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Ezra 7:1-8:20

The Arrival of Ezra

7 Now after these things had happened, during the reign of King Artaxerxes^[a] of Persia, Ezra came up from Babylon.^[b] Ezra was the son of Seraiah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Hilkiah, ²who was the son of Shallum, who was the son of Zadok, who was the son of Ahitub, ³who was the son of Amariah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Meraioth, ⁴who was the son of Zerahiah, who was the son of Uzzi, who was the son of Bukki, ⁵who was the son of Abishua, who was the son of Phinehas, who was the son of Eleazar, who was the son of Aaron the chief priest. ⁶This Ezra is the one who came up from Babylon. He was a scribe who was skilled in the law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king supplied him with everything he requested, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him. ⁷In the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, Ezra brought up^[c] to Jerusalem some of the Israelites and some of the priests, the Levites, the attendants, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants. ⁸He entered Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. ⁹On the first day of the first month he had determined to make^[d] the ascent from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he arrived at Jerusalem,^[e] for the good hand of his God was on him. ¹⁰Now Ezra had dedicated himself^[f] to the study of the law of the Lord, to its observance, and to teaching^[g] its statutes and judgments in Israel.

Artaxerxes Gives Official Endorsement to Ezra’s Mission

¹¹What follows^[h] is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe.^[i] Ezra was^[j] a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and his statutes over Israel:

¹²^[k] “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven:^[l] ¹³I have now issued a decree^[m] that anyone in my kingdom from the people of Israel—even the priests and Levites—who wishes to do so may go up with you to Jerusalem. ¹⁴You are authorized^[n] by the king and his seven advisers to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your possession,^[o] ¹⁵and to bring silver and gold which the king and his advisers have freely contributed to the God of Israel, who resides in Jerusalem, ¹⁶along with all the silver and gold that you may collect^[p] throughout all the province of Babylon and the contributions of the people and the priests for the temple of their God which is in Jerusalem. ¹⁷With this money you should be sure to purchase bulls, rams, and lambs, along with the appropriate^[q] meal offerings and libations. You should bring them to the altar of the temple of your God which is in Jerusalem. ¹⁸You may do whatever seems appropriate to you and your colleagues^[r] with the rest of the silver and the gold, in keeping with the will of your God. ¹⁹Deliver to^[s] the God of Jerusalem the vessels that are given to you for the service of the temple of your God. ²⁰The rest of the needs for the temple of your God that you may have to supply,^[t] you may do so from the royal treasury.

²¹“I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue orders to all the treasurers of^[u] Trans-Euphrates, that you precisely execute all that Ezra the priestly scribe of the law of the God of heaven may request of you— ²²up to 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of olive oil,^[v] and unlimited^[w] salt. ²³Everything that the God of heaven has required should be precisely done for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be wrath^[x] against the empire of the king and his sons? ²⁴Furthermore, be aware of the fact^[y] that you have no authority to impose tax, tribute, or toll on any of the priests, the Levites, the musicians, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or the attendants at the temple of this God.

²⁵“Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess,^[z] appoint judges^[aa] and court officials who can arbitrate cases on behalf of all the people who are in Trans-Euphrates who know the laws of your God. Those who do not know this law should be taught. ²⁶Everyone who does not observe both the law of your God and the law of the king will be completely^[ab] liable to the appropriate penalty, whether it is death or banishment or confiscation of property or detainment in prison.”

²⁷^[ac] Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, who so moved in the heart of the king to so honor the temple of the Lord which is in Jerusalem! ²⁸He has also conferred his favor on me before the king, his advisers, and all the influential leaders of the king. I gained strength as the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leaders from Israel to go up with me.

The Leaders Who Returned with Ezra

8 These are the leaders^[ad] and those enrolled with them by genealogy who were coming up with me from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes:

²from the descendants of Phinehas, Gershom;

from the descendants of Ithamar, Daniel;

from the descendants of David, Hattush ³the son of Shecaniah;^[ae]

from the descendants of Parosh, Zechariah, and with him were enrolled by genealogy 150 men;

⁴from the descendants of Pahath Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men;

⁵from the descendants of Zattu,^[af] Shecaniah son of Jahaziel, and with him 300 men;

⁶from the descendants of Adin, Ebed son of Jonathan, and with him 50 men;

⁷from the descendants of Elam, Jeshaiah son of Athaliah, and with him 70 men;

⁸from the descendants of Shephatiah, Zebadiah son of Michael, and with him 80 men;

⁹from the descendants of Joab, Obadiah son of Jehiel, and with him 218 men;

¹⁰from the descendants of Bani,^[ag] Shelomith son of Josiphiah, and with him 160 men;

¹¹from the descendants of Bebai, Zechariah son of Bebai, and with him 28 men;

¹²from the descendants of Azgad, Johanan son of Hakkatan, and with him 110 men;

¹³from the descendants of Adonikam there were the latter ones.^[ah] Their names were Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah, and with them 60 men;

¹⁴from the descendants of Bigvai, Uthai, and Zaccur,^[ai] and with them^[aj] 70 men.

