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Proverbs 11:4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 11:4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death.(A)
Proverbs 11:4
New English Translation
Proverbs 11:4
New English Translation
4 Wealth does not profit in the day of wrath,[a]
but righteousness delivers from death.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 11:4 sn The “day of wrath” refers to divine punishment in this life (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 67; e.g., also Job 21:30; Ezek 7:19; Zeph 1:18). Righteousness and not wealth is more valuable in anticipating judgment.
Proverbs 11:16-18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 11:16-18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
16 A gracious woman gets honor,
but she who hates virtue is covered with shame.[a]
The timid become destitute,[b]
but the aggressive gain riches.(A)
17 Those who are kind reward themselves,
but the cruel do themselves harm.
18 The wicked earn no real gain,
but those who sow righteousness get a true reward.(B)
Proverbs 11:16-18
New English Translation
Proverbs 11:16-18
New English Translation
16 A generous woman[a] gains honor,
and ruthless men[b] seize wealth.[c]
17 A kind person[d] benefits[e] himself,[f]
but a cruel person brings himself trouble.[g]
18 The wicked person[h] earns[i] deceitful wages,[j]
but the one who sows[k] righteousness reaps[l] a genuine[m] reward.[n]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 11:16 tn Heb “a woman of grace.” The genitive חֵן (khen, “grace”) functions as an attributive adjective. The contrast is between “a gracious woman” (אֵשֶׁת־חֵן, ʾeshet khen), a woman who is not only graceful but generous, and “powerful men,” a term usually having a bad sense, such as tyrants or ruthless men.
- Proverbs 11:16 tn Heb “those who are terrifying.” The term עָרִיץ (ʿarits) refers to a person who strikes terror into the hearts of his victims. The term refers to a ruthless person who uses violence to overcome his victims (BDB 792 s.v.). Cf. ASV, NASB, NLT “violent men”; NRSV “the aggressive.”
- Proverbs 11:16 tc The LXX adds: “She who hates virtue makes a throne for dishonor; the idle will be destitute of means.” This reading is followed by several English versions (e.g., NAB, NEB, NRSV, TEV). C. H. Toy concludes that MT provides remnants of the original, but that the LXX does not provide the full meaning (Proverbs [ICC], 229).sn The implication is that the ruthless men will obtain wealth without honor, and therefore this is not viewed as success by the writer.
- Proverbs 11:17 tn Heb “man of kindness,” “of loyalty,” or “of loyal love.”sn This contrasts the “kind person” and the “cruel person” (one who is fierce, cruel), showing the consequences of their dispositions.
- Proverbs 11:17 tn The term גֹּמֶל (gomel) means “to deal fully [or “adequately”] with” someone or something. The kind person will benefit himself.
- Proverbs 11:17 tn Heb “his own soul.” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is used as a synecdoche of part (= soul) for the whole (= person): “himself” (BDB 660 s.v. 4).
- Proverbs 11:17 tn Heb “brings trouble to his flesh.”sn There may be a conscious effort by the sage to contrast “soul” and “body”: He contrasts the benefits of kindness for the “soul” (translated “himself”) with the trouble that comes to the “flesh/body” (translated “himself”) of the cruel.
- Proverbs 11:18 tn The form is the masculine singular adjective used as a substantive.
- Proverbs 11:18 tn Heb “makes” (so NAB).
- Proverbs 11:18 tn Heb “wages of deception.”sn Whatever recompense or reward the wicked receive will not last, hence, it is deceptive (R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [AB], 88).
- Proverbs 11:18 sn The participle “sowing” provides an implied comparison (the figure is known as hypocatastasis) with the point of practicing righteousness and inspiring others to do the same. What is sown will yield fruit (1 Cor 9:11; 2 Cor 9:6; Jas 3:18).
- Proverbs 11:18 tn The term “reaps” does not appear in the Hebrew but has been supplied in the translation from context for the sake of smoothness.
- Proverbs 11:18 tn Heb “true” (so NASB, NRSV); KJV, NAB, NIV “sure.”
- Proverbs 11:18 sn A wordplay (paronomasia) occurs between “deceptive” (שָׁקֶר, shaqer) and “reward” (שֶׂכֶר, sekher), underscoring the contrast by the repetition of sounds. The wages of the wicked are deceptive; the reward of the righteous is sure.
Proverbs 11:28
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 11:28
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
28 Those who trust in their riches will wither,[a]
but the righteous will flourish like green leaves.(A)
Footnotes
- 11.28 Cn: Heb fall
Proverbs 11:28
New English Translation
Proverbs 11:28
New English Translation
28 The one who trusts in his riches will fall,
but the righteous[a] will flourish like a green leaf.[b]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 11:28 sn The implication from the parallelism is that the righteous do not trust in their own riches, but in the Lord.
