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Proverbs 19:1
New English Translation
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]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 19:1 sn People should follow honesty even if it leads to poverty (e.g., Prov 18:23; 19:22).
- 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.
- 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.”
Proverbs 19:1
Expanded Bible
Proverbs 19:1
Expanded Bible
19 It is better to be poor and ·honest [L walking in innocence]
than to be foolish and ·tell lies [L have crooked lips].
Proverbs 19:3
New English Translation
Proverbs 19:3
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 19:3 tn Heb “the folly of a man.”
- Proverbs 19:3 tn The verb סָלַף (salaf) normally means “to twist; to pervert; to overturn,” but in this context it means “to subvert” (BDB 701 s.v.); cf. ASV “subverteth.” sn J. H. Greenstone comments: “Man’s own failures are the result of his own folly and should not be attributed to God” (Proverbs, 201).
- Proverbs 19:3 tn The clause begins with vav on the nonverb phrase “against the Lord.” While clause structure and word order is less compelling in a book like Proverbs, this fits well as a circumstantial clause indicating concession.
- Proverbs 19:3 sn The “heart raging” is a metonymy of cause (or adjunct); it represents the emotions that will lead to blaming God for the frustration. Genesis 42:28 offers a calmer illustration of this as the brothers ask what God was doing to them.
Proverbs 19:3
Expanded Bible
Proverbs 19:3
Expanded Bible
3 People’s own foolishness ·ruins their lives [L frustrates their path],
but in their ·minds [L hearts] they ·blame [rage at] the Lord.
Proverbs 19:10
New English Translation
Proverbs 19:10
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 19:10 tn The form נָאוֶה (naʾveh) is an adjective meaning “seemly; comely” in the older English versions like KJV, ASV, “fitting” in more recent ones (e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV). The verbal root נוֹה (noh) only occurs in the Pilel stem, but it also has the basic meaning of “being fitting; being comely.” In this sentence the form is a predicate adjective.
- Proverbs 19:10 sn The verse is simply observing two things that are misfits. It is not concerned with a fool who changes and can handle wealth, or a servant who changes to become a nobleman. It is focused on things that are incongruous.
- Proverbs 19:10 sn In the ancient world the prince would be trained for his rule (hence, one of the original purposes of Proverbs). A slave ruling over princes would be arrogant and cruel, or foolish and unwise. For other unbearable things, e.g., 11:22; 17:7; 26:1; 30:21-23.
Proverbs 19:10
Expanded Bible
Proverbs 19:10
Expanded Bible
10 A fool should not live in luxury.
A slave should not rule over princes [Eccl. 10:5–7].
Proverbs 19:29
New English Translation
Proverbs 19:29
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 19:29 tc The MT reads שְׁפָטִים (shefatim from שֶׁפֶט, shephet), meaning “penalties; judgments.” The text might be מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim) restoring a mem lost by haplography (the previous word ends with mem), and meaning “judicial decisions” (by extension “penalties”). The LXX reads “scourges,” a gloss it uses for שׁוֹטִים (shotim; cf. Prov 26:3), while some propose emending to שְׁבָטִים (shevatim) “rods” (cf. 23:14). Rods might be the instrument of the flogging mentioned in the second half of the verse, but any of the proposals conforms to the convention of parallelism. The main choice is between the MT as it stands and the LXX.
- Proverbs 19:29 tn The verb is a Niphal perfect of כוּן (kun) and may be past, as in “have been prepared,” or focused on the resulting state, as in “are ready.”
Proverbs 19:29
Expanded Bible
Proverbs 19:29
Expanded Bible
29 ·People who make fun of wisdom will be punished [L Punishments were made for mockers],
and ·the backs of foolish people will be beaten [L blows for the backs of fools].
New English Translation (NET)
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Expanded Bible (EXB)
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