The Exiles Travel to Jerusalem

¹⁵I had them assemble^[ak] at the canal^[al] that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there for three days. I observed that the people and the priests were present, but I found no Levites there. ¹⁶So I sent for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan,^[am] Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were teachers. ¹⁷I sent them to Iddo, who was the leader in the place called Casiphia. I told them^[an] what to say to Iddo and his relatives,^[ao] who were the temple servants in^[ap] Casiphia, so they would bring us attendants for the temple of our God.

¹⁸Due to the fact that the good hand of our God was on us, they brought us a skilled man, from the descendants of Mahli the son of Levi son of Israel. This man was Sherebiah,^[aq] who was accompanied by his sons and brothers,^[ar] 18 men; ¹⁹and Hashabiah, along with Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari, with his brothers and their sons, 20 men; ²⁰and some of the temple servants that David and his officials had established for the work of the Levites—220 of them. They were all designated by name.

Footnotes

Ezra 7:1 sn If the Artaxerxes of Ezra 7:1 is Artaxerxes I Longimanus (ca. 464-423 b.c.), Ezra must have arrived in Jerusalem ca. 458 b.c., since Ezra 7:7-8 connects the time of his arrival to the seventh year of the king. The arrival of Nehemiah is then linked to the twentieth year of the king (Neh 1:1), or ca. 445 b.c. Some scholars, however, have suggested that Ezra 7:7 should be read as “the thirty-seventh year” rather than “the seventh year.” This would have Ezra coming to Jerusalem after, rather than before, the arrival of Nehemiah. Others have taken the seventh year of Ezra 7:7-8 to refer not to Artaxerxes I but to Artaxerxes II, who ruled ca. 404-358 b.c. In this understanding Ezra would have returned to Jerusalem ca. 398 b.c., a good many years after the return of Nehemiah. Neither of these views is certain, however, and it seems better to retain the traditional understanding of the chronological sequence of returns by Ezra and Nehemiah. With this understanding there is a gap of about fifty-eight years between chapter six, which describes the dedication of the temple in 516 b.c., and chapter seven, which opens with Ezra’s coming to Jerusalem in 458 b.c.
Ezra 7:1 tn The words “came up from Babylon” do not appear in the Hebrew text until v. 6. They have been supplied here for the sake of clarity.
Ezra 7:7 tc The translation reads the Hiphil singular וַיַּעֲל (vayyaʿal, “he [Ezra] brought up”) rather than the Qal plural וַיַּעַלוּ (vayyaʿalu, “they came up”) of the MT.tn Heb “he brought”; the referent (Ezra) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Ezra 7:9 tc The translation reads יִסַּד (yissad, “he appointed” [= determined]) rather than the reading יְסֻד (y^esud, “foundation”) of the MT. (The words “to make” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.)
Ezra 7:9 sn Apparently it took the caravan almost four months to make the 500 mile journey.
Ezra 7:10 tn Heb “established his heart.”
Ezra 7:10 tn Heb “to do and to teach.” The expression may be a hendiadys, in which case it would have the sense of “effectively teaching.”
Ezra 7:11 tn Heb “this.”
Ezra 7:11 tn Heb “the priest, the scribe.” So also in v. 21.
Ezra 7:11 tn The words “Ezra was” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
Ezra 7:12 sn Ezra 7:12-26 is written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew.
Ezra 7:12 tn The verse ends with גְּמִיר וּכְעֶנֶת (g^emir ukh^eʿenet) meaning “completed and now” or “perfect and now.” Some take the masculine form גְּמִיר (gemir) to apply to Ezra, as an expert scribe (Youngs, Holman, Darby). Many others take it as an abbreviated greeting “perfect (peace)” (KJV, NASB, ESV). Some simply render “Greetings” (NIV). The second term “and now” is understood either as beginning the letter’s text, i.e., that it belongs in the next verse (ESV), or as a form of “et cetera” meaning that the full introduction, whether of Ezra’s titles or of a lengthier list of greetings was deliberately omitted as extraneous to Ezra’s purposes here. The LXX interprets it as an introduction, “the message and answer are completed.”
Ezra 7:13 tn Heb “from me is placed a decree.” So also in v. 21.
Ezra 7:14 tn Aram “sent.”
Ezra 7:14 tn Aram “in your hand.”
Ezra 7:16 tn Aram “find.”
Ezra 7:17 tn Aram “their meal offerings and their libations.”
Ezra 7:18 tn Aram “brothers.”
Ezra 7:19 tn Or “before.”
Ezra 7:20 tn Aram “may fall to you to give.”
Ezra 7:21 tn Aram “who are in.”
Ezra 7:22 tc The translation reads מְשַׁח בַּתִּין (m^eshakh battin) rather than מְשַׁח בַּתִּין (battin m^eshakh) of the MT.
Ezra 7:22 tn Aram “he did not write.”
