Proverbs 13:12
New English Translation
12 Hope[a] deferred[b] makes the heart sick,[c]
but a longing fulfilled[d] is like[e] a tree of life.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 13:12 sn The word “hope” (תּוֹחֶלֶת [tokhelet] from יָחַל [yakhal]) also has the implication of a tense if not anxious wait.
- Proverbs 13:12 tn The verb is the Pual participle from מָשַׁךְ (mashakh, “to draw; to drag”).
- Proverbs 13:12 sn Failure in realizing one’s hopes can be depressing or discouraging. People can bear frustration only so long (W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 153).
- Proverbs 13:12 tn Heb “a desire that comes”; cf. CEV “a wish that comes true.”
- Proverbs 13:12 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 13:12
Legacy Standard Bible
Footnotes
- Proverbs 13:12 Lit Expectation
- Proverbs 13:12 Lit coming
Proverbs 13:19
New English Translation
Footnotes
- Proverbs 13:19 tn The verb III עָרַב (ʿarav, “to be sweet”) is stative. The imperfect form of a stative verb should be future tense or modal, not present tense as in most translations.
- Proverbs 13:19 tn Heb “an abomination of fools.” The noun כְּסִילִים (kesilim, “fools”) functions as a subjective genitive: “fools hate to turn away from evil” (cf. NAB, TEV, CEV). T. T. Perowne says: “In spite of the sweetness of good desires accomplished, fools will not forsake evil to attain it” (Proverbs, 103). Cf. Prov 13:12; 29:27.
- Proverbs 13:19 tn The word רָע (raʿ, “bad”) can refer to evil and is traditionally taken as such in this verse. However, רָע can also refer to something of little worth. Perhaps the verse comments on the fool’s unwillingness to forego what is inferior or to avoid cutting corners and to persevere for what is truly desirable.
Proverbs 13:19
Legacy Standard Bible
19 Desire realized is pleasant to the soul,
But it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil.
Proverbs 23:17-18
New English Translation
17 Do not let your heart envy[a] sinners,
but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord[b] all the time.
18 For surely there is a future,[c]
and your hope will not be cut off.[d]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:17 tn The verb in this line is אַל־יְקַנֵּא (ʾal yeqanneʾ), the Piel jussive negated. The verb means “to be jealous, to be zealous”; it describes passionate intensity for something. In English, if the object is illegitimate, it is called “envy”; if it is correct, it is called “zeal.” Here the warning is not to envy the sinners. The second colon could use the verb in the positive sense to mean “but rather let your passion burn for the fear of the Lord.”
- Proverbs 23:17 tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This expression features an objective genitive: “fearing the Lord.”
- Proverbs 23:18 tn Heb “end” (so KJV); ASV “a reward.”
- Proverbs 23:18 sn The saying is an understatement; far from being cut off, the “hope” will be realized in the end. So this saying, the thirteenth, advises people to be zealous for the fear of the Lord, their religion, rather than for anything that sinners have to offer.
Proverbs 23:17-18
Legacy Standard Bible
17 (A)Do not let your heart be jealous of sinners,
But be zealous in the [a](B)fear of Yahweh [b]always.
18 Surely there is a [c](C)future,
And your (D)hope will not be cut off.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:17 Or reverence
- Proverbs 23:17 Lit all the day
- Proverbs 23:18 Lit latter end
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.