- Proverbs 11:28 tn Heb “leafage” or “leaf” (cf. KJV “as a branch”); TEV “leaves of summer”; NLT “leaves in spring.” The simile of a leaf is a figure of prosperity and fertility throughout the ancient Near East.
Proverbs 13:11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 13:11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
11 Wealth hastily gotten[a] will dwindle,
but those who gather little by little will increase it.(A)
Footnotes
- 13.11 Gk Vg: Heb from vanity
Proverbs 13:11
New English Translation
Proverbs 13:11
New English Translation
11 Wealth gained quickly[a] will dwindle away,[b]
but the one who gathers it little by little[c] will become rich.[d]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 13:11 tc The MT reads מֵהֵבֶל (mehevel) “from vanity” and is followed by KJV and ASV. The word הֵבֶל (hevel) means “vapor” and figuratively refers to that which is unsubstantial, fleeting, or amounts to nothing (BDB 210 s.v.). The Greek and Latin versions, followed by RSV, reflect מְבֹהָל (mevohal, “in haste”) which exhibits metathesis. A different pointing of the MT has also been proposed: מְהֻבָּל (mehubbal) “obtained by fraud” (HALOT 236 s.v. הבל), cf. NASB, NIV, CEV. The proverb favors steady disciplined work and saving over get-rich-quick schemes, be they by fraud or by empty dreams (cf. Prov 20:21; 28:20, 22).
- Proverbs 13:11 tn Heb “will become small.” The verb מָעָט (maʿat) means “to become small; to become diminished; to become few.” Money gained without work will diminish quickly, because it was come by too easily. The verb forms a precise contrast with רָבָה (ravah), “to become much; to become many,” but in the Hiphil, “to multiply; to make much many; to cause increase.”
- Proverbs 13:11 tn Heb “by hand”; cf. KJV, ASV, NASB “by labor.”
- Proverbs 13:11 tn Heb “will increase.”
Proverbs 15:16
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 15:16
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
16 Better is a little with the fear of the Lord
than great treasure and trouble with it.(A)
Proverbs 15:16
New English Translation
Proverbs 15:16
New English Translation
Read full chapter
Footnotes
- Proverbs 15:16 sn One of the frequent characteristics of wisdom literature is the “better” saying; it is a comparison of different but similar things to determine which is to be preferred. These two verses focus on spiritual things being better than troubled material things.
- Proverbs 15:16 sn Turmoil refers to anxiety; the fear of the Lord alleviates anxiety, for it brings with it contentment and confidence.
- Proverbs 15:16 sn Not all wealth has turmoil with it. But the proverb is focusing on the comparison of two things—fear of the Lord with little and wealth with turmoil. Between these two, the former is definitely better.
Proverbs 15:27
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 15:27
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
27 Those greedy for unjust gain make trouble for their households,
but those who hate bribes will live.(A)
Proverbs 15:27
New English Translation
Proverbs 15:27
New English Translation
27 The one who is greedy for gain[a] troubles[b] his household,[c]
but whoever hates bribes[d] will live.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 15:27 tn Heb “the one who gains.” The phrase בּוֹצֵעַ בָּצַע (botseaʿ batsaʿ) is a participle followed by its cognate accusative. This refers to a person who is always making the big deal, getting the larger cut, or in a hurry to get rich. The verb, though, makes it clear that the gaining of a profit is by violence and usually unjust, since the root has the idea of “cut off; break off; gain by violence.” The line is contrasted with hating bribes, and so the gain in this line may be through bribery.
- Proverbs 15:27 sn The participle “troubles” (עֹכֵר, ʿokher) can have the connotation of making things difficult for the family, or completely ruining the family (cf. NAB). In Josh 7:1 Achan took some of the “banned things” and was put to death: Because he “troubled Israel,” the Lord would “trouble” him (take his life, Josh 7:25).
- Proverbs 15:27 tn Heb “his house.”
- Proverbs 15:27 tn Heb “gifts” (so KJV). Gifts can be harmless enough, but in a setting like this the idea is that the “gift” is in exchange for some “profit [or, gain].” Therefore they are bribes (cf. ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), and to be hated or rejected. Abram, for example, would not take anything that the king of Sodom had to offer, “lest [he] say, “I have made Abram rich” (Gen 14:22-24).
