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Proverbs 4:14-19
New English Translation
Proverbs 4:14-19
New English Translation
14 Do not enter the path of the wicked
or walk[a] in the way of those who are evil.
15 Avoid it, do not go on it;
turn away from it, and go on.[b]
16 For they cannot sleep[c] unless they cause harm;[d]
they are robbed of sleep[e] until they make someone stumble.[f]
17 Indeed they have eaten[g] bread gained from wickedness[h]
and drink[i] wine obtained from violence.[j]
18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light,[k]
growing brighter and brighter[l] until full day.[m]
19 The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness;
they do not know what they stumble over.[n]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 4:14 tn The verb אָשַׁר (ʾashar, “to walk”) is not to be confused with the identically spelled homonym אָשַׁר “to pronounce happy” as in BDB 80 s.v. אָשַׁר.
- Proverbs 4:15 sn The verb עָבַר (ʿavar, “to cross over; to travel through”) ends both cola. In the first it warns against going on wrong paths; in the second it means “to go your own way,” but may hint that the way will cross over the wrong way. The rapid sequence of commands stresses the urgency of the matter.
- Proverbs 4:16 tn The verb יָשַׁן (yashan) “to be asleep” is a stative root. In the imperfect it can be future “will not sleep” or modal, in this case abilitive, “are not able to sleep.”
- Proverbs 4:16 sn The verb is רָעַע (raʿaʿ), which means “to do evil; to harm.” The verse is using the figure of hyperbole to stress the preoccupation of some people with causing trouble. R. L. Alden says, “How sick to find peace only at the price of another man’s misfortune” (Proverbs, 47).
- Proverbs 4:16 sn Heb “their sleep is robbed/seized”; these expressions are metonymical for their restlessness in plotting evil.
- Proverbs 4:16 sn The Hiphil imperfect (Kethib) means “cause to stumble.” This idiom (from hypocatastasis) means “bring injury/ruin to someone” (BDB 505-6 s.v. כָּשַׁל Hiph.1).
- Proverbs 4:17 tn The verb לָחֲמוּ (lakhamu) is a perfect form of a dynamic root, and therefore past or perfective. This serves as verification of the description in the previous verse.
- Proverbs 4:17 tn Heb “the bread of wickedness” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV). There are two ways to take the genitives: (1) genitives of apposition: wickedness and violence are their food and drink (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT), or (2) genitives of source: they derive their livelihood from the evil they do (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 93).
- Proverbs 4:17 tn The verb is an imperfect, either present or future, saying what they do or forecasting what they will do. Being paired with a perfect verb in the beginning of the verse, the description combines their past pattern with what they continue to do.
- Proverbs 4:17 tn Heb “the wine of violence” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV). This is a genitive of source, meaning that the wine they drink was plundered from their violent crime. The Hebrew is structured in an AB:BA chiasm: “For they eat the bread of wickedness, and the wine of violence they drink.” The word order in the translation is reversed for the sake of smoothness and readability.
- Proverbs 4:18 tn Heb “like light of brightness.” This construction is an attributive genitive: “bright light.” The word “light” (אוֹר, ʾor) refers to the early morning light or the dawn (BDB 21 s.v.). The point of the simile is that the course of life that the righteous follow is like the clear, bright morning light. It is illumined, clear, easy to follow, and healthy and safe—the opposite of what darkness represents.
- Proverbs 4:18 tn A literal rendering would appear to be “walking and becoming bright.” When the Qal active participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) is paired with another participle (or adj.) it can express the intensification of an event, that is, the second element in the pairing continues on and increases in character. Cf. Jonah 1:11 and see HALOT 246-247 s.v. הָלַךְ 5).
- Proverbs 4:18 tn Heb “until the day is established.” This expression refers to the coming of the full day or the time of high noon.
- Proverbs 4:19 sn The image of paths, brightness or darkness, and stumbling illustrate the contrast of lifestyles. When acting with righteousness one’s course becomes clearer and more sure, while the wicked are caught in their ways, ignorant of why they fall.
Proverbs 4:14-19
Common English Bible
Proverbs 4:14-19
Common English Bible
14 Don’t go on the way of the wicked;
don’t walk on the path of evil people.
15 Avoid it! Don’t turn onto it;
stay off of it and keep going!
16 They don’t sleep unless they do evil;
they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.
17 They eat the bread of evil,
and they drink the wine of violence.
18 The way of the righteous is like morning light
that gets brighter and brighter till it is full day.
