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Proverbs 11:16-17
New English Translation
Proverbs 11:16-17
New English Translation
16 A generous woman[a] gains honor,
and ruthless men[b] seize wealth.[c]
17 A kind person[d] benefits[e] himself,[f]
but a cruel person brings himself trouble.[g]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 11:16 tn Heb “a woman of grace.” The genitive חֵן (khen, “grace”) functions as an attributive adjective. The contrast is between “a gracious woman” (אֵשֶׁת־חֵן, ʾeshet khen), a woman who is not only graceful but generous, and “powerful men,” a term usually having a bad sense, such as tyrants or ruthless men.
- Proverbs 11:16 tn Heb “those who are terrifying.” The term עָרִיץ (ʿarits) refers to a person who strikes terror into the hearts of his victims. The term refers to a ruthless person who uses violence to overcome his victims (BDB 792 s.v.). Cf. ASV, NASB, NLT “violent men”; NRSV “the aggressive.”
- Proverbs 11:16 tc The LXX adds: “She who hates virtue makes a throne for dishonor; the idle will be destitute of means.” This reading is followed by several English versions (e.g., NAB, NEB, NRSV, TEV). C. H. Toy concludes that MT provides remnants of the original, but that the LXX does not provide the full meaning (Proverbs [ICC], 229).sn The implication is that the ruthless men will obtain wealth without honor, and therefore this is not viewed as success by the writer.
- Proverbs 11:17 tn Heb “man of kindness,” “of loyalty,” or “of loyal love.”sn This contrasts the “kind person” and the “cruel person” (one who is fierce, cruel), showing the consequences of their dispositions.
- Proverbs 11:17 tn The term גֹּמֶל (gomel) means “to deal fully [or “adequately”] with” someone or something. The kind person will benefit himself.
- Proverbs 11:17 tn Heb “his own soul.” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) is used as a synecdoche of part (= soul) for the whole (= person): “himself” (BDB 660 s.v. 4).
- Proverbs 11:17 tn Heb “brings trouble to his flesh.”sn There may be a conscious effort by the sage to contrast “soul” and “body”: He contrasts the benefits of kindness for the “soul” (translated “himself”) with the trouble that comes to the “flesh/body” (translated “himself”) of the cruel.
Proverbs 11:16-17
English Standard Version
Proverbs 11:16-17
English Standard Version
16 (A)A gracious woman gets honor,
and (B)violent men get riches.
17 (C)A man who is kind benefits himself,
but a cruel man hurts himself.
Proverbs 12:10
New English Translation
Proverbs 12:10
New English Translation
10 A righteous person cares for[a] the life of his animal,
but even the most compassionate acts[b] of the wicked are cruel.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 12:10 tn Heb “knows”; NLT “concerned for the welfare of.” For יָדַע (yadaʿ) meaning “to care for” see HALOT 391 s.v. Qal 4 and 7, NIDOTTE 401 s.v., and compare Job 9:21; Ps 1:6.
- Proverbs 12:10 tn Heb “but the mercies.” The additional words appear in the translation for the sake of clarification. The line can be interpreted in two ways: (1) when the wicked exhibit a kind act, they do it in a cruel way, or (2) even the kindest of their acts is cruel by all assessments.
Proverbs 12:10
English Standard Version
Proverbs 12:10
English Standard Version
10 (A)Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast,
but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
Proverbs 18:23
New English Translation
Proverbs 18:23
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 18:23 tn Heb “speaks supplications”; NIV “pleads for mercy.” The poor man has to ask for help because he has no choice (cf. CEV). The Hebrew term תַּחֲנוּן (takhanun) is a “supplication for favor” (related to the verb חָנַן [khanan], “to be gracious; to show favor”). So the poor man speaks, but what he speaks is a request for favor.
- Proverbs 18:23 sn The rich person responds harshly to the request. He has hardened himself against such appeals because of relentless demands. The proverb is an observation saying; it simply describes the way the world generally works, rather than setting this out as the ideal.
Proverbs 18:23
English Standard Version
Proverbs 18:23
English Standard Version
23 The poor use entreaties,
but (A)the rich answer roughly.
Proverbs 19:17
New English Translation
Proverbs 19:17
New English Translation
17 The one who is gracious to[a] the poor lends to[b] the Lord,
and the Lord[c] will repay him[d] for his good deed.[e]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 19:17 sn The participle חוֹנֵן (khonen, “shows favor to”) is related to the word for “grace.” The activity here is the kind favor shown poor people for no particular reason and with no hope of repayment. It is literally an act of grace.
