translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: PRO

label: NET study note

text: “Heart” is a metonymy of subject; it signifies the ability to make decisions, if not the decisions themselves.


text: “Hand” in this passage is a personification; the word is frequently used idiomatically for “power,” and that is the sense intended here.


text: The Lord prefers righteousness above religious service (e.g., Prov 15:8; 21:29 ; 1 Sam 15:22 ; Ps 40:6-8 ; Isa 1:11-17 ). This is not a rejection of ritual worship; rather, religious acts are without value apart from righteous living.


text: The word has the meanings of “desire, crave, long for, lust after.” It usually has “soul” as its subject. The word is used in the Ten Commandments in the prohibition against coveting a neighbor’s house ( Deut 5:18 ).


text: The contrast here is between the simple and the wise. The simple gain wisdom when they see the scorner punished; the wise gains knowledge through instruction. The scorner does not change, but should be punished for the benefit of the simple (e.g., Prov 19:25 ).


text: The imagery means “pay no attention to” the cry for help or “refuse to help,” so it is a metonymy of cause for the effect.


text: “Cry” here would be a metonymy of effect for the cause, the cause being the great needs of the poor.


text: The proverb is teaching that those who show mercy will receive mercy. It involves the principle of talionic justice – those who refuse the needs of others will themselves be refused when they need help (so Luke 16:19-31 ).


text: The synonymous parallelism joins the more neutral term “gift” with the more specific “bribe.” D. Kidner notes that this underscores how hard it is to tell the difference between them, especially since they accomplish similar things ( Proverbs [TOTC], 143).


text: The noun means “terror (NAB, NASB, NIV), destruction (KJV, ASV), ruin (cf. NCV).” Its related verb means “be shattered, dismayed.” The idea of “dismay” (NRSV) or “terror” would make the better choice to contrast with “joy” in the first line, but “ruin” is also possible. Whenever justice prevails, whether in the courts or simply in society, the people who practice iniquity may be shaken into reality by fear (cf. CEV “crooks are terrified”).


text: The departed are the Shades (the Rephaim ). The literal expression “will rest among the Shades” means “will be numbered among the dead.” So once again physical death is presented as the punishment for folly.


text: The participle “loves” ( אֹהֵב , ’ ohev ) indicates in this context that more is involved than the enjoyment of pleasure, for which there is no problem. The proverb is looking at “love” in the sense of needing and choosing, an excessive or uncontrolled indulgence in pleasure.


text: “Pleasure” is actually the Hebrew word “joy” ( שִׂמְחָה , simkhah ). It is a metonymy of effect, the cause being the good life that brings the joy. In the second colon, “wine” and “oil” would be metonymies of cause, the particular things in life that bring joy. Therefore the figures in the lines work together to give the complete picture.


text: In elaborate feasts and celebrations the wine was for drinking but the oil was for anointing (cf. NAB, NCV “perfume”). Both of these characterize the luxurious life (e.g., Ps 23:5; 104:15 ; Amos 6:6 ).


text: The Hebrew word translated “ransom” ( כֹּפֶר , kofer ) normally refers to the price paid to free a prisoner. R. N. Whybray ( Proverbs [CBC], 121) gives options for the meaning of the verse: (1) If it means that the wicked obtain good things that should go to the righteous, it is then a despairing plea for justice (which would be unusual in the book of Proverbs); but if (2) it is taken to mean that the wicked suffers the evil he has prepared for the righteous, then it harmonizes with Proverbs elsewhere (e.g., 11:8 ). The ideal this proverb presents – and the future reality – is that in calamity the righteous escape and the wicked suffer in their place (e.g., Haman in the book of Esther).


text: The verse makes the same point as 21:9 and 25:24 ; but “desert land” is substituted. It would be a place sparsely settled and quiet.


text: These two attributes, “righteousness” ( צְדָקָה , tsÿdaqah ) and “loyal love” ( חֶסֶד , khesed ) depict the life style of the covenant-believer who is pleasing to God and a blessing to others. The first term means that he will do what is right, and the second means that he will be faithful to the covenant community.


text: The Hebrew term translated “bounty” is צְדָקָה ( tsÿdaqah ) again, so there is a wordplay on the term in the verse. The first use of the word had the basic meaning of “conduct that conforms to God’s standard”; this second use may be understood as a metonymy of cause, indicating the provision or reward (“bounty”) that comes from keeping righteousness (cf. NIV “prosperity”; NCV “success”). The proverb is similar to Matt 5:6 , “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”


text: “Mouth” and “tongue” are metonymies of cause, signifying what one says (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV).


text: The “troubles” ( צָרוֹת , tsarot ) here could refer to social and legal difficulties into which careless talk might bring someone (e.g., 13:3; 18:21 ). The word means “a strait, a bind, difficulty.” Careless and free talking could get the person into a tight spot.


text: “Hands” is figurative for the whole person; but “hands” is retained in the translation because it is often the symbol to express one’s ability of action.


text: The additional clause, “and does not hold back,” emphasizes that when the righteous gives he gives freely, without fearing that his generosity will bring him to poverty. This is the contrast with the one who is self-indulgent and craves for more.


text: This rhetorical device shows that if the act is abomination, the wicked heart is an even greater sin. It argues from the lesser to the greater.


text: The verse uses a single sentence to state that all wisdom, understanding, and advice must be in conformity to the will of God to be successful. It states it negatively – these things cannot be in defiance of God (e.g., Job 5:12-13 ; Isa 40:13-14 ).