An Ant, a Liar, and a Fire Held Close

“Surety” is arav, to stand guarantor for another’s debt. Judah uses the verb when he pledges himself for Benjamin, “I will be surety for him” (Genesis 43:9). Striking hands sealed the deal like a handshake; 17:18 and 22:26 repeat the warning.

“Snared” is yaqosh, to be lured into a fowler’s trap, the word behind “the fowler” of verse 5 and “the snare of the fowlers” in Psalm 124:7. The phrase “the words of thy mouth” is repeated in each half of the line exactly, as a man repeats the thing he cannot undo.

“Humble thyself” is hitrappes, to let oneself be trampled, to grovel; the root is used of feet fouling water (Ezekiel 32:2). “Make sure thy friend” is rehav re’eicha, storm at your neighbour, pester him; the root gives Rahab, the name of the arrogant sea monster in Isaiah 51:9.

These are almost the words of David’s vow in Psalm 132:4, “I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the LORD.” David gave up sleep to build God a house; the son must give it up to get free of a bad signature.

“Roe” is tsevi, the gazelle, the swiftest animal in Israel; Asahel was “as light of foot as a wild roe” (2 Samuel 2:18). The Hebrew says only “from the hand”; “of the hunter” is printed in italics in the King James because the translators supplied it.

The sluggard, atsel, is one of the book’s recurring characters (13:4, 20:4, 26:13–16). 30:24–25 counts the ant among four small creatures that are “exceeding wise”. The harvester ants of Israel carry grain into underground stores, which is exactly what the verse describes.

The three titles are the hierarchy of a people: qatsin, a chief or commander; shoter, an officer or foreman, the word for the Israelite overseers of Egypt’s brickmakers (Exodus 5:6); and moshel, a ruler. The ant has none of the three.

“Summer” and “harvest” are qayits and qatsir, words that sound alike, the dry season of gathering. 10:5 draws the same line: “He that gathereth in summer is a wise son.” The Greek translation adds three lines after this verse, sending the reader to the bee as well.

“How long” is ad matai, Wisdom’s question to the simple in 1:22, now put to the sluggard in bed. The verse is two questions and no command. The father asks when he will get up, as though the only thing lacking is the moment.

“Folding of the hands” is chibbuq yadayim, hands embracing each other, from chabaq, the verb for embracing wisdom in 4:8. Ecclesiastes 4:5 uses the same gesture: “The fool foldeth his hands together.” These two verses reappear word for word at 24:33–34.

“One that travelleth” is mehallekh, a vagrant or highwayman on the road. “An armed man” is ish magen, literally “a man of the shield”, the magen that was God’s protection of the upright in 2:7. Want comes armed, where the sluggard is not.

“Naughty person” is adam beliya’al, a man of Belial, worthlessness, the phrase used of Eli’s sons (1 Samuel 2:12) and of Nabal (1 Samuel 25:25). In 1611 “naughty” meant good for naught. “Froward mouth” is the twisted mouth of 4:24, word for word.

“Teacheth” is moreh, the verb of torah and of the “teachers” of 5:13: his fingers give lessons of their own. Isaiah 58:9 condemns “the putting forth of the finger”. 10:10 adds that “he that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow”. “Speaketh with his feet” is mollel, shuffles or scrapes.

“Deviseth” is charash, plough, the verb of 3:29. “Soweth discord” is literally “sends out strife”, meshalleach midanim; shalach is used for letting loose animals or fire, as Samson let the foxes loose into the grain (Judges 15:5).

“Suddenly” translates two related words, pit’om and peta, one in each half of the line, so the blow is announced twice. “Without remedy” is ein marpe, no healing, the marpe of 4:22. 29:1 uses the whole phrase again: “shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”

The pattern of a number followed by one more is an old way of listing: “in six troubles: yea, in seven” (Job 5:19), “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four” (Amos 1:3). The last item carries the weight. The verb is plain: the LORD hates.

“A proud look” is literally “high eyes”, einayim ramot, the phrase of Psalm 18:27, “wilt bring down high looks”. The list runs down the body: eyes, tongue, hands. “Innocent blood” is dam naqi, the charge laid against King Manasseh (2 Kings 21:16).

