Proverbs 11:5-7

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Proverbs 11:5 tn The Piel form of the verb יָשַׁר (yashar) means “to make straight, smooth or easy.” The concrete image is about making a road level and smooth; it represents an easier way of life. It does not mean an easy life in all respects, but means that integrity removes some obstacles and hardships in life, and integrity is the right choice for how to live.
2. Proverbs 11:5 sn The wicked may think that they can make their way through life easier by their wickedness, but instead it will at some point bring them down.tn The masculine singular pronouns have been replaces with third person plural pronouns for the sake of style.
3. Proverbs 11:6 sn The contrast is between being rescued or delivered (נָצַל, natsal) and being captured (לָכַד, lakhad). Righteousness is freeing; [evil] desires are enslaving.
4. Proverbs 11:6 tn The verb לָכַד (lakhad) means “to capture, trap, overpower.” Here it is passive; cf. NIV, TEV “are trapped,” NASB, NKJV “caught,” ESV, NRSV “taken captive.”
5. Proverbs 11:6 tc The Hebrew text has the singular construct form וּבְהַוַּת (uv^ehavvat) which may be from I הַוָּה (havvah, “desire of”) or II הַוָּה (havvah, “disaster of, destruction of”). The line would read “but in the desire of…” (cf. NLT “the ambition of… entraps them”) or “but in the disaster of the treacherous they will be caught.” The BHS editors propose repointing the word to the plural absolute form וּבְהַוֹּת (uv^ehavvot) resulting in “the treacherous will be ensnared in [their] desires” or “the treacherous will be caught in disasters.” The LXX has a singular form, but it does not represent a Hebrew construct form and not necessarily the same word as the MT: “ungodliness will fall into [the hands of] unrighteousness” or “encounters injustice.”
6. Proverbs 11:7 tc The LXX alters the proverb to speak first of the righteous: “When the righteous dies, hope does not perish; but the boasting by the ungodly perishes.” The spirit of the saying is similar to the Hebrew. Perhaps the LXX translators wanted to see the hope of the righteous fulfilled in the world to come. However, they may have tried to address the conceptual problem that arises from a literal reading of the Hebrew, “when a wicked person dies, hope perishes.” The LXX has “hope does not perish.” If the Hebrew text they used read “not,” they may have inferred that the proverb should talk about the righteous. If a “not” were restored to the Hebrew, it would then contrast true hope from hope in power: “When a wicked person dies, hope (itself) does not perish; but expectation based on power has perished.” But note that the LXX text of Proverbs is generally loose as a translation and sometimes has apparent substitutions.tn The pronoun “his” does not occur in the Hebrew text, but has been added to help make sense of the Masoretic text.
7. Proverbs 11:7 tn The imperfect verb can be present or future tense. It states a general truth which typically occurs in the given circumstances. sn The subject of this proverb is the hope of the wicked. His expectations die with him (Ps 49). Any hope for long life and success borne of wickedness will be disappointed.
8. Proverbs 11:7 tc There are several suggested changes for this word אוֹנִים (ʾonim, “vigor” or “strength”). Rashi, a Jewish scholar who lived a.d. 1040-1105, suggests that the word refers to children, a meaning implied from Gen 49:3. This would mean that even his children would not benefit from his wickedness. Tg. Prov 11:7 rendered it “who practice crookedness,” deriving it from a root which means “wickedness.” A similarly spelled word אָוֶן (ʾaven) and a similarly sounding word עָוֹן (ʿavon) can each refer to sin or wickedness. However the first does not occur in the plural and the second is feminine, no neither are likely to stand behind this masculine plural noun.tn Heb “the hope of strength,” meaning hope based on power, is a genitive of cause or source.
9. Proverbs 11:7 tn The use of the Hebrew perfect verb as a perfective, showing the continuing results of an event in the past, emphasizes the finality of the situation. The hope associated with the wicked person is now gone.