Proverbs 15:15
New English Translation
15 All the days[a] of the afflicted[b] are bad,[c]
but one with[d] a cheerful heart has a continual feast.[e]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 15:15 sn The “days” represent what happens on those days (metonymy of subject).
- Proverbs 15:15 tn The contrast is between the “afflicted” and the “good of heart” (a genitive of specification, “cheerful/healthy heart/spirit/attitude”). sn The parallelism suggests that the afflicted is one afflicted within his spirit, for the proverb is promoting a healthy frame of mind.
- Proverbs 15:15 tn Or “evil”; or “catastrophic.”
- Proverbs 15:15 tn “one with” is supplied.
- Proverbs 15:15 sn The image of a continual feast signifies the enjoyment of what life offers (cf. TEV “happy people…enjoy life”). The figure is a hypocatastasis; among its several implications are joy, fulfillment, abundance, pleasure.
Proverbs 15:15
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
15 All the days of the poor are hard,
but a cheerful heart has a continual feast.
Proverbs 22:22-23
New English Translation
22 Do not exploit[a] a poor person because he is poor
and do not crush the needy in court,[b]
23 for the Lord will plead their case[c]
and will rob the life[d] of those who are robbing[e] them.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 22:22 tn Two negated jussives form the instruction here: אַל־תִּגְזָל (ʾal tigzal, “do not exploit”) and וְאַל־תְּדַכֵּא (veʾal tedakkeʾ, “do not crush”). sn Robbing or oppressing the poor is easy because they are defenseless. But this makes the crime tempting as well as contemptible. What is envisioned may be in bounds legally (just) but out of bounds morally.
- Proverbs 22:22 tn Heb “in the gate” (so KJV); NAB, NASB, NRSV “at the gate.” The “gate” of the city was the center of activity, the place of business as well as the place for settling legal disputes. The language of the next verse suggests a legal setting, so “court” is an appropriate translation here.
- Proverbs 22:23 tn The construction uses the verb יָרִיב (yariv) with its cognate accusative. It can mean “to strive,” but here it probably means “to argue a case, plead a case” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV). How the Lord will do this is not specified—either through righteous people or by direct intervention.
- Proverbs 22:23 tn The expression “rob the life” occurs only here. Possibly it means to kill (similar to “seek the life [of someone]”) or perhaps “to take away vitality” by some means.
- Proverbs 22:23 tn The verb קָבַע (qavaʿ, “to rob; to spoil; to plunder”) is used here in both places to reflect the principle of talionic justice. What the oppressors did to the poor will be turned back on them by the Lord.
Proverbs 22:22-23
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
22 Do not rob the poor because they are poor
or crush the afflicted at the gate,(A)
23 for the Lord pleads their cause
and despoils of life those who despoil them.(B)
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.