Sunday, August 21, 2016

Proverbs 14.15-24

6. Living in Wisdom (14.1-32)
     (a) Walking in Wisdom (14.1-7)
     (b) Not Walking by Sight (14..8-15) 

     (c) Contrasting Social Characterizations and Consequence (14.15-32) 
          1. Contrasting wisdom characterizations with ethical comportment  (vv. 15-18)
            2. Contrasting consequences of social comportment, using mostly ethical terms  (vv. 18-24) 
          3. Contrasting characterizations and consequences of life or death  (vv. 25-32)

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15                                                But
The simple                                the prudent
believes every word,              considers well his steps.     
 


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16                                              But
A wise man                             a fool
fears and                                 rages and
departs from evil,                  is self-confident.  
16a  fears...  Elsewhere in Proverbs yare in an affirmative, not negative, mood refers to "fear of the LORD" (see 1.7, 29; 2.5; 3.7; 8.13; 9.10; 10.27; 14.27; 15.16, 33; 16.6; 19.23; 22.4; 23.17; 24.21 [+ "king"]; 31.30) or its close equivalent, "to fear the commandment."   ---Waltke in NICOT
Heb “fears.” Since the holy name (Yahweh, translated “the Lord”) is not used, it probably does not here mean fear of the Lord, but of the consequences of actions.  ---NET Bible translation notes 
By contrast, the fool gets angry (mit agger) againt the LORD and/or those who fear him, as the antithetical parallel "fears the LOD" suggests.   ---Waltke in NICOT
16.b  rages...  The Hitpael of עָבַר (’avar, “to pass over”) means “to pass over the bounds of propriety; to act insolently” (BDB 720 s.v.; cf. ASV “beareth himself insolently”).  ---NET Bible translation notes
But הִתְעַבֵּר denotes everywhere nothing else than to fall into extreme anger, to become heated beyond measure, Pro_26:17 (cf. Pro_20:2), Deu_3:26, etc. Thus 16a and 16b are fully contrasted.  ---K&D
16.b  self-confident...  thinks he is secure, but is wrong...

17                                               And
A quick-tempered man         a man of wicked intentions
acts foolishly,                          is hated.  

 ---------------------18                                         But
The simple                          the prudent
inherit folly,                       are crowned with knowledge.  


19                                         And
The evil                               the wicked
will bow                              - - -
before the good,                at the gates of the righteous.  
19.a  will bow...  tn Many versions nuance the perfect tense verb שָׁחַח (shakhakh) as a characteristic perfect. But the proverb suggests that the reality lies in the future. So the verb is best classified as a prophetic perfect (cf. NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT): Ultimately the wicked will acknowledge and serve the righteous – a point the prophets make.  ---NET Bible translation notes
19.b  at the gates...  J. H. Greenstone suggests that this means that they are begging for favors (Proverbs, 154).  ---NET Bible study notes
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20                                                                 But
The poor man                                            the rich
is hated even by his own neighbor,      has many friends.  
20.a  hated...  Heb “hated.” The verse is just a statement of fact. The verbs “love” and “hate” must be seen in their connotations: The poor are rejected, avoided, shunned – that is, hated; but the rich are sought after, favored, embraced – that is, loved.  ---NET Bible translation notes

21                               But
He who                     he who
despises                    has mercy on
his neighbor            the poor,
sins;                          happy is he.  

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22 
Do they not go astray who devise evil? 
But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good.  
22.a  devise...  The verb חָרַשׁ (kharash) means (1) literally: “to cut in; to engrave; to plow,” describing the work of a craftsman; and (2) figuratively: “to devise,” describing the mental activity of planning evil (what will harm people) in the first colon, and planning good (what will benefit them) in the second colon.  ---NET Bible translation notes

23                               But
In all labor                idle chatter
there is                       leads only to
profit,                         poverty.  
23.a  labor...  The Hebrew term עֶצֶב (’etsev, “painful toil; labor”) is first used in scripture in Gen 3:19 to describe the effects of the Fall. The point here is that people should be more afraid of idle talk than of hard labor.  ---NET Bible translation notes
23.b  idle chatter...  Heb “word of lips.” This construct phrase features a genitive of source (“a word from the lips”) or a subjective genitive (“speaking a word”). Talk without work (which produces nothing) is contrasted with labor that produces something..  ---NET Bible translation notes
23.b  leads...  The term “brings” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.  ---NET Bible translation notes


24                               But
The crown                 the foolishness
of the wise                of fools
is their riches,          is folly.  
24.a  their riches...  C. H. Toy suggests that this line probably means that wealth is an ornament to those who use it well (Proverbs [ICC], 269). J. H. Greenstone suggests that it means that the wisdom of the wise, which is their crown of glory, constitutes their wealth (Proverbs, 155).  ---NET Bible translation notes

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