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12 Hatred[a] stirs up dissension,
but love covers all transgressions.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 10:12 sn This contrasts the wicked motivated by hatred (animosity, rejection) with the righteous motivated by love (kind acts, showing favor).
  2. Proverbs 10:12 sn Love acts like forgiveness. Hatred looks for and exaggerates faults, but love seeks ways to make sins disappear (e.g., 1 Pet 4:8).

12 Hatred stirs up quarrels,
    but love makes up for all offenses.

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10 A righteous person cares for[a] the life of his animal,
but even the most compassionate acts[b] of the wicked are cruel.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 12:10 tn Heb “knows”; NLT “concerned for the welfare of.” For יָדַע (yadaʿ) meaning “to care for” see HALOT 391 s.v. Qal 4 and 7, NIDOTTE 401 s.v., and compare Job 9:21; Ps 1:6.
  2. Proverbs 12:10 tn Heb “but the mercies.” The additional words appear in the translation for the sake of clarification. The line can be interpreted in two ways: (1) when the wicked exhibit a kind act, they do it in a cruel way, or (2) even the kindest of their acts is cruel by all assessments.

10 The godly care for their animals,
    but the wicked are always cruel.

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17 Better a meal of vegetables where there is love[a]
than a fattened ox where there is hatred.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 15:17 tn Heb “and love there.” This clause is a circumstantial clause introduced with vav, that becomes “where there is love.” The same construction is used in the second colon.
  2. Proverbs 15:17 sn Again the saying concerns troublesome wealth: Loving relationships with simple food are better than a feast where there is hatred. The ideal, of course, would be loving family and friends with a great meal in addition, but this proverb is only comparing two things.

17 A bowl of vegetables with someone you love
    is better than steak with someone you hate.

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The one who forgives[a] an offense seeks[b] love,
but whoever repeats a matter separates close friends.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:9 tn Heb “covers” (so NASB); NIV “covers over.” How people respond to the faults of others reveals whether or not they have love. The contrast is between one who “covers” (forgives, cf. NCV, NRSV) the fault of a friend and one who repeats news about it. The former promotes love because he cares about the person; the latter divides friends.
  2. Proverbs 17:9 sn The participle מְבַקֵּשׁ (mevaqqesh) means “seeks” in the sense of seeking to secure or procure or promote love. There can be no friendship without such understanding and discretion.
  3. Proverbs 17:9 sn W. G. Plaut notes that harping on the past has destroyed many friendships and marriages (Proverbs, 188). W. McKane observes that this line refers to the person who breaks up friendships by his scandalous gossip, even if it is done with a kind of zeal for the welfare of the community, for it will destroy love and trust (Proverbs [OTL], 508-9).

Love prospers when a fault is forgiven,
    but dwelling on it separates close friends.

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17 A friend[a] loves at all times,
and a relative[b] is born to help in adversity.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:17 sn The verse uses synonymous parallelism, so “friend” and “relative” are equated. Others, however, will take the verse with antithetical parallelism: W. G. Plaut argues that friendship is a spiritual relationship whereas a brother’s ties are based on a blood relationship—often adversity is the only thing that brings brothers together (Proverbs, 189).
  2. Proverbs 17:17 tn Heb “a brother.”
  3. Proverbs 17:17 tn Heb “is born for adversity.” This is not referring to sibling rivalry but to the loyalty a brother shows during times of calamity. This is not to say that a brother only shows loyalty when there is trouble, nor that he always does in these times (e.g., 18:19, 24; 19:7; 27:10). The true friend is the same as a brotherly relation—in times of greatest need the loyal love is displayed.

17 A friend is always loyal,
    and a brother is born to help in time of need.

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Better is open[a] rebuke
than hidden[b] love.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 27:5 tn Heb “revealed” or “uncovered” (Pual participle from גָּלָה, galah). This would specify the reproof or rebuke as direct, honest, and frank, whether it was coming from a friend or an enemy.
  2. Proverbs 27:5 tn The Hebrew term translated “hidden” (a Pual participle from סָתַר, satar) refers to a love that is carefully concealed; this is contrasted with the open rebuke in the first line. What is described, then, is someone too timid, too afraid, or not trusting enough to admit that reproof is a genuine part of love (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 610). It is a love that is not expressed in proper concern for the one loved. See also, e.g., 28:23 and 29:3.

An open rebuke
    is better than hidden love!

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