Proverbs 11:23

What the righteous desire ¹  leads ²  only to good, but what the wicked hope for ³  leads ⁴  to wrath.

Ps 10:17; Ps 27:4; Ps 37:4; Ps 39:7,8; Ps 119:5,10; Pr 10:28; Pr 11:7; Isa 26:9; Jer 17:16; Mt 5:6; Ro 2:8,9; Heb 10:27

¹ tn Heb “the desire of the righteous.” The noun תַּאֲוַת (ta’avat) functions as an objective genitive: “what the righteous desire.”

² tn The phrase “leads to” does not appear in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation. The desire of the righteous (in itself good) ends in good things, whereas the hope of the wicked ends in wrath, i.e., divine judgment on them. Another interpretation is that the righteous desire is to do good things, but the wicked hope to produce wrath (cf. CEV “troublemakers hope to stir up trouble”).

³ tn Heb “the hope of the wicked.” The noun תִּקְוַת (tiqvat) “expectation” functions as an objective genitive: “what the wicked hope for.”

⁴ tn The term “leads” does not appear in the Hebrew text in this line but is implied by the parallelism. It is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.