty” (cf. NASB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT). G. R. Driver prefers to read the line as “a man crooked of ways is false [zar]” (“Problems in the Hebrew Text of Proverbs,” Bib 32 [1951]: 185). C. H. Toy adopts the meaning of “proud” (Proverbs [ICC], 400). Whatever the reading, “guilty” or “proud” or “false,” the idea is that such people are devious. Bad people are underhanded; good people are aboveboard (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 400). Another way to analyze the line is to read it with the definition “strange, stranger”: “The way of a man and a stranger is perverse.” But this is unclear, and would form no satisfactory contrast to 8b. Another suggestion is “the way of (usual) man is changeable and strange, but the pure fellow leads a straight and even course” (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 244); cf. NLT “the innocent travel a straight road.”
[21:8] 24 tn The form הֲפַכְפַּךְ (hafakhfakh) is an adjective with an intensified meaning due to the duplication of the second and third radicals; it means “very devious; crooked” (from the verb “to overturn”).
[21:8] 25 tn If this translation stands, then the construction is formed with an independent nominative absolute, resumed by the suffixed noun as the formal subject. It draws attention to the “pure” or “innocent” person in contrast to the previously mentioned wicked.
[29:27] 25 tn Heb “who is upright in the way” (so NASB; KJV and ASV are similar). Here “in the way” refers to the course of a person’s life, hence “who lives an upright life.” Cf. NAB “he who walks uprightly.”
