⁴ tn Heb “covers.” Behind the speech of the wicked is aggressive violence (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 422).

¹ sn This contrasts the wicked motivated by hatred (animosity, rejection) with the righteous motivated by love (kind acts, showing favor).

³ tn Heb “covers.” Behind the speech of the wicked is aggressive violence (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 422).

³ sn Wise lips detest wickedness; wisdom hates speaking wicked things. In fact, speaking truth results in part from detesting wickedness.

¹ tn The suffix on the verb is the direct object suffix; “the wicked” is a second object by apposition: They capture him, the wicked. Since “the wicked” is not found in the LXX, it could be an old scribal error; or the Greek translator may have simply smoothed out the sentence. C. H. Toy suggests turning the sentence into a passive idea: “The wicked will be caught in his iniquities” (Proverbs [ICC], 117).

³ tn Heb “his own iniquities will capture the wicked.” The translation shifts the syntax for the sake of smoothness and readability.

¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer. Another option is to translate, “the wicked will fall.”

¹ sn Psalm 94. The psalmist asks God to judge the wicked and affirms his confidence in God’s justice.

² tn The perfect verbal form here expresses the psalmist’s certitude about the coming demise of the wicked.

⁴ tn Heb “destruction and suffering,” which here refers metonymically to the wicked, who dish out pain and suffering to their victims.

¹ sn The arm symbolizes the strength of the wicked, which they use to oppress and exploit the weak.

¹ tn The rhetorical question expresses the psalmist’s outrage that the wicked would have the audacity to disdain God.

² sn The wicked person holds on to evil as long as he can, savoring the taste or the pleasure of it.

³ tn The verb has the declarative sense in the Hiphil, “to declare guilty [or wicked]” or “to condemn.”

² tc The translation follows the LXX (“he was delivered”), rather than the MT, which reads, “he acted wickedly.”

² sn The proverb gives the outcome and the evidence of those who forsake the law—they “praise the wicked.” This may mean (1) calling the wicked good or (2) justifying what the wicked do, for such people are no longer sensitive to evil.

¹ sn Psalm 1. In this wisdom psalm the author advises his audience to reject the lifestyle of the wicked and to be loyal to God. The psalmist contrasts the destiny of the wicked with that of the righteous, emphasizing that the wicked are eventually destroyed while the godly prosper under the Lord’s protective care.

² tn Heb “The wicked came [= arrived] in his place,” meaning the place of trouble that the righteous was delivered from. Cf. NASB “the wicked takes his place”; NRSV “the wicked get into it instead”; NIV “it comes on the wicked instead.” The verb is a preterite with vav consecutive and should be past time. On the one hand the sage has seen this take place and the student should expect it to happen again. From another angle, the proverb says that the trouble, which a righteous person appears to be headed for, could actually be prepared for the wicked.

¹ tn Heb “the sacrifice of the wicked” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This is a subjective genitive. The foundational clause states that ritual acts of worship brought by the wicked (thus a subjective genitive) are detestable to God. The “wicked” refers here to people who are not members of the covenant (no faith) and are not following after righteousness (no acceptable works). But often they participate in sanctuary ritual, which amounts to hypocrisy.

³ tn Heb “house.” This term probably means “household” here—the family. One way to read the line is that the righteous judge (human or divine) takes into consideration the wicked person’s family before judging the wicked person. The other—and more plausible—interpretation is that the judge considers the household of the wicked and then on the basis of what was observed judges them.