Proverbs 12:12

The wicked person desires a stronghold, ¹  but the righteous root ²  endures. ³ 

The wicked desire the plunder of evil men, but the root of the righteous flourishes.

The wicked man desires the booty of evil men, But the root of the righteous yields fruit.

Thieves are jealous of each other’s loot, while the godly bear their own fruit.

What the wicked construct finally falls into ruin, while the roots of the righteous give life, and more life.

The resting-place of the sinner will come to destruction, but the root of upright men is for ever.

The wicked covet the proceeds of wickedness, but the root of the righteous bears fruit.

The wicked covet the catch of evil men , But the root of the righteous yields fruit .

The wicked person desires a stronghold, ¹  but the righteous root ²  endures. ³ 

¹ tn This line is difficult to interpret. BDB connects the term מְצוֹד (mÿtsod) to II מָצוֹד which means (1) “snare; hunting-net” and (2) what is caught: “prey” (BDB 844-45 s.v. II מָצוֹד). This would function as a metonymy of cause for what the net catches: the prey. Or it may be saying that the wicked get caught in their own net, that is, reap the consequences of their own sins. On the other hand, HALOT 622 connects מְצוֹד (mÿtsod) to II מְצוּדָה (mÿtsudah, “mountain stronghold”; cf. NAB “the stronghold of evil men will be demolished”). The LXX translated it as: “The desires of the wicked are evil.” The Syriac has: “The wicked desire to do evil.” The Latin expands it: “The desire of the wicked is a defense of the worst [things, or persons].” C. H. Toy suggests emending the text to read “wickedness is the net of bad men” (Proverbs [ICC], 250).

² tn Heb “the root of righteousness.” The genitive צַדִּיקִים (tsadiqim, “righteousness”) functions as an attributive adjective. The wicked want what belongs to others, but the righteous continue to flourish.

³ tc The MT reads יִתֵּן (yitten, “gives,” from נָתַן [natan, “to give”]), and yields an awkward meaning: “the root of the righteous gives.” The LXX reads “the root of the righteous endures” (cf. NAB). This suggests a Hebrew Vorlage of אֵיתָן (’etan, “constant; continual”; HALOT 44-45 s.v. I אֵיתָן 2) which would involve the omission of א (alef) in the MT. The metaphor “root” (שֹׁרֶשׁ, shoresh) is often used in Proverbs for that which endures; so internal evidence supports the alternate tradition.