Proverbs 9:18

9:18 But they do not realize ¹  that the dead ²  are there,

that her guests are in the depths of the grave. ³ 

Proverbs 27:23

27:23 Pay careful attention to ⁴  the condition of your flocks, ⁵ 

give careful attention ⁶  to your herds,

Proverbs 29:7

29:7 The righteous person cares for ⁷  the legal rights ⁸  of the poor;

the wicked does not understand such ⁹  knowledge.

Proverbs 28:2

28:2 When a country is rebellious ¹⁰  it has many princes, ¹¹ 

but by someone who is discerning and knowledgeable ¹²  order is maintained. ¹³ 

Proverbs 28:22

28:22 The stingy person ¹⁴  hastens after riches

and does not know that poverty will overtake him. ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 7:23

7:23 till an arrow pierces his liver ¹⁶  –

like a bird hurrying into a trap,

and he does not know that it will cost him his life. ¹⁷ 

Proverbs 24:12

24:12 If you say, “But we did not know about this,”

does not the one who evaluates ¹⁸  hearts consider?

Does not the one who guards your life know?

Will he not repay each person according to his deeds? ¹⁹ 

[9:18]  ¹ tn Heb “he does not know.”

[9:18]  ² sn The “dead” are the Rephaim, the “shades” or dead persons who lead a shadowy existence in Sheol (e.g., Prov 2:18-19; Job 3:13-19; Ps 88:5; Isa 14:9-11). This approximates an “as-if” motif of wisdom literature: The ones ensnared in folly are as good as in Hell. See also Ptah-hotep’s sayings (ANET 412-414).

[9:18]  ³ tc The LXX adds to the end of v. 18: “But turn away, linger not in the place, neither set your eye on her: for thus will you go through alien water; but abstain from alien water, drink not from an alien fountain, that you may live long, that years of life may be added to you.”

[27:23]  ⁴ tn The sentence uses the infinitive absolute and the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “to know”). The imperfect here has been given the obligatory nuance, “you must know,” and that has to be intensified with the infinitive.

[27:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “the faces of your flock.”

[27:23]  ⁶ tn The idiom is “place [it on] your heart” or “take to heart.” Cf. NLT “put your heart into.”

[29:7]  ⁷ tn The form is an active participle, יֹדֵעַ (yodea’); it describes the righteous as “knowing, caring for, having sympathetic knowledge for, or considering favorably” the legal needs of the poor. Cf. NAB “has a care for”; NASB “is concerned for.”

[29:7]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew word used here is דִּין (din), which typically means “judgment,” but can also mean “strife” and “cause.” Here it refers to the “cause” of the poor (so KJV, ASV), their plea, their case, their legal rights. A righteous person is sympathetic to this.

[29:7]  ⁹ tn The term “such” is supplied in the translation for clarification. It is not simply any knowledge that the wicked do not understand, but the knowledge mentioned in the first colon. They do not understand the “sympathetic knowledge” or “concern” for the cause of the poor.

[28:2]  ¹⁰ sn The Hebrew word translated “rebellious” has rebellion as its basic meaning, and that is the idea here. The proverb is describing a time when sinfulness brings about social and political unrest.

[28:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “many are its princes” (so NASB).

[28:2]  ¹² tn Heb “a man who understands [and] knows”; NRSV “an intelligent ruler”; NLT “wise and knowledgeable leaders.”

[28:2]  ¹³ tc The LXX reads (probably from a different underlying Hebrew text): “It is the fault of a violent man that quarrels start, but they are settled by a man of discernment.” For a survey of suggestions, see C. H. Toy, Proverbs (ICC), 495, and W. McKane, Proverbs (OTL), 630.

[28:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “a man with an evil eye” (as opposed to the generous man who has a “good” eye). This individual is selfish, unkind, unsympathetic to others. He looks only to his own gain. Cf. NAB “The avaricious man”; NLT “A greedy person.”

[28:22]  ¹⁴ sn The one who is hasty to gain wealth is involved in sin in some way, for which he will be punished by poverty. The idea of “hastening” after riches suggests a dishonest approach to acquiring wealth.

[7:23]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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.

[24:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “weighs” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV) meaning “tests” or “evaluates.”

[24:12]  ²⁰ sn The verse completes the saying by affirming that people will be judged responsible for helping those in mortal danger. The verse uses a series of rhetorical questions to affirm that God knows our hearts and we cannot plead ignorance.