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Proverbs 21:4
New English Translation
Proverbs 21:4
New English Translation
4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart—
what the wicked cultivate[a] is sin.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 21:4 tc The MT reads “the tillage (נִר, nir) of the wicked.” The LXX, other versions, and some Hebrew manuscripts read “the lamp (נֵר, ner) of the wicked” (so ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV). Both are difficult in the context.tn The MT’s נִר (nir) refers to “ground that has recently been cultivated” (HALOT 723, s.v.), hence “tillage” (NAB), or “plowing” (KJV). This image goes one step behind the metaphor of planting to the cultivating the ground, but it may still have the harvest from such work in view. What the wicked cultivate (and produce) is sin. The saying perhaps looks at their haughty attitude as the groundwork for of their actions which are sinful. The LXX’s “lamp” does not solve the difficulty of the relationship between the expressions. We would somehow need to equate haughtiness with what the wicked consider a (guiding?) light, so that it is evaluated as sin.
Proverbs 21:4
World English Bible
Proverbs 21:4
World English Bible
4 A high look and a proud heart,
the lamp of the wicked, is sin.
Proverbs 21:24
New English Translation
Proverbs 21:24
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 21:24 tn The word זֵד (zed, “proud”) comes from the verb זִיד (zid, “to boil up; to seethe; to act proudly [or, presumptuously].” Just as water boiling up in a pot will boil over, so the presumptuous person “oversteps” the boundaries.
- Proverbs 21:24 tn The word יָהִיר (yahir) means “haughty,” that is, to be or show oneself to be presumptuous or arrogant.
- Proverbs 21:24 tn Heb “proud haughty scorner his name” (KJV similar). There are several ways that the line could be translated: (1) “Proud, arrogant—his name is scoffer” or (2) “A proud person, an arrogant person—‘Scoffer’ is his name.” BDB 267 s.v. זֵד suggests, “A presumptuous man, [who is] haughty, scoffer is his name.”
- Proverbs 21:24 tn Heb “does.” The Qal active participle “does” serves as the main verb, and the subject is “proud person” in the first line.
- Proverbs 21:24 tn The expression בְּעֶבְרַת זָדוֹן (beʿevrat zadon) means “in the overflow of insolence.” The genitive specifies what the overflow is; the proud deal in an overflow of pride. Cf. NIV “overweening pride”; NLT “boundless arrogance.”sn The portrait in this proverb is not merely of one who is self-sufficient, but one who is insolent, scornful, and arrogant.
Proverbs 21:24
World English Bible
Proverbs 21:24
World English Bible
24 The proud and arrogant man—“Scoffer” is his name—
he works in the arrogance of pride.
Proverbs 22:4
New English Translation
Proverbs 22:4
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 22:4 tn The Hebrew term עֵקֶב (ʿeqev, “reward”) is related to the term meaning “heel”; it refers to the consequences or the reward that follows (akin to the English expression “on the heels of”).
- Proverbs 22:4 tn “Humility” is used here in the religious sense of “piety”; it is appropriately joined with “the fear of the Lord.” Some commentators, however, make “the fear of the Lord” the first in the series of rewards for humility, but that arrangement is less likely here.
- Proverbs 22:4 tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This is an objective genitive; the Lord is the object of the fear.
Proverbs 22:4
World English Bible
Proverbs 22:4
World English Bible
4 The result of humility and the fear of Yahweh
is wealth, honor, and life.
Proverbs 25:27
New English Translation
Proverbs 25:27
New English Translation
27 It is not good[a] to eat too much honey,
nor is it honorable for people to seek their own glory.[b]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 25:27 sn This is a figure of speech known as tapeinosis—a deliberate understatement to emphasize a worst-case scenario: “it is bad!”
- Proverbs 25:27 tn Heb “and the investigation of their glory is not glory.” This line is difficult to understand but it forms an analogy to honey—glory, like honey, is good, but not to excess. The LXX rendered this, “it is proper to honor notable sayings.” A. A. MacIntosh suggests, “He who searches for glory will be distressed” (“A Note on Prov 25:27, ” VT 20 [1970]: 112-14). G. E. Bryce has “to search out difficult things is glorious” (“Another Wisdom ‘Book’ in Proverbs,” JBL 91 (1972): 145-47). R. C. Van Leeuwen suggests, “to seek difficult things is as glory” (“Proverbs 25:27 Once Again,” VT 36 [1986]: 105-14). The Hebrew is cryptic, but not unintelligible: “seeking their glory [is not] glory.” It is saying that seeking one’s own glory is dishonorable.
Proverbs 25:27
World English Bible
Proverbs 25:27
World English Bible
27 It is not good to eat much honey,
nor is it honorable to seek one’s own honor.
Proverbs 26:16
New English Translation
Proverbs 26:16
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 26:16 tn Heb “in his eyes.” The lazy person thinks that he has life all figured out and has chosen the wise course of action—but he is simply lazy. J. H. Greenstone says, for example, “Much anti-intellectualism may be traced to such rationalization for laziness” (Proverbs, 269).
