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Proverbs 11:3
New English Translation
Proverbs 11:3
New English Translation
3 The integrity of the upright guides them,[a]
but the crookedness of the treacherous[b] destroys them.[c]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 11:3 sn This contrasts two lifestyles, affirming the value of integrity. The upright live with integrity—blamelessness—and that integrity leads them in success and happiness. Those who use treachery will be destroyed by it.
- Proverbs 11:3 tn The verb בָּגַד (bagad) means “to act treacherously, with duplicity, or to betray.”
- Proverbs 11:3 tc The form is a Kethib/Qere reading. The Qere, יְשָׁדֵּם (yeshoddem), is a Qal imperfect of שָׁדַד (shadad, “to devastate”) and is supported by the versions. The syntactically difficult Kethib, וְשַׁדָּם (veshaddam), is a Qal perfect consecutive prefixed with the conjunction vav.
Proverbs 11:3
New International Version
Proverbs 11:3
New International Version
3 The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.(A)
Proverbs 11:6
New English Translation
Proverbs 11:6
New English Translation
6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them,[a]
but the treacherous will be ensnared[b] by their own desires.[c]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 11:6 sn The contrast is between being rescued or delivered (נָצַל, natsal) and being captured (לָכַד, lakhad). Righteousness is freeing; [evil] desires are enslaving.
- Proverbs 11:6 tn The verb לָכַד (lakhad) means “to capture, trap, overpower.” Here it is passive; cf. NIV, TEV “are trapped,” NASB, NKJV “caught,” ESV, NRSV “taken captive.”
- Proverbs 11:6 tc The Hebrew text has the singular construct form וּבְהַוַּת (uvehavvat) which may be from I הַוָּה (havvah, “desire of”) or II הַוָּה (havvah, “disaster of, destruction of”). The line would read “but in the desire of…” (cf. NLT “the ambition of… entraps them”) or “but in the disaster of the treacherous they will be caught.” The BHS editors propose repointing the word to the plural absolute form וּבְהַוֹּת (uvehavvot) resulting in “the treacherous will be ensnared in [their] desires” or “the treacherous will be caught in disasters.” The LXX has a singular form, but it does not represent a Hebrew construct form and not necessarily the same word as the MT: “ungodliness will fall into [the hands of] unrighteousness” or “encounters injustice.”
Proverbs 11:6
New International Version
Proverbs 11:6
New International Version
6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.(A)
Proverbs 21:18
New English Translation
Proverbs 21:18
New English Translation
18 The wicked become a ransom[a] for the righteous,
and the treacherous[b] are taken[c] in the place of the upright.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 21:18 sn The Hebrew word translated “ransom” (כֹּפֶר, kofer) normally refers to a penalty paid in place of some other punishment or the price paid to free a prisoner. But since it seems out of place to suggest that the just face a punishment that they need a ransom for, the proverb remains obscure. Similar wording is reflected in Isa 43:3-4 where God substitutes Egpyt as Judah’s “ransom” and Ethiopia and Seba “in place of” Judah. In that passage Judah is not just, but has been punished and is now being redeemed. Another application reported by R. Murphy is that punishment intended for a group may take the wicked from that group, who then serve metaphorically as a ransom for the righteous (R. Murphy, Proverbs [WBC] 161), but as Murphy points out this is an application rather than the assertion of the proverb. R. N. Whybray (Proverbs [CBC], 121) similarly suggests it may taken to mean that the wicked suffers the evil he has prepared for the righteous, which harmonizes with Proverbs elsewhere (e.g., 11:8). When Haman is taken in place of Mordecai (Esth 7:9-10) would illustrate an application where the righteous escape and the wicked suffer in their place.
- Proverbs 21:18 tn The verb בָּגַד (bagad), here a participle, means “to act treacherously, with duplicity, or to betray.”
- Proverbs 21:18 tn The phrase “are taken” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for smoothness.
Proverbs 21:18
New International Version
Proverbs 21:18
New International Version
18 The wicked become a ransom(A) for the righteous,
and the unfaithful for the upright.
Proverbs 22:12
New English Translation
Proverbs 22:12
New English Translation
12 The eyes of the Lord[a] watched[b] over a cause,[c]
and subverted the words of the treacherous person.[d]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 22:12 sn The “eyes of the Lord” is an anthropomorphic expression; the omniscience of God is the intended meaning. When scripture uses the “eyes” of the Lord, it usually means evaluation, superintending, or safeguarding.
- Proverbs 22:12 tn The first verb is the Hebrew perfect form and the second is a preterite, successive actions in past time. The proverb presents something God has done as prototypical.
- Proverbs 22:12 tn The common Hebrew word דַּעַת (daʿat), with the abstract meaning “knowledge, ability, insight,” is an awkward direct object for this subject and verb. The verb is used one other time with this object but the expression is different (Prov 5:2 “that your lips preserve knowledge,” that is, to say what is wise and not need words of regret). דַּעַת does occur in Prov 29:7 in parallelism to דִּין (din), a cause or legal claim, which suggests a technical use for דַּעַת, such as the facts of a case. HALOT (I, 229) follows D. W. Thomas (VTSupp 3, 285) in proposing a homonym for דַּעַת meaning “claim, right” based on an Arabic cognate. (See also D. W. Thomas “A Note on דַּעַת in Proverbs 22:12, ” JTS 14 [1963]: 93-94). The second half of the proverb supports the idea of ensuring that the truth comes out.
- Proverbs 22:12 tn The participle בֹגֵד (voged) means “one who acts treacherously, a traitor;” cf. NASB “the treacherous man;” ESV “traitor;” NIV “unfaithful;” KJV “transgressor.” What treacherous people say is treachery, that which would distort or undermine a just cause.sn The proverb affirms that God in safeguarding true knowledge will frustrate deception from faithless people—what they say will not have its intended effect.
Proverbs 22:12
New International Version
Proverbs 22:12
New International Version
12 The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.
New English Translation (NET)
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