19 The path of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they don’t know where they will stumble.
Proverbs 13:20
New English Translation
Proverbs 13:20
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 13:20 tn Heb “walks.” When used with the preposition אֶת (ʾet, “with”), the verb הָלַךְ (halakh, “to walk”) means “to associate with” someone (BDB 234 s.v. הָלַךְ II.3.b; e.g., Mic 6:8; Job 34:8). The active participle of הָלַךְ (“to walk”) stresses continual, durative action. One should stay in close association with the wise, and move in the same direction they do.
- Proverbs 13:20 tc The Kethib of the MT and two important Greek witnesses read “Walk with the wise and become wise.” The Qere and other important Greek witnesses along with the Syriac, Targum and Vulgate read “One who walks with the wise will become wise.”
- Proverbs 13:20 tn The verb form יֵרוֹעַ (yeroaʿ) is the Niphal imperfect of רָעַע (raʿaʿ), meaning “to suffer hurt.” Several have attempted to parallel the repetition in the wordplay of the first colon. A. Guillaume has “he who associates with fools will be left a fool” (“A Note on the Roots רִיע, יָרַע, and רָעַע in Hebrew,” JTS 15 [1964]: 294). Knox translated the Vulgate thus: “Fool he ends that fool befriends” (cited by D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 104).
Proverbs 13:20
Common English Bible
Proverbs 13:20
Common English Bible
20 Walk with wise people and become wise;
befriend fools and get in trouble.
Proverbs 14:7
New English Translation
Proverbs 14:7
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 14:7 tn The general meaning of the proverb is clear, to avoid association with a fool who is not a source of wisdom. But the precise way that the proverb says it is unclear. The Hebrew in the first colon has the imperative לֵךְ (lekh) “walk” followed by the compound preposition מִנֶּגֶד (minneged) “across from,” “opposite of,” or rarely “[away] from in front of [someone’s eyes].” The most common use of the preposition yields, “Walk across/abreast from a foolish person and you do not [come to] know knowledgeable lips.” Many translations interpret it to say “go/stay away from…” (e.g. NIV, ESV, NAS, KJV) while others say “enter into the presence of…” (ASV, ERV).tc Instead of לֵךְ (lekh) “walk,” the LXX reads “all,” implying the reversal of the two consonants as כֹּל (kol). The Hebrew would mean “everything is opposite of the foolish person.” This is perhaps an idiomatic way of saying that from the fool’s perspective, everything is opposed to him.
- Proverbs 14:7 tn Heb “a man, a stupid fellow.”
- Proverbs 14:7 tn As the perfect form of a stative verb, יָדַעְתָּ (yadaʿta) may be understood as present or past: thus as the result “you do not come to know” or the basis “you have not known.”tc The MT reads וּבַל־יָדַעְתָּ (uval yadaʿta, “you do not know [the lips of knowledge]).” The LXX reflects a Hebrew Vorlage of וּכְלֵי־דַעַת (ukhele daʿat) “instruments of knowledge/discretion.” The textual variant involves wrong word division and orthographic confusion between ב (bet) and כ (kaf). The LXX reading here makes sense if its reading of the first colon is accepted (see earlier note) or if מִנֶּגֶד (minneged) is separative (“walk away from…”). Both would contrast the value of being with a fool and value of wise lips. The LXX of Proverbs can be loose, but this case seems to be the faithful rendering of a slightly different Hebrew copy. Either the LXX or the MT text could just as easily give rise to the other. Both readings are workable and both give the same general advice. Tg. Prov 14:7 freely interprets the verse: “for there is no knowledge on his lips.” C. H. Toy emends the text: “for his lips do not utter knowledge” as in 15:7 (Proverbs [ICC], 285).
- Proverbs 14:7 tn Heb “lips of knowledge” (so KJV, ASV). “Lips” is the metonymy of cause, and “knowledge” is an objective genitive (speaking knowledge) or attributive genitive (knowledgeable speech): “wise counsel.”
Proverbs 14:7
Common English Bible
Proverbs 14:7
Common English Bible
7 Stay away from fools,
for you won’t learn wise speech there.
Proverbs 16:19
New English Translation
Proverbs 16:19
New English Translation
19 It is better to be lowly in spirit[a] with the afflicted
than to share the spoils[b] with the proud.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 16:19 tn Heb “low of spirit”; KJV “of an humble spirit.” This expression describes the person who is humble and submissive before the Lord and therefore inoffensive. It is always necessary to have a humble spirit, whether there is wealth or not.
