11:3 The integrity of the upright guides them, 1
but the crookedness of the unfaithful destroys them. 2
18:9 The one who 3 is slack 4 in his work
is a brother 5 to one who destroys. 6
1 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.
2 tc The form is a Kethib/Qere reading. The Qere יְשָׁדֵּם (yÿshadem) is an imperfect tense with the pronominal suffix. The Kethib וְשַׁדָּם (vÿshadam) is a perfect tense with a vav prefixed and a pronominal suffix. The Qere is supported by the versions.
3 tn Heb “Also, the one who.” Many commentators and a number of English versions omit the word “also.”
4 tn The form מִתְרַפֶּה (mitrappeh) is the Hitpael participle, “showing oneself slack.” The verb means “to sink; to relax,” and in the causative stem “to let drop” the hands. This is the lazy person who does not even try to work.
5 sn These two troubling types, the slacker and the destroyer, are closely related.
6 tn Heb “possessor of destruction.” This idiom means “destroyer” (so ASV); KJV “a great waster”; NRSV “a vandal.”