Proverbs 5:14

5:14 I almost ¹  came to complete ruin ² 

in the midst of the whole congregation!” ³ 

[5:14]  ¹ tn The expression כִּמְעַט (kim’at) is “like a little.” It means “almost,” and is used of unrealized action (BDB 590 s.v. 2). Cf. NCV “I came close to”; NLT “I have come to the brink of.”

[5:14]  ² tn Heb “I was in all evil” (cf. KJV, ASV).

[5:14]  ³ tn The text uses the two words “congregation and assembly” to form a hendiadys, meaning the entire assembly.