Add parallel Print Page Options

22 Do not those who devise[a] evil go astray?
But those who plan good exhibit[b] faithful covenant love.[c]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:22 sn The verb חָרַשׁ (kharash) means (1) literally: “to cut in; to engrave; to plow,” describing the work of a craftsman; and (2) figuratively: “to devise,” describing the mental activity of planning evil (what will harm people) in the first colon, and planning good (what will benefit them) in the second colon.
  2. Proverbs 14:22 tn The term “exhibit” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is implied by the antithetic parallelism and supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.
  3. Proverbs 14:22 tn Heb “loyal-love and truth.” The two terms חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת (khesed veʾemet) often form a hendiadys: “faithful love” or better “faithful covenant love.”

22 ·Those [L Do not those…?] who make evil plans ·will be ruined [L wander aimlessly],
but those who plan to do good will ·be loved and trusted [receive loyalty and faithfulness].

Read full chapter

22 Do not those who plot evil go astray?(A)
    But those who plan what is good find[a] love and faithfulness.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:22 Or show

34 Righteousness exalts[a] a nation,
but sin is a disgrace[b] to any people.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 14:34 sn The verb תְּרוֹמֵם (teromem, translated “exalts”) is a Polel imperfect; it means “to lift up; to raise up; to elevate.” Here the upright dealings of the leaders and the people will lift up the people. The people’s condition in that nation will be raised.
  2. Proverbs 14:34 tn The term is the homonymic root II חֶסֶד (khesed, “shame; reproach”; BDB 340 s.v.), as reflected by the LXX translation. Rabbinic exegesis generally took it as I חֶסֶד (“loyal love; kindness”) as if it said, “even the kindness of some nations is a sin because they do it only for a show” (so Rashi, a Jewish scholar who lived a.d. 1040-1105).

34 ·Doing what is right [Righteousness] makes a nation great,
but sin will ·bring disgrace to any [diminish a] people.

Read full chapter

34 Righteousness exalts a nation,(A)
    but sin condemns any people.

Read full chapter

In the house of the righteous is abundant wealth,[a]
but the income of the wicked will be ruined.[b]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:6 sn The Hebrew noun חֹסֶן (khosen) means “wealth; treasure.” Prosperity is the reward for righteousness. This is true only in so far as a proverb can be carried in its application, allowing for exceptions. The Greek text for this verse has no reference for wealth, but talks about amassing righteousness.
  2. Proverbs 15:6 tn Heb “being ruined.” The Niphal participle of עָכַר (ʿakhar; “to disturb, trouble, ruin”) may be understood substantivally, meaning “disturbance, calamity” (BDB 747 s.v. עָכַר) or a “thing troubled,” thus perhaps “[it] is ruined/ruinous.” Or it may be viewed verbally, “will be ruined” (HALOT 824 s.v. עכר nif). The LXX translates “will be ruined.”

Much ·wealth [treasure] is in the houses of ·good [righteous] people,
but evil people get nothing but trouble.

Read full chapter

The house of the righteous contains great treasure,(A)
    but the income of the wicked brings ruin.(B)

Read full chapter

The Lord abhors[a] the sacrifice of the wicked,[b]
but the prayer[c] of the upright pleases him.[d]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:8 tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yehvah, “the Lord”) functions as a subjective genitive: “the Lord abhors.” Cf. NIV “the Lord detests”; NCV, NLT “the Lord hates”; CEV “the Lord is disgusted.”
  2. Proverbs 15:8 sn The sacrifices of the wicked are hated by the Lord because the worshipers are insincere and blasphemous (e.g., Prov 15:29; 21:3; 28:9; Ps 40:6-8; Isa 1:10-17). In other words, the spiritual condition of the worshiper determines whether or not the worship is acceptable to God.
  3. Proverbs 15:8 sn J. H. Greenstone notes that if God will accept the prayers of the upright, he will accept their sacrifices; for sacrifice is an outer ritual and easily performed even by the wicked, but prayer is a private and inward act and not usually fabricated by unbelievers (Proverbs, 162).
  4. Proverbs 15:8 tn Heb “[is] his pleasure.” The third person masculine singular suffix functions as a subjective genitive: “he is pleased.” God is pleased with the prayers of the upright.

The Lord ·hates [detests] the sacrifice that the wicked offer,
but he ·likes [favors] the prayers of ·honest people [people with integrity].

Read full chapter

The Lord detests the sacrifice(A) of the wicked,(B)
    but the prayer of the upright pleases him.(C)

Read full chapter

The Lord abhors[a] the way of the wicked,
but he will love[b] those[c] who pursue[d] righteousness.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:9 tn Heb “an abomination of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yehvah, “the Lord”) functions as a subjective genitive: “the Lord abhors.”
  2. Proverbs 15:9 tn The verb אָהֵב (ʾahev, “to love”) is stative, so its imperfect form should be future; it still speaks of a general truth.
  3. Proverbs 15:9 tn Heb “the one who” (so NRSV).
  4. Proverbs 15:9 sn God hates the way of the wicked, that is, their lifestyle and things they do. God loves those who pursue righteousness, the Piel verb signifying a persistent pursuit. W. G. Plaut says, “He who loves God will be moved to an active, persistent, and even dangerous search for justice” (Proverbs, 170).

