18:26 You prove to be reliable 1 to one who is blameless,
but you prove to be deceptive 2 to one who is perverse. 3
19:13 Moreover, keep me from committing flagrant 4 sins;
do not allow such sins to control me. 5
Then I will be blameless,
and innocent of blatant 6 rebellion.
24:4 The one whose deeds are blameless
and whose motives are pure, 7
who does not lie, 8
or make promises with no intention of keeping them. 9
1 tn Or “blameless.”
2 tn The Hebrew verb פָתַל (patal) is used in only three other texts. In Gen 30:8 it means literally “to wrestle,” or “to twist.” In Job 5:13 it refers to devious individuals, and in Prov 8:8 to deceptive words.
3 tn The adjective עִקֵּשׁ (’iqqesh) has the basic nuance “twisted, crooked,” and by extension refers to someone or something that is morally perverse. It appears frequently in Proverbs, where it is used of evil people (22:5), speech (8:8; 19:1), thoughts (11:20; 17:20), and life styles (2:15; 28:6). A righteous king opposes such people (Ps 101:4).
sn Verses 25-26 affirm God’s justice. He responds to people in accordance with their moral character. His response mirrors their actions. The faithful and blameless find God to be loyal and reliable in his dealings with them. But deceivers discover he is able and willing to use deceit to destroy them. For a more extensive discussion of the theme of divine deception in the OT, see R. B. Chisholm, “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 11-28.
4 tn Or “presumptuous.”
5 tn Heb “let them not rule over me.”
6 tn Heb “great.”
7 tn Heb “the innocent of hands and the pure of heart.” The “hands” allude to one’s actions, the “heart” to one’s thought life and motives.
8 tn Heb “who does not lift up for emptiness my life.” The first person pronoun on נַפְשִׁי (nafshiy, “my life”) makes little sense here; many medieval Hebrew
9 tn Heb “and does not swear an oath deceitfully.”