Psalms 10:9

10:9 He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket; ¹ 

he lies in ambush, waiting to catch ²  the oppressed;

he catches the oppressed ³  by pulling in his net. ⁴ 

Psalms 17:12

17:12 He ⁵  is like a lion ⁶  that wants to tear its prey to bits, ⁷ 

like a young lion crouching ⁸  in hidden places.

Psalms 22:13

22:13 They ⁹  open their mouths to devour me ¹⁰ 

like a roaring lion that rips its prey. ¹¹ 

Deuteronomy 33:20

Blessing on Gad

33:20 Of Gad he said:

Blessed be the one who enlarges Gad.

Like a lioness he will dwell;

he will tear at an arm – indeed, a scalp. ¹² 

Proverbs 19:12

19:12 A king’s wrath is like ¹³  the roar of a lion, ¹⁴ 

but his favor is like dew on the grass. ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 19:2

19:2 It is dangerous ¹⁶  to have zeal ¹⁷  without knowledge,

and the one who acts hastily ¹⁸  makes poor choices. ¹⁹ 

Proverbs 4:17

4:17 For they eat bread ²⁰  gained from wickedness ²¹ 

and drink wine obtained from violence. ²² 

Proverbs 4:1

Admonition to Follow Righteousness and Avoid Wickedness ²³ 

4:1 Listen, children, ²⁴  to a father’s instruction, ²⁵ 

and pay attention so that ²⁶  you may gain ²⁷  discernment.

Proverbs 5:8

5:8 Keep yourself ²⁸  far ²⁹  from her,

and do not go near the door of her house,

[10:9]  ¹ tn Or “in its den.”

[10:9]  ² tn The verb, which also appears in the next line, occurs only here and in Judg 21:21.

[10:9]  ³ tn The singular form is collective (see v. 10) or refers to the typical or representative oppressed individual.

[10:9]  ⁴ tn Or “when he [i.e., the wicked man] pulls in his net.”

[17:12]  ⁵ tn Here the psalmist switches to the singular pronoun; he views his enemies collectively, or singles out a representative of the group, perhaps its leader.

[17:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “his likeness [is] like a lion.”

[17:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “[that] longs to tear.”

[17:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “sitting.”

[22:13]  ⁹ tn “They” refers to the psalmist’s enemies, who in the previous verse are described as “powerful bulls.”

[22:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they open against me their mouth[s].” To “open the mouth against” is a Hebrew idiom associated with eating and swallowing (see Ezek 2:8; Lam 2:16).

[22:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a lion ripping and roaring.”

[33:20]  ¹² tn Heb “forehead,” picturing Gad attacking prey.

[19:12]  ¹³ sn The verse contrasts the “rage” of the king with his “favor” by using two similes. The first simile presents the king at his most dangerous – his anger (e.g., 20:2; Amos 3:4). The second simile presents his favor as beneficial for life (e.g., 16:14-15; 28:15).

[19:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “is a roaring like a lion.”

[19:12]  ¹⁵ sn The proverb makes an observation about a king’s power to terrify or to refresh. It advises people to use tact with a king.

[19:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “not good.” This is a figure known as tapeinosis (a deliberate understatement to emphasize a worst-case scenario): “it is dangerous!”

[19:2]  ¹⁷ tn The interpretation of this line depends largely on the meaning of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) which has a broad range of meanings: (1) the breathing substance of man, (2) living being, (3) life, (4) person, (5) seat of the appetites, (6) seat of emotions and passions, (7) activities of intellect, emotion and will, (8) moral character, etc. (BDB 659-61 s.v.). In light of the synonymous parallelism, the most likely nuance here is “zeal, passion” (HALOT 713 s.v. 8). NIV takes the word in the sense of “vitality” and “drive” – “it is not good to have zeal without knowledge” (cf. NCV, TEV, and NLT which are all similar).

[19:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he who is hasty with his feet.” The verb אוּץ (’uts) means “to be pressed; to press; to make haste.” The verb is followed by the preposition בְּ (bet) which indicates that with which one hastens – his feet. The word “feet” is a synecdoche of part for the whole person – body and mind working together (cf. NLT “a person who moves too quickly”).

[19:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “misses the goal.” The participle חוֹטֵא (khote’) can be translated “sins” (cf. KJV, ASV), but in this context it refers only to actions without knowledge, which could lead to sin, or could lead simply to making poor choices (cf. NAB “blunders”; NASB “errs”; NCV “might make a mistake”).

[4:17]  ²⁰ tn The noun is a cognate accusative stressing that they consume wickedness.

[4:17]  ²¹ tn Heb “the bread of wickedness” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV). There are two ways to take the genitives: (1) genitives of apposition: wickedness and violence are their food and drink (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT), or (2) genitives of source: they derive their livelihood from the evil they do (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 93).

[4:17]  ²² tn Heb “the wine of violence” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV). This is a genitive of source, meaning that the wine they drink was plundered from their violent crime. The Hebrew is structured in an AB:BA chiasm: “For they eat the bread of wickedness, and the wine of violence they drink.” The word order in the translation is reversed for the sake of smoothness and readability.

[4:1]  ²³ sn The chapter includes an exhortation to acquire wisdom (1-4a), a list of the benefits of wisdom (4b-9), a call to pursue a righteous lifestyle (10-13), a warning against a wicked lifestyle (14-19), and an exhortation to righteousness (20-27).

[4:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “sons.”

[4:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “discipline.”

[4:1]  ²⁶ tn The Qal infinitive construct with preposition ל (lamed) indicates the purpose/result of the preceding imperative.

[4:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “know” (so KJV, ASV).

[5:8]  ²⁸ tn Heb “your way.”

[5:8]  ²⁹ sn There is a contrast made between “keep far away” (הַרְחֵק, harkheq) and “do not draw near” (וְאַל־תִּקְרַב, vÿ’al-tiqrav).