- Proverbs 16:19 tn Heb “than to divide plunder.” The word “plunder” implies that the wealth taken by the proud was taken violently and wrongfully—spoils are usually taken in warfare. R. N. Whybray translates it with “loot” (Proverbs [CBC], 95). The proud are in rebellion against God, overbearing and oppressive. One should never share the “loot” with them.
Proverbs 16:19
Common English Bible
Proverbs 16:19
Common English Bible
19 Better to be humble with the needy
than to divide plunder with the proud.
Proverbs 20:19
New English Translation
Proverbs 20:19
New English Translation
19 The one who goes about gossiping[a] reveals secrets;
therefore do not associate[b] with someone who is always opening his mouth.[c]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 20:19 sn The word describes a slanderer (NASB), a tale-bearer (KJV, ASV), or an informer. BDB 940 s.v. רָכִיל says the Hebrew expression “goers of slander” means slanderous persons. However, W. McKane observes that these people are not necessarily malicious—they just talk too much (Proverbs [OTL], 537).
- Proverbs 20:19 tn The form is the Hitpael imperfect (of prohibition or instruction) from עָרַב (ʿarav). BDB 786-88 lists six roots with these radicals. The first means “to mix,” but only occurs in derivatives. BDB 786 lists this form under the second root, which means “to take on a pledge; to exchange.” The Hitpael is then defined as “to exchange pledges; to have fellowship with [or, share].” The proverb is warning people to have nothing to do with gossips.
- Proverbs 20:19 tn The verb פֹּתֶה (poteh) is a homonym, related to I פָּתָה (patah, “to be naive; to be foolish”; HALOT 984-85 s.v. I פתה) or II פָּתָה (“to open [the lips]; to chatter”; HALOT 985 s.v. II פתה). So the phrase וּלְפֹתֶה שְׂפָתָיו may be understood either (1) as HALOT 985 s.v. II פתה suggests, “one opens his lips” = he is always talking/gossiping, or (2) as BDB suggests, “one who is foolish as to his lips” (he lacks wisdom in what he says; see BDB 834 s.v. II פָּתָה, noted in HALOT 984 s.v. I פתה 1). The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause for what is said: gossip. If such a person is willing to talk about others, he will be willing to talk about you, so it is best to avoid him altogether.
Proverbs 20:19
Common English Bible
Proverbs 20:19
Common English Bible
19 Gossips reveal secrets;
don’t associate with those who talk too much.
Proverbs 22:5
New English Translation
Proverbs 22:5
New English Translation
5 Thorns and snares[a] are in the path of the perverse,
but the one who guards himself keeps far from them.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 22:5 tc Because MT reading צִנִּים (tsinnim, “thorns”) does not make a very good match with “traps,” it has created some difficulty for interpreters. The word “thorns” may be obscure, but it is supported by the LXX (“prickly plants”) and an apparent cognate “thorns” in Num 33:55 and Josh 23:13. But some (including the editors of BHS) suggest changing it to צַמִּים (tsammim, “traps” changing a נ [nun] to a מ [mem]). But BDB 855 s.v. צַמִּים acknowledges that this word is a doubtful word, attested only a couple of times in Job (e.g., 18:9). W. McKane traces a development from the idea of צֵן (tsen, “basket; trap”) to support this change (Proverbs [OTL], 565). The present translation (like many other English versions) has retained “thorns,” even though the parallelism with “traps” is not very good; as the harder reading it is preferred. The variant readings have little textual or philological support, and simplify the line.sn “Thorns and snares” represent the dangers and threats to life. They would be implied comparisons (hypocatastasis): As a path strewn with thorns and traps, life for the wicked will be filled with dangers and difficulties.
Proverbs 22:5
Common English Bible
Proverbs 22:5
Common English Bible
5 Thorns and nets are in the path of the crooked;
those who guard their lives keep their distance.
Proverbs 22:24-25
New English Translation
Proverbs 22:24-25
New English Translation
24 Do not make friends with an angry person,[a]
and do not associate with a wrathful person,
25 lest you learn[b] his ways
and entangle yourself in a snare.[c]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 22:24 tn Heb “possessor of anger.” This expression is an idiom for “wrathful person” or “an angry person” (cf. NAB “a hotheaded man”; NLT “short-tempered people”). These are people characterized by anger, meaning the anger is not a rare occurrence with them.
- Proverbs 22:25 tn The verb פֶּן־תֶּאֱלַף (pen teʾelaf) is translated “lest you learn.” The idea is more precisely “become familiar with his ways.” The construction indicates that if one associates with such people he will become like them (cf. TEV “you might learn their habits”).
