Proverbs 18:19

A relative ¹  offended ²  is harder to reach than ³  a strong city, and disputes are like the barred gates ⁴  of a fortified citadel. ⁵ 

Ge 4:5-8; Ge 27:41-45; Ge 32:6-11; Ge 37:3-5,11,18-27; 2Sa 13:22,28; 1Ki 2:23-25; 1Ki 12:16; 2Ch 13:17; Pr 6:19; Pr 16:32; Ac 15:39

¹ tn Heb “brother,” but this is not limited to actual siblings (cf. NRSV “an ally”; CEV, NLT “friend”).

² tn The Niphal participle from פָּשַׁע (pasha’) modifies “brother”: a brother transgressed, offended, sinned against.

³ tc The LXX has a clear antithetical proverb here: “A brother helped is like a stronghold, but disputes are like bars of a citadel.” Accordingly, the editors of BHS propose מוֹשִׁיעַ (moshia’) instead of נִפְשָׁע (nifsha’, so also the other versions and the RSV). But since both lines use the comparison with a citadel (fortified/barred), the antithesis is problematic.

tn The phrase “is harder to reach” is supplied in the translation on the basis of the comparative מִן (min). It is difficult to get into a fortified city; it is more difficult to reach an offended brother.

⁴ tn Heb “bars,” but this could be understood to mean “taverns,” so “barred gates” is employed in the translation.

⁵ sn The proverb is talking about changing a friend or a relative into an enemy by abuse or strife – the bars go up, as it were. And the “walls” that are erected are not easily torn down.