Ezra 7:23 tn The Aramaic word used here for “wrath” (קְצַף, q^etsaf; cf. Heb קָצַף, qatsaf) is usually used in the Hebrew Bible for God’s anger as opposed to human anger (but contra Eccl 5:17 [MT 5:16]; Esth 1:18; 2 Kgs 3:27). The fact that this word is used in v. 23 may have theological significance, pointing to the possibility of divine judgment if the responsible parties should fail to make available these provisions for the temple.
Ezra 7:24 tn Aram “we are making known to you.”
Ezra 7:25 tn Aram “in your hand.”
Ezra 7:25 tc For the MT reading שָׁפְטִין (shoftim, “judges”) the LXX uses the noun γραμματεῖς (grammateis, “scribes”).
Ezra 7:26 tn On the meaning of this word see HALOT 1820-21 s.v. אָסְפַּרְנָא; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 14.
Ezra 7:27 sn At this point the language of the book reverts from Aramaic (7:12-26) back to Hebrew.
Ezra 8:1 tn Heb “the heads of their families.”
Ezra 8:3 tc The MT reads here “from the sons of Shecaniah” with no descendant identified in what follows, contrary to the pattern of the context elsewhere. However, it seems better to understand the first phrase of v. 3 with the end of v. 2; the phrase would then modify the name “Hattush.” This understanding requires emending the reading מִבְּנֵי (mibb^ene, “from the sons of”) in the MT to בֵּן (ben, “[the] son of”). Cf. NAB, TEV, CEV, NLT.
Ezra 8:5 tc The MT lacks “of Zattu.” The translation adopted above follows the LXX in including the words.
Ezra 8:10 tc The MT lacks “Bani.” It is restored on the basis of certain LXX mss.
Ezra 8:13 tn Or “those who came later.” The exact meaning of this Hebrew phrase is uncertain. It may refer to the last remaining members of Adonikam’s family who were in Babylon. So, for example, H. G. M. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah (WBC), 108; cf. NASB, NIV, NCV. The phrase has also been taken to mean “the younger sons (so NAB), or the ones who “returned at a later date” (so TEV).
Ezra 8:14 tc The translation reads with the Qere, the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate וְזַּכּוּר (v^ezakkur, “and Zaccur”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, וְזַבוּד (v^ezavud, “and Zabbud”).
Ezra 8:14 tn The MT has “with him” (so NAB). The present translation (“with them”) is based on the reading of many medieval Hebrew mss, the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Vulgate (so also KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
Ezra 8:15 tn Or “I gathered them.”
Ezra 8:15 tn Heb “river.” So also in vv. 21, 31.
Ezra 8:16 tc The name “Elnathan” occurs twice in this list. Some, assuming an accidental repetition, would include it only once (cf. NAB).
Ezra 8:17 tn Heb “I placed in their mouth words.”
Ezra 8:17 tc The translation reads with the LXX and Vulgate וְאֶחָיו (v^eʾekhayv, “and his brethren” = “relatives”; so NCV, NLT) rather than the reading אָחִיו (ʾakhiv, “his brother”) of the MT.
Ezra 8:17 tn Heb “in the place called.” This phrase has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Ezra 8:18 tn Heb “and Sherebiah.” The words “this man was” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
Ezra 8:18 tn Or “relatives” (so CEV; NRSV “kin”); also in v. 19.

1 Corinthians 4

The Apostles’ Ministry

4 One^[a] should think about us this way—as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. ²Now what is sought in stewards is that one be found faithful. ³So for me, it is a minor matter that I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ⁴For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not acquitted because of this. The one who judges me is the Lord. ⁵So then, do not judge anything before the time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will^[b] bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the motives of hearts. Then each will receive recognition^[c] from God.

⁶I have applied these things to myself and Apollos because of you, brothers and sisters,^[d] so that through us you may learn “not to go beyond what is written,” so that none of you will be puffed up in favor of the one against the other. ⁷For who concedes you any superiority? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as though you did not? ⁸Already you are satisfied! Already you are rich! You have become kings without us! I wish you had become kings so that we could reign with you! ⁹For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to die, because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to people. ¹⁰We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, we are dishonored! ¹¹To the present hour we are hungry and thirsty, poorly clothed, brutally treated, and without a roof over our heads. ¹²We do hard work, toiling with our own hands. When we are verbally abused, we respond with a blessing, when persecuted, we endure, ¹³when people lie about us, we answer in a friendly manner. We are the world’s dirt and scum, even now.