- Proverbs 22:25 sn The warning in this proverb is to avoid associating with a hothead because his influence could be fatal (a similar idea is found in the Instruction of Amenemope, chap. 9, 11:13-14 [ANET 423]).
Proverbs 22:24-25
Common English Bible
Proverbs 22:24-25
Common English Bible
24 Don’t befriend people controlled by anger;
don’t associate with hot-tempered people;
25 otherwise, you will learn their ways
and become trapped.
Proverbs 23:6-8
New English Translation
Proverbs 23:6-8
New English Translation
6 Do not eat the food of a stingy person,[a]
do not crave his delicacies;
7 for he is[b] like someone who has calculated the cost[c] in his mind.[d]
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you;
8 you will vomit up[e] the little bit you have eaten,
and will have wasted your pleasant words.[f]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:6 tn Heb “an evil eye.” This is the opposite of the “good eye” which meant the generous man. The “evil eye” refers to a person who is out to get everything for himself (cf. NASB, NCV, CEV “selfish”). He is ill-mannered and inhospitable (e.g., Prov 28:22). He is up to no good—even though he may appear to be a host.
- Proverbs 23:7 tc The line is difficult; multiple options are possible. As vocalized, the Hebrew says “For, as he has calculated in his soul, so he is.” As it appears in the MT, the line appears to mean that the miser is the kind of person who has calculated the cost of everything in his mind as he offers the food. The LXX has: “Eating and drinking with him is as if one should swallow a hair; do not introduce him to your company nor eat bread with him.” A somewhat free rendering is common in the LXX of Proverbs, but we can infer a Hebrew text which says “For, like a hair in his throat, so he is.” The issue revolves around the letters שער (shin/sin, ʿayin, and resh). The MT reads שָׁעַר (shaʿar) “to calculate” while the LXX has read שֵׂעָר (seʿar) “hair.” The choice here affects which meaning of נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) “soul, throat, breath, life, desire” that translators apply. However verbs of thinking typically relate to the mind (לֵבָב/לֵב; levav/lev, also translated “heart”) and not to the נֶפֶשׁ. The consonants could also be vocalized as שֹׁעָר (shoʿar) “something rotten [in one’s throat]” or שַׁעַר (shaʿar) “a gate [in one’s throat].” The readings taking נֶפֶשׁ to mean “throat” would picture an irritating experience. The Instruction of Amenemope uses “blocking the throat” in a similar saying (chapt. 11, 14:7 [ANET 423]). Most translations follow the MT, while the NRSV accepts the reading “hair.”
- Proverbs 23:7 tn The phrase “the cost” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied by the verb; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
- Proverbs 23:7 tn Heb “soul.”
- Proverbs 23:8 sn Eating and drinking with a selfish miser would be irritating and disgusting. The line is hyperbolic; the whole experience turns the stomach.
- Proverbs 23:8 tn Or “your compliments” (so NASB, NIV); cf. TEV “your flattery.”sn This is the eighth saying; it claims that it would be a mistake to accept hospitality from a stingy person. He is always thinking about the cost, his heart is not in it, and any attempt at pleasant conversation will be lost.
Proverbs 23:6-8
Common English Bible
Proverbs 23:6-8
Common English Bible
6 Don’t eat food with stingy people;
don’t long for their delicacies,
7 because they are like a hair in the throat.[a]
They say to you, “Eat and drink!”
but they don’t mean it.
8 You will eat scraps and vomit them out.
You will waste your pleasant words.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:7 LXX; Heb uncertain
Proverbs 23:20-21
New English Translation
Proverbs 23:20-21
New English Translation
20 Do not spend time[a] among drunkards,[b]
among those who eat too much[c] meat,
21 because drunkards and gluttons become impoverished,
and drowsiness[d] clothes them with rags.[e]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:20 tn Heb “do not be among,” but in the sense of “associate with” (TEV); “join” (NIV); “consort…with” (NAB).
- Proverbs 23:20 tn The verb סָבָא (savaʾ) means “to imbibe; to drink largely.” The participial construction here, סֹבְאֵי־יַיִן (soveʾe yayin), describes “drunkards” (cf. NLT) which is somewhat stronger than saying it refers to “people who drink too much” (cf. NIV, TEV).
- Proverbs 23:20 tn The verb זָלַל (zalal) means “to be light; to be worthless; to make light of.” Making light of something came to mean “to be lavish with; to squander,” especially with regard to food. So it describes “gluttons” primarily, but in the expression there is also room for the person who wastes a lot of food as well.