The body list continues: after the hands, the heart, then the feet. “Deviseth” is charash, plough, again. “Swift in running to mischief” nearly repeats 1:16, the gang’s feet, and “imaginations” is machshevot, plans, the scheming of a mind at work.

“False witness” is ed sheqer, the words of the ninth commandment (Exodus 20:16). “Speaketh lies” is yafiach kezavim, literally “breathes out lies”, a verb Proverbs uses again for witnesses (14:5, 14:25, 19:5). Lies come as easily as breath.

Almost 1:8 again, with one change: “hear” has become “keep”, natsar, to guard. The mother’s law is named as firmly as the father’s commandment, and the chapter’s last lesson starts from the household where the first one did.

“Tie” is anad, to bind something on as an ornament; Job uses it of wearing a document as a crown (Job 31:36). “Continually” makes the heart a place where the words are fastened at all times, not taken out for special occasions.

Going, sleeping and waking are the three times of the Shema: “when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:7). “Talk with thee” is tesichecha, from siach, the musing verb of Psalm 145:5: the teaching murmurs to him as he wakes.

Psalm 119:105 uses the same pair, lamp and light: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” A lamp, ner, was the small clay oil lamp of a house; the teaching is that close. “Reproofs of instruction” are tochchot musar, correction received from discipline.

“Evil woman” in the Hebrew is eshet ra; with different vowels the same letters read eshet re’a, “a neighbour’s wife”, which is what the Greek translation has. “Flattery of the tongue” is chelqat lashon, smoothness, the slippery speech of 2:16.

“Lust” is chamad, to covet, the verb of the tenth commandment, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife” (Exodus 20:17). Jesus puts the same act in the heart (Matthew 5:28). “Eyelids” may mean glances, or eyes painted with kohl, as Jezebel painted hers (2 Kings 9:30).

“A piece of bread” is kikkar lechem, a round loaf: one kind of woman costs a man a loaf. The other “will hunt for the precious life”, nefesh yeqarah, using the yaqar of 1:13, where the gang hunted “precious substance”. Here the precious thing hunted is the man himself.

The Hebrew has a sound play: ish, man, and esh, fire. “Clothes” is beged, the same letters as bagad, to deal treacherously, the word behind the “transgressors” of 2:22. The fire is carried in the bosom, cheq, where 5:20 placed the stranger.

“Hot coals” are gechalim, live embers, the word of 25:22, “thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head”. Feet appear again, the feet of 5:5 that went down to death. The question expects its answer from anyone who has stepped on an ember.

“Goeth in” is the Hebrew idiom for sexual union, as in Genesis 16:2, “go in unto my maid”. “Shall not be innocent” is lo yinnaqeh, shall not go unpunished, the verb of the third commandment, “the LORD will not hold him guiltless” (Exodus 20:7).

“Soul” is nefesh again, here the appetite, the empty throat of a hungry man. Some translators read the line as a question, “Do not men despise a thief…?”, which gives the opposite sense; the King James takes it as a concession that hunger earns some sympathy.

“Be found” is the verb of Exodus 22:2, “If a thief be found breaking up”, caught in the act. The Law required double, or four and five fold for livestock (Exodus 22:1, 22:4); seven here means payment in full, and “all the substance of his house” may be what it takes.

“Lacketh understanding” is chasar lev, lacking heart, the Hebrew idiom for a man without sense (7:7, 10:13). “Destroyeth his own soul” is mashchit nafsho, ruins himself. The Law set death as the penalty for adultery (Leviticus 20:10, Deuteronomy 22:22).

“Wound” is nega, a blow or stroke, the same word used for a plague or a mark of disease. “Shall not be wiped away” is lo timmacheh, the verb for wiping a dish clean (2 Kings 21:13) or blotting a name out. The disgrace outlives the act.

“Rage” is chemah, heat, and “a man” is gever, a strong man, the husband in his full strength. The Song of Solomon says “jealousy is cruel as the grave” (8:6), and Numbers 5:14 speaks of a “spirit of jealousy” coming upon a husband. The day of vengeance belongs to him.

“Ransom” is kofer, the payment that could buy off a death sentence (Exodus 21:30), which the Law refused for a murderer (Numbers 35:31). “Gifts” is shochad, the word for a bribe (Exodus 23:8). The husband is a judge who will not be bought.