14:16 A wise person is cautious 1 and turns from evil,
but a fool throws off restraint 2 and is overconfident. 3
14:27 The fear of the Lord 4 is like 5 a life-giving fountain, 6
to turn 7 people 8 from deadly snares. 9
1 tn Heb “fears.” Since the holy name (Yahweh, translated “the
2 tn 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”).
3 tn The verb בָּטַח here denotes self-assurance or overconfidence. Fools are not cautious and do not fear the consequences of their actions.
4 sn The verse is similar to Prov 13:14 except that “the fear of the
5 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
6 tn Heb “fountain of life.”
7 tn The infinitive construct with prefixed ל (lamed) indicates the purpose/result of the first line; it could also function epexegetically, explaining how fear is a fountain: “by turning….”
8 tn The term “people” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.
9 tn Heb “snares of death” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); CEV “deadly traps.”