Proverbs 16:30-32 New English Translation
30 The one who winks[a] his eyes[b] devises[c] perverse things,
and[d] one who compresses his lips[e] has accomplished[f] evil.
31 Gray hair is like[g] a crown of glory;[h]
it is attained[i] in the path of righteousness.[j]
32 Better to be slow to anger[k] than to be a mighty warrior,
and one who controls his temper[l] is better than[m] one who captures a city.[n]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 16:30 tn Or “who shuts.” HALOT suggests the idiom “to screw up the eyes” (HALOT I, 866) for this hapax legomenon (word which only occurs one time). The precise gesture is not certain.
- Proverbs 16:30 sn The participle עֹצֶה (ʿotseh) describes one as shutting his eyes (cf. KJV, ASV). This could mean simply “closing the eyes,” or it could refer to “winking” (so many English versions). The proverb is saying that facial expressions often reveal if someone is plotting evil (e.g., 6:13-14).
- Proverbs 16:30 tc Heb “to devise perversity.” The Hebrew text implies a verbal element before the infinitive “[does so] to devise perversity,” while the LXX uses a finite verb, which suggests an imperfect verb.
- Proverbs 16:30 tn The conjunction “and” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied by the synonymous parallelism.
- Proverbs 16:30 tn The participle קֹרֵץ (qorets) indicates that the person involved is pinching, compressing, or biting his lips (cf. NIV “purses his lips”).
- Proverbs 16:30 tn The verb is a Piel perfect; it means “to complete, finish, bring to an end.” A full understanding of the proverb requires certainty about what the gestures are and how they functioned in that culture. BDB classifies the use of this verb, כִּלָּה (killah), as “to accomplish in thought” meaning “to determine” something (BDB 478). The proverb appears to advise how to spot if someone is devising evil or if someone has either finished plotting evil or has finished doing evil.
- Proverbs 16:31 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
- Proverbs 16:31 sn The proverb presents the ideal, for it is not concerned with old people who may be evil. The KJV tried to qualify the interpretation by making the second half of the verse a conditional clause (“if it be found in the way of righteousness”). This is acceptable but unnecessary. The book of Proverbs is simply laying out the equity of longevity for righteousness and premature death for wicked people. In this line “gray hair” is a metonymy of adjunct/effect, representing old age; and the “glorious crown” (taking the genitive as attributive) provides a fitting metaphor to compare the hair on the head with a crown.
- Proverbs 16:31 tn Heb “it is found” (so NASB) or “it will be found.”
- Proverbs 16:31 sn While the proverb presents a general observation, there is a commendable lesson about old people who can look back on a long walk with God through life and can anticipate unbroken fellowship with him in glory.
- Proverbs 16:32 tn One who is “slow to anger” is a patient person (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT). This is explained further in the parallel line by the description of “one who rules his spirit” (וּמֹשֵׁל בְּרוּחוֹ, umoshel berukho), meaning “controls his temper.” This means the person has the emotions under control and will not “fly off the handle” quickly.
- Proverbs 16:32 tn Heb “who rules his spirit” (so NASB).
- Proverbs 16:32 tn The phrase “is better than” does not appear in this line in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism.
- Proverbs 16:32 sn The saying would have had greater impact when military prowess was held in high regard. It is harder, and therefore better, to control one’s passions than to do some great exploit on the battlefield.
New English Translation (NET)
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