Proverbs 7:23

7:23 till an arrow pierces his liver ¹  –

like a bird hurrying into a trap,

and he does not know that it will cost him his life. ² 

Proverbs 25:18

25:18 Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow, ³ 

so is the one who testifies against ⁴  his neighbor as a false witness. ⁵ 

Genesis 49:23

49:23 The archers will attack him, ⁶ 

they will shoot at him and oppose him.

[7:23]  ¹ sn The figure of an arrow piercing the liver (an implied comparison) may refer to the pangs of a guilty conscience that the guilty must reap along with the spiritual and physical ruin that follows (see on these expressions H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament).

[7:23]  ² tn The expression that it is “for/about/over his life” means that it could cost him his life (e.g., Num 16:38). Alternatively, the line could refer to moral corruption and social disgrace rather than physical death – but this would not rule out physical death too.

[25:18]  ³ sn The first line identifies the emblem of the proverb: False witnesses are here compared to deadly weapons because they can cause the death of innocent people (e.g., Exod 20:16; Deut 5:20; and Prov 14:5).

[25:18]  ⁴ tn The verb עָנָה (’anah) followed by the preposition בְּ (bet) with its object means “to testify against” (answer against someone). With the preposition לְ (lamed) it would mean “to testify for” someone. Here the false witness is an adversary, hence the comparison with deadly weapons.

[25:18]  ⁵ tn While עֵד (’ed) could be interpreted as “evidence” (a meaning that came from a metonymy – what the witness gives in court), its normal meaning is “witness.” Here it would function as an adverbial accusative, specifying how he would answer in court.

[49:23]  ⁶ tn The verb forms in vv. 23-24 are used in a rhetorical manner, describing future events as if they had already taken place.