² sn The word translated “skilled” is general enough to apply to any craft, but it may refer to a scribe or an official (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 134).

¹ sn The passive participle is figurative (implied comparison with “binding”); it means that folly forms part of a child’s nature (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 238).

⁴ sn The proverb affirms that God in safeguarding true knowledge will frustrate deception from faithless people—what they say will not have its intended effect.

² tn The first verb is the Hebrew perfect form and the second is a preterite, successive actions in past time. The proverb presents something God has done as prototypical.

¹ sn The proverb is making an observation on life. The synonymous parallelism matches “rule over” with “servant” to show how poverty makes people dependent on, or obligated to, others.

⁵ sn The portrait in this proverb is not merely of one who is self-sufficient, but one who is insolent, scornful, and arrogant.

² tn The king has the wisdom/ability to destroy evil from his kingdom. See also D. W. Thomas, “Proverbs 20:26, ” JTS 15 (1964): 155-56.

² sn For the lamp to be extinguished would mean death (e.g., 13:9) and possibly also the removal of posterity (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 115).

⁴ sn The point of the proverb is that the human being with many plans is uncertain, but the Lord with a sure plan gives correct counsel.

² tn The proverb is one continuous thought, but the second half of the verse provides the purpose for the imperatives of the first half.

³ sn The proverb makes an observation about a king’s power to terrify or to refresh. It advises people to use tact with a king.

⁴ tc The section titled “proverbs of Solomon” (10:1-22:16) has 375 proverbs. 374 are two-line proverbs, while this three-line proverb has a difficult and awkward third line. The LXX has three two-line proverbs where this one verse is in the Hebrew text. The second proverb in the Greek text is separate and self contained; the third has some correlation to the stray third line in the Hebrew Masoretic text. Assuming the LXX points to an original two-line Hebrew proverb, Delitzsch proposed two Hebrew texts possibly lying behind the Greek. The reconstructed text would begin with “the friend of many is repaid with harm” and end with either (1) “the one who pursues words [=rumors] will not escape” or (2) “chasing words which are not [=nothing]” (Delitzsch, Proverbs I, 15; Proverbs II, 25). The first option best reflects the Greek, while the second option reflects the existing Hebrew. Besides the issue raised by the LXX, the Hebrew itself differs in tradition, with the Kethib reading the final two words as “they are not” (לֹא הֵמָּה; loʾ hemmah) and the Qere reading “they are his” (לוֹ הֵמָּה; lo hemmah). Unless other manuscript evidence comes to light, the text cannot be recovered with certainty.

³ sn The proverb acknowledges the fact of life, but it also reminds people of the value of gifts in life, especially in business or in politics.

² sn J. H. Greenstone comments: “Man’s own failures are the result of his own folly and should not be attributed to God” (Proverbs, 201).

² sn The wise continually seek more knowledge. D. Kidner says, “Those who know most know best how little they know” (Proverbs [TOTC], 129).

¹ sn This proverb forms a contrast with the previous one. The rich, unlike the righteous, trust in wealth and not in God.

³ sn The proverb does not explain whether God will turn evil back on him directly or whether people will begin to treat him as he treated others.

¹ sn The proverb concerns the practice of seeking divine leading through casting lots. For a similar lesson, see Amenemope (18, 19:16-17, in ANET 423).

² sn The parallelism suggests that the afflicted is one afflicted within his spirit, for the proverb is promoting a healthy frame of mind.

² sn The setting of this proverb is the courtroom. One who tells the truth “saves” (מַצִּיל [matsil, “rescues; delivers”]) the lives of those falsely accused.