Proverbs 21:14

A gift given ¹  in secret subdues ²  anger, and a bribe given secretly ³  subdues ⁴  strong wrath. ⁵ 

Ge 32:20; Ge 43:11; 1Sa 25:35; Pr 17:8,23; Pr 18:16; Pr 19:6; Mt 6:3,4

¹ sn The synonymous parallelism joins the more neutral term “gift” with the more specific “bribe.” D. Kidner notes that this underscores how hard it is to tell the difference between them, especially since they accomplish similar things (Proverbs [TOTC], 143).

² tn The word כָּפָה (kafah) occurs only here; it means “to subdue,” but in New Hebrew it means “to overturn; to compel.” The BHS editors suggest a change to כָּבָה (kavah), “to be quenched,” based on Symmachus and Tg. Prov 21:14, but there is no substantial improvement in the text’s meaning with such a change.

³ tn Heb “a bribe in the bosom” (so NASB). This refers to a gift hidden in the folds of the garment, i.e., given secretly (cf. NIV “a bribe concealed in the cloak”).

⁴ tn The repetition of the term “subdues” in the second line is supplied in the translation.

⁵ tc The LXX offers a moralizing translation not too closely tied to the MT: “he who withholds a gift stirs up violent wrath.”