- Proverbs 19:17 tn The form מַלְוֵה (malveh) is the Hiphil participle from לָוָה (lavah) in construct; it means “to cause to borrow; to lend.” The expression here is “lender of the Lord.” The person who helps the poor becomes the creditor of God.
- Proverbs 19:17 tn Heb “he.” The referent of the third person masculine singular pronoun is “the Lord” in the preceding line, which has been supplied here in the translation for clarity.
- Proverbs 19:17 sn The promise of reward does not necessarily mean that the person who gives to the poor will get money back; the rewards in the book of Proverbs involve life and prosperity in general.
- Proverbs 19:17 tn Heb “and his good deed will repay him.” The word גְּמֻלוֹ (gemulo) could be (1) the subject or (2) part of a double accusative of the verb. Understanding it as part of the double accusative makes better sense, for then the subject of the verb is God. How “his deed” could repay him is not immediately obvious.
Proverbs 19:17
English Standard Version
Proverbs 19:17
English Standard Version
Proverbs 21:10
New English Translation
Proverbs 21:10
New English Translation
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Footnotes
- Proverbs 21:10 tn Heb “soul.” The Hebrew text uses נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, traditionally, “soul”) as the formal subject of the sentence—“the soul of a wicked man desires.” This term has at its core the idea of appetites, and so its use here underscores that the cravings are deep-seated (BDB 660 s.v. 5), and the translation “appetite” reflects this.
- Proverbs 21:10 tn The verb אִוְּתָה (ʾivvetah) is a Piel perfect. Categorically, Piel verbs are dynamic rather than stative, so the perfect form should be understood as past or perfective. In the Qal, some verbs for “desire” are stative and some dynamic; so semantically the question could be raised whether this is a rare, or lone, stative in the Piel. If stative, it could be understood as present tense, as rendered in most translations. But it is doubtful that more recent developments in linguistics and biblical Hebrew influenced any of the translations. However, as perfective we should understand that this is what they have set their desire on, and that is ongoing, so a present time relevance is appropriate. In this proverb the first colon provides the setting as a basis, and the second colon gives the result. We may understand it as “because [he/she] has desired evil, his/her neighbor will not be shown favor.”
- Proverbs 21:10 tn The form יֻחַן (yukhan) is a Hophal imperfect from חָנַן (khanan); it means “to be shown mercy”—here negated to mean “he will not be shown mercy.” The person who lives to satisfy his own craving for evil will not be interested in meeting the needs of others.
Proverbs 21:10
English Standard Version
Proverbs 21:10
English Standard Version
10 The soul of the wicked desires evil;
his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.
Proverbs 28:13
New English Translation
Proverbs 28:13
New English Translation
13 The one who covers[a] his transgressions will not prosper,[b]
but whoever confesses them and forsakes them will find mercy.[c]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 28:13 tn The Hebrew participles provide the subject matter in this contrast. On the one hand is the person who covers over (מְכַסֶּה, mekhasseh) his sins. This means refusing to acknowledge them in confession, and perhaps rationalizing them away. On the other hand there is the one who both “confesses” (מוֹדֶה, modeh) and “forsakes” (עֹזֵב, ʿozev) the sin. To “confess” sins means to acknowledge them, to say the same thing about them that God does.
- Proverbs 28:13 sn The verse contrasts the consequences of each. The person who refuses to confess will not prosper. This is an understatement (a figure of speech known as tapeinosis); the opposite is the truth, that eventually such a person will be undone and ruined. On the other hand, the penitent will find mercy. This expression is a metonymy of cause for the effect—although “mercy” is mentioned, what mercy provides is intended, i.e., forgiveness. In other passages the verb “conceal” is used of God’s forgiveness—he covers over the iniquity (Ps 32:1). Whoever acknowledges sin, God will cover it; whoever covers it, God will lay it open.
- Proverbs 28:13 sn This verse is unique in the book of Proverbs; it captures the theology of forgiveness (e.g., Pss 32; 51). Every part of the passage is essential to the point: Confession of sins as opposed to concealing them, coupled with a turning away from them, results in mercy.
Proverbs 28:13
English Standard Version
Proverbs 28:13
English Standard Version
13 Whoever (A)conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
but he who (B)confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
New English Translation (NET)
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English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.