Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close NET

Proverbs 17:4
New English Translation

4 One who acts wickedly[a] pays attention to evil counsel;[b]
a liar listens[c] to a malicious tongue.[d]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:4 tn The Hiphil participle מֵרַע (meraʿ) indicates one who is a doer of evil. The line affirms that a person of this nature will eagerly listen to evil talk—it is part of his nature.
  2. Proverbs 17:4 tn Heb “to the lip of evil”; ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV “wicked lips.” The term “lip” is a metonymy of cause for speech (what is said); the term “evil” is an attributive genitive. The same will be true in the parallel line where the expression “to the tongue of destruction” (NASB “a destructive tongue”) means things that are said that destroy others.
  3. Proverbs 17:4 tc The verb מֵזִין (mezin) would a Hiphil participle from זון (zwn, “to feed”). The suggested emendation is מַאֲזִין (maʿazin), derive it from the denominative verb אזן (ʾzn, “to give ear, listen”). Two Hebrew mss have this variant.
  4. Proverbs 17:4 sn Wicked, self-serving people find destructive speech appealing. They should be rebuked and not tolerated (Lev 19:17).
Listen to Proverbs 17:4, Proverbs 17:20, Proverbs 19:1, Proverbs 26:18-19, Proverbs 26:28
Close NASB

Proverbs 17:4
New American Standard Bible

4 An (A)evildoer listens to wicked lips;
A [a]liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:4 Lit falsehood
Next
Proverbs 16
Proverbs 18
Next
Previous Next
Close NET

Proverbs 17:20
New English Translation

20 The one who has a perverse heart[a] does not find good,[b]
and the one who is deceitful in speech[c] falls into trouble.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:20 tn The verse parallels two descriptions of the wicked person: “crooked/perverse of heart” (genitive of specification), and “turned away in his tongue” (deceitful). The first phrase describes twisted intentions. The second, using the Niphal participle (“one turned away”) with “tongue,” the metonymy of cause, describes one who has turned away from speaking truth. Cf. NLT “the twisted tongue tumbles into trouble.”
  2. Proverbs 17:20 tn The phrase “does not find good” is a figure (tapeinosis) meaning, “will experience calamity.” The wicked person can expect trouble ahead.
  3. Proverbs 17:20 tn Heb “tongue”; NIV “whose tongue is deceitful.”
Close NASB

Proverbs 17:20
New American Standard Bible

20 One who has a crooked [a]mind (A)finds nothing good,
And one who is [b](B)corrupted in his language falls into evil.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 17:20 Lit heart
  2. Proverbs 17:20 Lit altered in his tongue
Next
Proverbs 16
Proverbs 18
Next
Previous Next
Close NET

Proverbs 19:1
New English Translation

19 Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity[a]
than one who is perverse in his speech[b] and is a fool.[c]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:1 sn People should follow honesty even if it leads to poverty (e.g., Prov 18:23; 19:22).
  2. Proverbs 19:1 tn Heb “lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy for what one says with his lips. The expression “perverse in his lips” refers to speech that is morally perverted. Some medieval Hebrew mss, the Syriac, and Tg. Prov 19:1 have “his ways” rather than “his lips” (e.g., Prov 28:6); cf. NAB.
  3. Proverbs 19:1 tc The Syriac and Tg. Prov 19:1 read “rich” instead of MT “fool.” This makes tighter antithetical parallelism than MT and is followed by NAB. However, the MT makes sense as it stands; this is an example of metonymical parallelism. The MT reading is also supported by the LXX. The Hebrew construction uses וְהוּא (vehuʾ), “and he [is],” before “fool.” This may be rendered “one who is perverse while a fool” or “a fool at the same time.”
Close NASB

Proverbs 19:1
New American Standard Bible

On Life and Conduct

19 (A)Better is a poor person who (B)walks in his integrity
Than a person who is perverse in [a]speech and is a fool.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 19:1 Lit his lips
Next
Proverbs 18
Proverbs 20
Next
Previous Next
Close NET

Proverbs 26:18-19
New English Translation

18 Like a madman[a] who shoots
firebrands and deadly arrows,[b]
19 so is a person[c] who has deceived his neighbor,
and said, “Was I not only joking?”[d]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 26:18 tn The term כְּמִתְלַהְלֵהַּ (kemitlahleah) is the Hitpalpel participle of the quadriliteral verbal root לִהְלֵהַּ (lihleah), which means “to amaze; to startle” (BDB 529 s.v.). Here it functions as a substantive—the object of the preposition—and has the meaning of “madman” (cf. NRSV “maniac”). This is the only occurrence of the term.
  2. Proverbs 26:18 tn Heb “arrows and death” (so KJV, NASB). This expression can be understood as a nominal hendiadys: “deadly arrows” (so NAB, NIV).
  3. Proverbs 26:19 tn Heb “man.”
  4. Proverbs 26:19 sn The subject of this proverb is not simply a deceiver, but one who does so out of jest, or at least who claims he was joking afterward. (The LXX adds that he says this “whenever he is discovered.”) The participle מְשַׂחֵק (mesakheq) has the idea of “laughing, mocking”; in this context it might convey the idea of “kidding” or “joking.” The point is that such practical joking is immature and often dangerous. To the foolish deceiver it might all seem like fun, like sport, but it can destroy people. One cannot trifle with dangerous weapons, or put them in irresponsible hands; likewise one cannot trifle with human relationships. W. G. Plaut notes, “The only worthwhile humor is that which laughs with, not at others” (Proverbs, 270).
Close NASB

Proverbs 26:18-19
New American Standard Bible

18 Like a maniac who shoots
(A)Flaming arrows, arrows, and death,
19 So is a person who (B)deceives his neighbor,
And says, “(C)Was I not joking?”

Read full chapter
Next
Proverbs 25
Proverbs 27
Next
Previous Next
Close NET

Proverbs 26:28
New English Translation

28 A lying tongue[a] hates those crushed by it,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.[b]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 26:28 tn Heb “the tongue of deception.” The subject matter of this proverb is deceptive speech. The “tongue of deception” (using a metonymy of cause with an attributive genitive) means that what is said is false. Likewise the “smooth mouth” means that what is said is smooth, flattering.
  2. Proverbs 26:28 sn The verse makes it clear that only pain and ruin can come from deception. The statement that the lying tongue “hates those crushed by it” suggests that the sentiments of hatred help the deceiver justify what he says about people. The ruin that he brings is probably on other people, but it could also be taken to include his own ruin.
Close NASB

Proverbs 26:28
New American Standard Bible

28 A lying tongue hates [a]those it crushes,
And a (A)flattering mouth works ruin.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 26:28 Lit its crushed ones
Next
Proverbs 25
Proverbs 27
Next
dropdown
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible is made available by The Lockman Foundation