7:17 Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool;
otherwise 1 you might die before your time.
7:21 Also, do not pay attention to everything that people 2 say;
otherwise, 3 you might even hear 4 your servant cursing you.
1 tn Heb “Why?” The question is rhetorical.
2 tn Heb “they”; the referent (people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “so that you do not hear…”; or “lest you hear….”
4 tn The imperfect tense verb תִשְׁמַע (tishma’; from שָׁמַע [shama’, “to hear”]) functions in a modal sense, denoting possibility: “you might hear” (see IBHS 508 §31.4e).