Proverbs 6:6-11

6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; ¹ 

observe its ways and be wise!

6:7 It has no commander,

overseer, or ²  ruler,

6:8 yet it prepares its food in the summer;

it gathers at the harvest what it will eat. ³ 

6:9 How long, you sluggard, will you lie there?

When will you rise from your sleep? ⁴ 

6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to relax, ⁵ 

6:11 and your poverty will come like a robber, ⁶ 

and your need like an armed man. ⁷ 

Proverbs 11:5-6

11:5 The righteousness of the blameless will make straight their way, ⁸ 

but the wicked person will fall by his own wickedness. ⁹ 

11:6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, ¹⁰ 

but the faithless will be captured ¹¹  by their own desires. ¹² 

Psalms 112:5

112:5 It goes well for the one ¹³  who generously lends money,

and conducts his business honestly. ¹⁴ 

Ecclesiastes 8:5-6

8:5 Whoever obeys his ¹⁵  command will not experience harm,

and a wise person ¹⁶  knows the proper time ¹⁷  and procedure.

8:6 For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,

for the oppression ¹⁸  of the king ¹⁹  is severe upon his victim. ²⁰ 

Jeremiah 8:7-10

8:7 Even the stork knows

when it is time to move on. ²¹ 

The turtledove, swallow, and crane ²² 

recognize ²³  the normal times for their migration.

But my people pay no attention

to ²⁴  what I, the Lord, require of them. ²⁵ 

8:8 How can you say, “We are wise!

We have the law of the Lord”?

The truth is, ²⁶  those who teach it ²⁷  have used their writings

to make it say what it does not really mean. ²⁸ 

8:9 Your wise men will be put to shame.

They will be dumbfounded and be brought to judgment. ²⁹ 

Since they have rejected the word of the Lord,

what wisdom do they really have?

8:10 ³⁰ So I will give their wives to other men

and their fields to new owners.

For from the least important to the most important of them,

all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.

Prophets and priests alike,

all practice deceit.

[6:6]  ¹ sn The sluggard (עָצֵל, ’atsel) is the lazy or sluggish person (cf. NCV “lazy person”; NRSV, NLT “lazybones”).

[6:7]  ² tn The conjunction vav (ו) here has the classification of alternative, “or” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 71, §433).

[6:8]  ³ tc The LXX adds a lengthy section at the end of the verse on the lesson from the bee: “Or, go to the bee and learn how diligent she is and how seriously she does her work – her products kings and private persons use for health – she is desired and respected by all – though feeble in body, by honoring wisdom she obtains distinction.” The Greek translator thought the other insect should be mentioned (see C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 124).

[6:9]  ⁴ sn The use of the two rhetorical questions is designed to rebuke the lazy person in a forceful manner. The sluggard is spending too much time sleeping.

[6:10]  ⁵ sn The writer might in this verse be imitating the words of the sluggard who just wants to take “a little nap.” The use is ironic, for by indulging in this little rest the lazy one comes to ruin.

[6:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “like a wayfarer” or “like a traveler” (cf. KJV). The LXX has “swiftness like a traveler.” It has also been interpreted as a “highwayman” (cf. NAB) or a “dangerous assailant.” W. McKane suggests “vagrant” (Proverbs [OTL], 324); cf. NASB “vagabond.” Someone traveling swiftly would likely be a robber.

[6:11]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew word for “armed” is probably connected to the word for “shield” and “deliver” (s.v. גָּנַן). G. R. Driver connects it to the Arabic word for “bold; insolent,” interpreting its use here as referring to a beggar or an insolent man (“Studies in the Vocabulary of the Old Testament, IV,” JTS 33 [1933]: 38-47).

[11:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “his way.”

[11:5]  ⁹ sn The righteous will enjoy security and serenity throughout life. Righteousness makes the path straight; wickedness destroys the wicked.

[11:6]  ¹⁰ sn The contrast is between being rescued or delivered (נָצַל, natsal) and being captured (לָכַד, lakhad). Righteousness is freeing; [evil] desires are enslaving.

[11:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “taken captive” (so NRSV); NIV, TEV “are trapped.”

[11:6]  ¹² tn Heb “but by the desire of the faithless are they taken captive.”

[112:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “man.”

[112:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he sustains his matters with justice.”

[8:5]  ¹⁵ tn The word “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness and clarity.

[8:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the heart of a wise man.”

[8:5]  ¹⁷ tn The term עֵת (’et, “time”) connotes “a proper, suitable time for an event; the right moment” (HALOT 900 s.v. עֵת 6; BDB 773 s.v. עֵת 2.b); e.g., “it was the time for rain” (Ezra 10:13); “a time of judgment for the nations” (Ezek 30:3); “there is an appropriate time for every occasion” (Eccl 3:1); “the time when mountain goats are born” (Job 39:1); “the rain in its season” (Deut 11:14; Jer 5:24); “the time for the harvest” (Hos 2:11; Ps 1:3); “food in its season” (Ps 104:27).

[8:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “evil”; or “misery.”

[8:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the man.”

[8:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “upon him.”

[8:7]  ²¹ tn Heb “its appointed time.” The translation is contextually motivated to avoid lack of clarity.

[8:7]  ²² tn There is debate in the commentaries and lexicons about the identification of some of these birds, particularly regarding the identification of the “swallow” which is more likely the “swift” and the “crane” which some identify with the “thrush.” For a discussion see the Bible encyclopedias and the UBS handbook Fauna and Flora of the Bible. The identity of the individual birds makes little difference to the point being made and “swallow” is more easily identifiable to the average reader than the “swift.”

[8:7]  ²³ tn Heb “keep.” Ironically birds, which do not think, obey the laws of nature, but Israel does not obey the laws of God.

[8:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “do not know.” But here as elsewhere the word “know” is more than an intellectual matter. It is intended here to summarize both “know” and “follow” (Heb “observe”) in the preceding lines.

[8:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the ordinance/requirement of the Lord.”

[8:8]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Surely, behold!”

[8:8]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the scribes.”

[8:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “The lying pen of the scribes have made [it] into a lie.” The translation is an attempt to make the most common interpretation of this passage understandable for the average reader. This is, however, a difficult passage whose interpretation is greatly debated and whose syntax is capable of other interpretations. The interpretation of the NJPS, “Assuredly, for naught has the pen labored, for naught the scribes,” surely deserves consideration within the context; i.e. it hasn’t done any good for the scribes to produce a reliable copy of the law, which the people have refused to follow. That interpretation has the advantage of explaining the absence of an object for the verb “make” or “labored” but creates a very unbalanced poetic couplet.

[8:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “be trapped.” However, the word “trapped” generally carries with it the connotation of divine judgment. See BDB 540 s.v. לָכַד Niph.2, and compare usage in Jer 6:11 for support. The verbs in the first two lines are again the form of the Hebrew verb that emphasizes that the action is as good as done (Hebrew prophetic perfects).

[8:10]  ³⁰ sn See Jer 6:12-15 for parallels to 8:10-12. The words of Jeremiah to the people may have been repeated on more than one occasion or have been found appropriate to more than one of his collection of messages in written and edited form. See Jer 36:4 and Jer 36:28 for reference to at least two of these collections.