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The righteous hate falsehood,
    but the wicked act shamefully and disgracefully.
Righteousness guards one whose way is upright,
    but sin overthrows the wicked.(A)

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The righteous person will reject[a] anything false,[b]
but the wicked person will act in shameful disgrace.[c]
Righteousness[d] guards the one who lives with integrity,[e]
but wickedness[f] overthrows the sinner.

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:5 tn Heb “will hate.” The verb שָׂנֵא (saneʾ, “to hate”) can express a range of feelings of dislike or the implications of such. It can, then, have the connotation “to reject, spurn” (see NIDOTTE 1254 s.v.).
  2. Proverbs 13:5 tn Heb “a word of falsehood.” The genitive “falsehood” functions as an attributive genitive. The construct noun דְּבַר (devar) means either “word” or “thing.” Hence, the phrase means “a false word” or “a false thing.”
  3. Proverbs 13:5 tc The versions render this phrase variously: “is ashamed and without confidence” (LXX); “is ashamed and put to the blush” (Tg. Prov 13:5); “confounds and will be confounded” (Vulgate). The variety is due in part to confusion of בָּאַשׁ (baʾash, “to stink”) and בּוֹשׁ (bosh, “to be ashamed”). Cf. NASB “acts disgustingly and shamefully.”tn Heb “acts shamefully and disgracefully.” The verb בָּאַשׁ (baʾash) literally means “to cause a stink; to emit a stinking odor” (e.g., Exod 5:21; Eccl 10:1) and figuratively means “to act shamefully” (BDB 92 s.v.). The verb וְיַחְפִּיר (veyakhpir) means “to display shame.” Together, they can be treated as a verbal hendiadys: “to act in disgraceful shame,” or more colorfully “to make a shameful smell,” or as W. McKane has it, “spread the smell of scandal” (Proverbs [OTL], 460). W. G. Plaut says, “Unhappily, the bad odor adheres not only to the liar but also to the one about whom he lies—especially when the lie is a big one” (Proverbs, 152).
  4. Proverbs 13:6 sn Righteousness refers to that which conforms to law and order. One who behaves with integrity will be safe from consequences of sin.
  5. Proverbs 13:6 tn Heb “integrity of way.” The term דָּרֶךְ (darekh) is a genitive of specification: “integrity in respect to his way.” This means living above reproach in their course of life. Cf. NASB “whose way is blameless”; NAB “who walks honestly.”
  6. Proverbs 13:6 sn Righteousness and wickedness are personified in this proverb to make the point of security and insecurity for the two courses of life.

The light of the righteous rejoices,[a]
    but the lamp of the wicked goes out.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 13.9 Or shines

The light[a] of the righteous shines brightly,[b]
but the lamp[c] of the wicked goes out.[d]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:9 sn The images of “light” and “darkness” are used frequently in scripture. Here “light” is an implied comparison: “light” represents life, joy, and prosperity; “darkness” signifies adversity and death. So the “light of the righteous” represents the prosperous life of the righteous.
  2. Proverbs 13:9 tn The verb יִשְׂמָח (yismakh) is normally translated “to make glad; to rejoice.” But with “light” as the subject, it has the connotation “to shine brightly” (see G. R. Driver, “Problems in the Hebrew Text of Proverbs,” Bib 32 [1951]: 180).
  3. Proverbs 13:9 sn The lamp is an implied comparison as well, comparing the life of the wicked to a lamp that is going to be extinguished.
  4. Proverbs 13:9 tc The LXX adds, “Deceitful souls go astray in sins, but the righteous are pitiful and merciful.” tn The verb דָּעַךְ (daʿakh) means “to go out [in reference to a fire or lamp]; to be extinguished.” The idea is that of being made extinct, snuffed out (cf. NIV, NLT). The imagery may have been drawn from the sanctuary where the flame was to be kept burning perpetually. Not so with the wicked.

22 The good leave an inheritance to their children’s children,
    but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.(A)

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22 A good person leaves an inheritance for[a] his grandchildren,
but the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:22 sn In ancient Israel the idea of leaving an inheritance was a sign of God’s blessing; blessings extended to the righteous and not the sinners.
  2. Proverbs 13:22 sn In the ultimate justice of God, the wealth of the wicked goes to the righteous after death (e.g., Ps 49:10, 17).

25 The righteous have enough to satisfy their appetite,
    but the belly of the wicked is empty.(A)

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25 The righteous has enough food to satisfy[a] his appetite,[b]
but the belly of the wicked will be empty.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 13:25 tn Heb “eats to the abundance of.”
  2. Proverbs 13:25 tn The noun נֶפֶשׁ (traditionally “soul”; cf. KJV, ASV) here means “appetite” (BDB 660 s.v. 5.a).
  3. Proverbs 13:25 tn The imperfect verb תֶּחְסָר (tekhsar) is from the stative root סָחַר (sakhar, “to be devoid of, to decrease, to be empty”) and so should be future tense. sn The wicked may go hungry, or lack all they desire, just as the first colon may mean that what the righteous acquire proves satisfying to them.