The Lord ·hates [detests] ·what evil people do [L the path of the wicked],
but he ·loves [favors] those who ·do what is right [pursue righteousness].

Read full chapter

The Lord detests the way of the wicked,(A)
    but he loves those who pursue righteousness.(B)

Read full chapter

29 The Lord is far[a] from the wicked,
but he hears[b] the prayer of the righteous.[c]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:29 sn To say that the Lord is “far” from the wicked is to say that he has made himself unavailable to their appeal—he does not answer them. This motif is used by David throughout Ps 22 for the problem of unanswered prayer—“Why are you far off?”
  2. Proverbs 15:29 sn The verb “hear” (שָׁמַע, shamaʿ) has more of the sense of “respond to” in this context. If one “listens to the voice of the Lord,” for example, it means that he obeys the Lord. If one wishes God to “hear his prayer,” it means he wishes God to answer it.
  3. Proverbs 15:29 sn God’s response to prayer is determined by the righteousness of the one who prays. A prayer of repentance by the wicked is an exception, for by it they would become the righteous (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 316).

29 The Lord ·does not listen to [L is far from] the wicked,
but he hears the prayers of ·those who do right [the righteous].

Read full chapter

29 The Lord is far from the wicked,
    but he hears the prayer of the righteous.(A)

Read full chapter

17 The highway[a] of the upright is to turn away[b] from evil;
the one who guards[c] his way safeguards his life.[d]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 16:17 sn The point of righteous living is made with the image of a highway, a raised and well-graded road (a hypocatastasis, implying a comparison between a highway and the right way of living).
  2. Proverbs 16:17 tn The form סוּר (sur) is a Qal infinitive; it indicates that a purpose of the righteous life is to turn away from evil. “Evil” here has the sense of sinful living. So the first line asserts that the well-cared-for life avoids sin.
  3. Proverbs 16:17 sn The second half of the verse uses two different words for “guard”; this one is נֹצֵר (notser) “the one who guards his way,” and the first is שֹׁמֵר (shomer) “the one who guards his life” (the order of the words is reversed in the translation). The second colon then explains further the first (synthetic parallelism), because to guard one’s way preserves life.
  4. Proverbs 16:17 tc The LXX adds three lines after 17a and one after 17b: “The paths of life turn aside from evils, and the ways of righteousness are length of life; he who receives instruction will be prosperous, and he who regards reproofs will be made wise; he who guards his ways preserves his soul, and he who loves his life will spare his mouth.”

17 ·Good people stay [L The highway of those with integrity turns] away from evil.
By ·watching what they do [protecting their path], they ·protect [guard] their lives.

Read full chapter

17 The highway of the upright avoids evil;
    those who guard their ways preserve their lives.(A)

Read full chapter

The righteous person[a] behaves in integrity;[b]
blessed are his children after him.[c]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 20:7 sn Two terms describe the subject of this proverb: “righteous” and “integrity.” The first describes the person as a member of the covenant community who strives to live according to God’s standards; the second emphasizes that his lifestyle is blameless.
  2. Proverbs 20:7 tn Heb “walks in his integrity” (so NASB); cf. NIV “leads a blameless life.” The Hitpael participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) means “to walk about; to walk to and fro.” The idiom of walking representing living is intensified here in this stem. This verbal stem is used in scripture to describe people “walking with” God.
  3. Proverbs 20:7 sn The nature and the actions of parents have an effect on children (e.g., Exod 20:4-6); if the parents are righteous, the children will enjoy a blessing—the respect and the happiness which the parent reflects on them.

The ·good [righteous] people who ·live honest lives [walk about in innocence]
will be a blessing to their children.

Read full chapter

The righteous lead blameless lives;(A)
    blessed are their children after them.(B)

Read full chapter

The violence[a] done by the wicked[b] will drag them away
because[c] they have refused to do what is right.[d]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 21:7 tn The “violence” (שֹׁד, shod) drags away the wicked, probably either to do more sin or to their punishment. “Violence” here is either personified, or it is a metonymy of cause, meaning “the outcome of their violence” drags them away.
  2. Proverbs 21:7 tn Heb “violence of the wicked.” This is a subjective genitive: “violence which the wicked do.”
  3. Proverbs 21:7 tn The second colon of the verse is the causal clause, explaining why they are dragged away. They are not passive victims of their circumstances or their crimes. They have chosen to persist in their violence and so it destroys them.
  4. Proverbs 21:7 tn Heb “they refused to do מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat; justice). The noun may be an accusative of direct object “do justice” (so ASV) or an adverbial accusative of manner “act justly” or “act with justice” (so NASB).

The violence of the wicked will ·destroy them [sweep them away],
because they refuse to ·do what is right [act with justice].

Read full chapter

The violence of the wicked will drag them away,(A)
    for they refuse to do what is right.

Read full chapter