7:12 at one time outside, at another 1 in the wide plazas,
and by every corner she lies in wait.)
15:23 A person has joy 2 in giving an appropriate answer, 3
and a word at the right time 4 – how good it is!
23:17 Do not let your heart envy 5 sinners,
but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord 6 all the time.
1 tn The repetition of the noun “time, step,” usually translated “now, this time,” signifies here “at one time…at another time” (BDB 822 s.v. פַּעַם 3.e).
2 tn Heb “joy to the man” or “the man has joy.”
3 tn Heb “in the answer of his mouth” (so ASV); NASB “in an apt answer.” The term “mouth” is a metonymy of cause for what he says. But because the parallelism is loosely synonymous, the answer given here must be equal to the good word spoken in season. So it is an answer that is proper or fitting.
4 tn Heb “in its season.” To say the right thing at the right time is useful; to say the right thing at the wrong time is counterproductive.
5 tn The verb in this line is אַל־יְקַנֵּא (’al-yÿqanne’), the Piel jussive negated. The verb means “to be jealous, to be zealous”; it describes passionate intensity for something. In English, if the object is illegitimate, it is called “envy”; if it is correct, it is called “zeal.” Here the warning is not to envy the sinners. The second colon could use the verb in the positive sense to mean “but rather let your passion burn for the fear of the
6 tn Heb “the fear of the