Proverbs 17:8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 17:8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
8 A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of those who give it;
wherever they turn they prosper.(A)
Proverbs 17:8
New English Translation
Proverbs 17:8
New English Translation
8 A bribe works like[a] a charm[b] for the one who offers it;[c]
in whatever he does[d] he succeeds.[e]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 17:8 tn The phrase “works like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
- Proverbs 17:8 tn Heb “a stone of favors”; NAB, NRSV “a magic stone.” The term שֹׁחַד (shokhad, “bribe”) could be simply translated as “a gift,” but the second half of the verse says that the one who offers it is successful. At best it could be a gift that opens doors; at worst it is a bribe. The word שֹׁחַד is never used of a disinterested gift, so there is always something of the bribe in it (e.g., Ps 15:5; Isa 1:23). Here it is “a stone that brings favor,” the genitive being the effect or the result of the gift. In other words, it has magical properties and “works like a charm.”
- Proverbs 17:8 tn Heb “in the eyes of its owner.”
- Proverbs 17:8 tn Heb “in all that he turns”; NASB, NIV “wherever he turns.”
- Proverbs 17:8 sn As C. H. Toy points out, the sage is merely affirming a point without making a comment—those who use bribery meet with widespread success (Proverbs [ICC], 341). This does not amount to an endorsement of bribery.
Proverbs 20:17
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 20:17
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
17 Bread gained by deceit is sweet,
but afterward the mouth will be full of gravel.(A)
Proverbs 20:17
New English Translation
Proverbs 20:17
New English Translation
17 Bread gained by deceit[a] tastes sweet to a person,[b]
but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.[c]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 20:17 tn Heb “bread of deceit” (so KJV, NAB). This refers to food gained through dishonest means. The term “bread” is a synecdoche of specific for general, referring to anything obtained by fraud, including food.
- Proverbs 20:17 tn Heb “a man.”
- Proverbs 20:17 sn The image of food and eating is carried throughout the proverb. Food taken by fraud seems sweet at first, but afterward it is not. To end up with a mouth full of gravel (a mass of small particles; e.g., Job 20:14-15; Lam 3:16) implies by comparison that what has been taken by fraud will be worthless and useless and certainly in the way (like food turning into sand and dirt).
Proverbs 20:21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 20:21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
21 An estate quickly acquired in the beginning
will not be blessed in the end.(A)
Proverbs 20:21
New English Translation
Proverbs 20:21
New English Translation
Read full chapter
Footnotes
- Proverbs 20:21 tc The Kethib reads מְבֻחֶלֶת (mebukhelet), “gotten by greed” (based on a cognate Syriac verb, “to be greedy”), but the Qere is מְבֹהֶלֶת (mevohelet), “gotten hastily [or, quickly].” A large number of mss and the ancient versions read with the Qere (cf. KJV, ASV “gotten hastily”; NAB “gained hastily”; NIV “quickly gained”; NRSV “quickly acquired”).sn If the inheritance is obtained quickly, it could mean prematurely (e.g., Luke 15:12) or cruelly (Prov 19:26). The inheritance is gained without labor or without preparation.
- Proverbs 20:21 tn The form is the Pual imperfect, “will not be blessed,” suggesting that divine justice is at work. sn The Hebrew verb means “enriched, made fruitful, prospered.” Whatever the inheritance was, it will not reach its full potential or even remain permanent.
- Proverbs 20:21 tn Heb “in its end”; KJV, ASV “the end thereof.”
Proverbs 21:5-7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 21:5-7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,
but everyone who is hasty comes only to want.(A)
6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
is a fleeting vapor and a snare[a] of death.(B)
7 The violence of the wicked will sweep them away
because they refuse to do what is just.(C)
Footnotes
- 21.6 Gk: Heb seekers
Proverbs 21:5-7
New English Translation
Proverbs 21:5-7
New English Translation
5 The plans of the diligent[a] lead[b] only to plenty,[c]
but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.[d]
6 Making a fortune[e] by a lying tongue is like[f] a vapor driven back and forth;[g]
they seek death.[h]
7 The violence[i] done by the wicked[j] will drag them away
because[k] they have refused to do what is right.[l]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 21:5 tn The word “diligent” is an adjective used substantivally. The related verb means “to cut, sharpen, decide”; so the adjective describes one who is “sharp”—one who acts decisively. The word “hasty” has the idea of being pressed or pressured into quick actions. So the text contrasts calculated expeditiousness with unproductive haste. C. H. Toy does not like this contrast, and so proposes changing the latter to “lazy” (Proverbs [ICC], 399), but W. McKane rightly criticizes that as unnecessarily forming a pedestrian antithesis (Proverbs [OTL], 550).