- Proverbs 23:21 tn Here “drowsiness” is a metonymy of effect or adjunct, put for the drunkenness and gluttony that causes it. So all of it, the drunkenness and the drowsiness that comes from it, brings on the ruin (cf. CEV “you will end up poor”). Likewise, “rags” is a metonymy of adjunct, associated with the poverty brought on by a dissolute lifestyle.
- Proverbs 23:21 sn This is the fourteenth saying, warning about poor associations. Drunkenness and gluttony represent the epitome of the lack of discipline. In the Mishnah they are used to measure a stubborn and rebellious son (m. Sanhedrin 8). W. G. Plaut notes that excessive drinking and eating are usually symptoms of deeper problems; we usually focus more on the drinking because it is dangerous to others (Proverbs, 241-42).
Proverbs 23:20-21
Common English Bible
Proverbs 23:20-21
Common English Bible
20 Don’t hang out with those who get drunk on wine
or those who eat too much meat,
21 because drunks and gluttons will be impoverished;
their stupor will clothe them in rags.
Proverbs 24:1-2
New English Translation
Proverbs 24:1-2
New English Translation
24 Do not envy evil people,[a]
do not desire[b] to be with them;
2 for their hearts contemplate violence,
and their lips speak harm.[c]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 24:1 tn Heb “evil men,” although the context indicates a generic sense.
- Proverbs 24:1 tn The Hitpael jussive is from the verb that means “to crave; to desire.” This is more of a coveting, an intense desire.
- Proverbs 24:2 sn This nineteenth saying warns against evil associations. Evil people are obsessed with destruction and trouble. See on this theme 1:10-19; 3:31 and 23:17. D. Kidner observes that a close view of sinners is often a good antidote to envying them (Proverbs [TOTC], 153).
Proverbs 24:1-2
Common English Bible
Proverbs 24:1-2
Common English Bible
24 Don’t envy evil people,
and don’t long to be with them.
2 Their hearts are focused on violence,
and their lips speak of trouble.
Proverbs 24:21-22
New English Translation
Proverbs 24:21-22
New English Translation
21 Fear the Lord, my child,[a] as well as the king,
and do not associate[b] with rebels,[c]
22 for suddenly their destruction will overtake them,[d]
and who knows the ruinous judgment both the Lord and the king can bring?[e]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 24:21 tn Heb “my son,” but there is no indication in the immediate context that this should be limited only to male children.
- Proverbs 24:21 tn Heb “do not get mixed up with”; cf. TEV “Have nothing to do with”; NIV “do not join with.” The verb עָרַב (ʿarav) is used elsewhere meaning “to exchange; to take on pledge.” In the Hitpael stem it means “to have fellowship; to share; to associate with.” Some English versions (e.g., KJV) interpret as “to meddle” in this context, because “to have fellowship” is certainly not what is meant.
- Proverbs 24:21 tn The form rendered “rebels” is difficult; it appears to be the Qal active participle, plural, from שָׁנָה (shanah), “to change”—“those who change.” The RV might have thought of the idea of “change” when they rendered it “political agitators.” The Syriac and Tg. Prov 24:21 have “fools,” the Latin has “detractors,” and the LXX reads, “do not disobey either of them,” referring to God and the king in the first line. Accordingly the ruin predicted in the next line would be the ruin that God and the king can inflict. If the idea of “changers” is retained, it would have to mean people who at one time feared God and the king but no longer do.
- Proverbs 24:22 tn Heb “will rise” (so NASB).
- Proverbs 24:22 tn Heb “the ruin of the two of them.” Judgment is sent on the rebels both by God and the king. The term פִּיד (pid, “ruin; disaster”) is a metonymy of effect, the cause being the sentence of judgment (= “ruinous judgment” in the translation; cf. NLT “punishment”). The word “two of them” is a subjective genitive—they two bring the disaster on the rebels. The referents (the Lord and the king) have been specified in the translation for clarity.sn The reward for living in peace under God in this world is that those who do will escape the calamities that will fall on the rebellious. Verse 21a is used in 1 Peter 2:17, and v. 22 is used in Romans 13:1-7 (v. 4). This is the thirtieth and last of this collection.
Proverbs 24:21-22
Common English Bible
Proverbs 24:21-22
Common English Bible
21 Fear the Lord, my child, as well as the king.
Don’t associate with those who are rebellious.
22 Disaster comes suddenly from them.
Who can know the ruin that both can bring?
New English Translation (NET)
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Common English Bible (CEB)
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