Proverbs 1:16

for they ¹  are eager ²  to inflict harm, ³  and they hasten ⁴  to shed blood. ⁵ 

biblegateway Pro 1:16

for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood.

biblegateway Pro 1:16

For their feet run to evil And they hasten to shed blood.

biblegateway Pro 1:16

They rush to commit crimes. They hurry to commit murder.

biblegateway Pro 1:16

They're racing to a very bad end, hurrying to ruin everything they lay hands on.

SABDAweb Pro 1:16

For their feet are running after evil, and they are quick to take a man’s life.

bibleoremus Pro 1:16

for their feet run to evil, and they hurry to shed blood.

biblegateway Pro 1:16

For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood.

biblegateway Pro 1:16

for they ¹  are eager ²  to inflict harm, ³  and they hasten ⁴  to shed blood. ⁵ 

¹ tn Heb “their feet.” The term “feet” is a synecdoche of the part (= their feet) for the whole person (= they), stressing the eagerness of the robbers.

² tn Heb “run.” The verb רוּץ (ruts, “run”) functions here as a metonymy of association, meaning “to be eager” to do something (BDB 930 s.v.).

³ tn Heb “to harm.” The noun רַע (ra’) has a four-fold range of meanings: (1) “pain, harm” (Prov 3:30), (2) “calamity, disaster” (13:21), (3) “distress, misery” (14:32) and (4) “moral evil” (8:13; see BDB 948-49 s.v.). The parallelism with “swift to shed blood” suggests it means “to inflict harm, injury.”

⁴ tn The imperfect tense verbs may be classified as habitual or progressive imperfects describing their ongoing continual activity.

⁵ tc The BHS editors suggest deleting this entire verse from MT because it does not appear in several versions (Codex B of the LXX, Coptic, Arabic) and is similar to Isa 59:7a. It is possible that it was a scribal gloss (intentional addition) copied into the margin from Isaiah. But this does not adequately explain the differences. It does fit the context well enough to be original.