- Proverbs 26:16 tn The term means “taste; judgment.” The related verb means “to taste; to perceive,” that is, “to examine by tasting,” or examine by experiencing (e.g., Ps 34:9). Here the idea is expressed with the participle in construct, “those returners [of] good sense,” those who answer tastefully, with discretion. Cf. NIV “who (+ can NRSV) answer discreetly.”
Proverbs 26:16
World English Bible
Proverbs 26:16
World English Bible
16 The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes
than seven men who answer with discretion.
Proverbs 27:2
New English Translation
Proverbs 27:2
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 27:2 tn Heb “a stranger.” This does not necessarily refer to a non-Israelite, as has been demonstrated before in the book of Proverbs, but these are people outside the familiar and accepted circles. The point is that such a person would be objective in speaking about your abilities and accomplishments.
- Proverbs 27:2 sn “Mouth” and “lips” are metonymies of cause; they mean “what is said.” People should try to avoid praising themselves. Self praise can easily become a form of pride, even if it begins with trivial things. It does not establish a reputation; reputation comes from what others think about you.
- Proverbs 27:2 tn “a foreigner”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV “a stranger.”
Proverbs 27:2
World English Bible
Proverbs 27:2
World English Bible
2 Let another man praise you,
and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.
Proverbs 27:21
New English Translation
Proverbs 27:21
New English Translation
21 As the crucible is for silver and the furnace is for gold,[a]
so a person[b] must put[c] his praise[d] to the test.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 27:21 tn Heb “A crucible is for silver. A furnace is for gold. A person is for his [word of] praise.” The analogy is implicit and represented in translation by the comparatives “as” and “so.” A crucible and furnace are used to melt the metals, refining them or verifying their purity. Likewise, every person should test their praise.
- Proverbs 27:21 tn The Hebrew term אִישׁ (ʾish) often refers to a male, but can also mean a person, whether male or female.
- Proverbs 27:21 tn The Hebrew saying lacks a verb. The verbal phrase “must put to the test” was supplied in the translation in view of the analogy of testing or refining precious metals. Many English versions (NASB, NIV, ESV, NRSV) supply “is tested by” for the same reason. Whether the person is testing his praise or being tested by it depends on the structure of the saying and the prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase says that the person is לְפִי (lefi), “for the mouth of” his praise. The noun פֶּה (peh) “mouth” can stand for “word,” i.e., what is spoken by the mouth, hence “the [spoken] word of his praise.” But also, the combination of ל (lamed) with פֶּה (peh) can mean “according to.” The other translations take the concept of testing from the first part of the line and join it to the gloss for לְפִי “according to.” However, לְפִי only means “according to” in the sense of “proportionate to” (cf. Exod 12:4; 16:16; Lev 27:16), not instrumentally, as in “by [means of].” Additionally, the proverb has three parts, each with noun plus lamed plus noun (or noun phrase). It is structurally consistent to view the crucible, the furnace, and the person as all having the same role of testing what follows the preposition lamed.
- Proverbs 27:21 tn Heb “his praise.” The pronominal suffix could be an objective genitive (about him, i.e., the praise he receives) or a subjective genitive (by him, i.e., the praise he gives). If intended to be an objective genitive, the proverb could mean two things. A person must test, sift through and evaluate, the praise he or she receives. Or a person must prove, verify by being worthy of, the word of praise he or she receives. If it is a subjective genitive, it means a person must refine, make valuable, the praise that he or she gives. Some commentators interpret a subjective genitive to mean that people stand revealed by what or how they praise (D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 168). But the structure of the saying positions the person as one performing a test, along with the crucible and the furnace.
Proverbs 27:21
World English Bible
Proverbs 27:21
World English Bible
21 The crucible is for silver,
and the furnace for gold;
but man is refined by his praise.
Proverbs 29:23
New English Translation
Proverbs 29:23
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 29:23 tn Heb “pride of a man,” with “man” functioning as a possessive. There is no indication in the immediate context that this is restricted only to males.
- Proverbs 29:23 tn There is a wordplay here due to the repetition of the root שָׁפֵל (shafel). In the first line the verb תִּשְׁפִּילֶנּוּ (tishpilennu) is the Hiphil imperfect of the root, rendered “will bring him low.” In the second line the word is used in the description of the “lowly of spirit,” שְׁפַל־רוּחַ (shefal ruakh). The contrast works well: The proud will be brought “low,” but the one who is “lowly” will be honored. In this instance the wordplay can be preserved in the translation.
- Proverbs 29:23 tn Heb “low in spirit”; KJV “humble in spirit.” This refers to an attitude of humility. sn The Hebrew word translated “lowly” forms an implied comparison: To be humble is like being low, base, earthbound; whereas pride is often compared to being high, lofty—at least in one’s own eyes.
Proverbs 29:23
World English Bible
Proverbs 29:23
World English Bible
23 A man’s pride brings him low,
but one of lowly spirit gains honor.
New English Translation (NET)
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