- Proverbs 21:5 tn The term “lead” is supplied in the translation.
- Proverbs 21:5 tn The Hebrew noun translated “plenty” comes from the verb יָתַר (yatar), which means “to remain over.” So the calculated diligence will lead to abundance, prosperity.
- Proverbs 21:5 tn Heb “lack; need; thing needed”; NRSV “to want.”
- Proverbs 21:6 tn The first word of the verse is the noun meaning “doing, deed, work.” The BHS editors suggest reading with the LXX an active participle—“the one who makes” (cf. NAB “He who makes”). The second word means “treasure,” from the verb “lay up, store up.” It is an objective genitive here.
- Proverbs 21:6 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
- Proverbs 21:6 tn The Hebrew הֶבֶל נִדָּף (hevel niddaf) is properly “a driven vapor” (“driven” = the Niphal participle). The point of the metaphor is that the ill-gotten gains will vanish into thin air. The LXX has “pursues” (as if reading רֹדֵף, rodef); cf. NAB “chasing a bubble over deadly snares.”
- Proverbs 21:6 tn The Hebrew has “seekers of death,” meaning “[they that seek them] are seekers of death,” or that the fortune is “a fleeting vapor for those who seek death.” The sense is not readily apparent. The Greek and the Latin versions have “snares of death”; the form מוֹקְשֵׁי (moqeshe) was read instead of מְבַקְשֵׁי (mevaqqeshe). This reading does not make a more credible metaphor, and one must explain the loss of the letter ב (bet) in the textual variant. It is, however, slightly easier to interpret in the verse, and is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). But whether the easier reading is the correct one in this case would be difficult to prove.
- 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.
- Proverbs 21:7 tn Heb “violence of the wicked.” This is a subjective genitive: “violence which the wicked do.”
- 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.
- 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).
Proverbs 21:14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 21:14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
14 A gift in secret averts anger,
and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.(A)
Proverbs 21:14
New English Translation
Proverbs 21:14
New English Translation
14 A gift given[a] in secret subdues[b] anger,
and a bribe given secretly[c] subdues[d] strong wrath.[e]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 21:14 sn The synonymous parallelism joins the more neutral term “gift” with the more specific “bribe.” D. Kidner notes that this underscores how hard it is to tell the difference between them, especially since they accomplish similar things (Proverbs [TOTC], 143).
- Proverbs 21:14 tn The word כָּפָה (kafah) occurs only here; it means “to subdue,” but in New Hebrew it means “to overturn; to compel.” The BHS editors suggest a change to כָּבָה (kavah), “to be quenched,” based on Symmachus and Tg. Prov 21:14, but there is no substantial improvement in the text’s meaning with such a change.
- Proverbs 21:14 tn Heb “a bribe in the bosom” (so NASB). This refers to a gift hidden in the folds of the garment, i.e., given secretly (cf. NIV “a bribe concealed in the cloak”).
- Proverbs 21:14 tn The repetition of the term “subdues” in the second line is supplied in the translation.
- Proverbs 21:14 tc The LXX offers a moralizing translation not too closely tied to the MT: “he who withholds a gift stirs up violent wrath.”
Proverbs 28:6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Proverbs 28:6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
6 Better to be poor and walk in integrity
than to be crooked in one’s ways even though rich.(A)
Proverbs 28:6
New English Translation
Proverbs 28:6
New English Translation
6 A poor person[a] who walks in his integrity is better
than one who is perverse in his ways[b] even though[c] he is rich.[d]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 28:6 sn This chapter gives a lot of attention to the contrast between the poor and the rich, assuming an integrity for the poor that is not present with the rich; the subject is addressed in vv. 6, 8, 11, 20, 22, 25, and 27 (G. A. Chutter, “Riches and Poverty in the Book of Proverbs,” Crux 18 [1982]: 23-28).
- Proverbs 28:6 tn The Hebrew term translated “ways” is in the dual, suggesting that the person has double ways, i.e., he is hypocritical. C. H. Toy does not like this idea and changes the form to the plural (Proverbs [ICC], 497), but his emendation is gratuitous and should be rejected.
- Proverbs 28:6 tn Heb “and he is rich.” Many English versions treat this as a concessive clause (cf. KJV “though he be rich”).
- Proverbs 28:6 sn This is another “better” saying, contrasting a poor person who has integrity with a rich person who is perverse. Of course there are rich people with integrity and perverse poor people, but that is not of interest here. If it came to the choices described here, honest poverty is better than corrupt wealth.
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New English Translation (NET)
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