A Father’s Warning

¹⁴I am not writing these things to shame you, but to correct you as my dear children. ¹⁵For though you may have 10,000 guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, because I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ¹⁶I encourage you, then, be imitators of me. ¹⁷For this reason, I have sent Timothy to you, who is my dear and faithful son in the Lord. He will remind you of my ways in Christ,^[e] as I teach them everywhere in every church. ¹⁸Some have become arrogant,^[f] as if I were not coming to you. ¹⁹But I will come to you soon, if the Lord is willing, and I will find out not only the talk of these arrogant people, but also their power. ²⁰For the kingdom of God is demonstrated not in idle talk but with power. ²¹What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline^[g] or with love and a spirit of gentleness?

Psalm 30

Psalm 30^[a]

A psalm, a song used at the dedication of the temple;^[b] by David.

30 I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up,^[c]
and did not allow my enemies to gloat^[d] over me.
²O Lord my God,
I cried out to you and you healed me.^[e]
³O Lord, you pulled me^[f] up from Sheol;
you rescued me from among those descending into the grave.^[g]
⁴Sing to the Lord, you faithful followers^[h] of his;
give thanks to his holy name.^[i]
⁵For his anger lasts only a brief moment,
and his good favor restores one’s life.^[j]
One may experience sorrow during the night,
but joy arrives in the morning.^[k]
⁶In my self-confidence I said,
“I will never be shaken.”^[l]
⁷O Lord, in your good favor you made me secure.^[m]
Then you rejected me^[n] and I was terrified.
⁸To you, O Lord, I cried out;
I begged the Lord for mercy:^[o]
⁹“What^[p] profit is there in taking my life,^[q]
in my descending into the Pit?^[r]
Can the dust of the grave^[s] praise you?
Can it declare your loyalty?^[t]
¹⁰Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me.
O Lord, deliver me.”^[u]
¹¹Then you turned my lament into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy.^[v]
¹²So now^[w] my heart^[x] will sing to you and not be silent;
O Lord my God, I will always^[y] give thanks to you.

Footnotes

Psalm 30:1 sn Psalm 30. The author thanks the Lord for delivering him from death and urges others to join him in praise. The psalmist experienced divine discipline for a brief time, but when he cried out for help the Lord intervened and restored his favor.
Psalm 30:1 tn Heb “a song of the dedication of the house.” The referent of “house” is unclear. It is possible that David wrote this psalm for the dedication ceremony of Solomon’s temple. Another possibility is that the psalm was used on the occasion of the dedication of the second temple following the return from exile, or on the occasion of the rededication of the temple in Maccabean times.
Psalm 30:1 tn Elsewhere the verb דָּלָה (dalah) is used of drawing water from a well (Exod 2:16, 19; Prov 20:5). The psalmist was trapped in the pit leading to Sheol (see v. 3), but the Lord hoisted him up. The Piel stem is used here, perhaps suggesting special exertion on the Lord’s part.
Psalm 30:1 tn Or “rejoice.”
Psalm 30:2 sn You healed me. Apparently the psalmist was plagued by a serious illness that threatened his life. See Ps 41.
Psalm 30:3 tn Or “my life.”
Psalm 30:3 tn Heb “you kept me alive from those descending into the pit.” The Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit, cistern”) is sometimes used of the grave and/or the realm of the dead. The translation follows the consonantal Hebrew text (Kethib); the marginal reading (Qere) has, “you kept me alive so that I did not go down into the pit.”
Psalm 30:4 tn A “faithful follower” (חָסִיד) is one who does what is right in God’s eyes and remains faithful to God (see Pss 4:3; 12:1; 16:10; 31:23; 37:28; 86:2; 97:10).
Psalm 30:4 tn Heb “to his holy remembrance.” The noun זֵכֵר (zekher, “remembrance”) here refers to the name of the Lord as invoked in liturgy and praise. Cf. Pss 6:5; 97:12.The Lord’s “name” is “holy” in the sense that it is a reminder of his uniqueness and greatness.
Psalm 30:5 tn Heb “for [there is] a moment in his anger, [but] life in his favor.” Because of the parallelism with “moment,” some understand חַיִּים (khayyim) in a quantitative sense: “lifetime” (cf. NIV, NRSV). However, the immediate context, which emphasizes deliverance from death (see v. 3), suggests that חַיִּים has a qualitative sense: “physical life” or even “prosperous life” (cf. NEB “in his favour there is life”).
Psalm 30:5 tn Heb “in the evening weeping comes to lodge, but at morning a shout of joy.” “Weeping” is personified here as a traveler who lodges with one temporarily.
Psalm 30:6 sn In my self-confidence I said… Here the psalmist begins to fill in the background of the crisis referred to in the earlier verses. He had been arrogant and self-confident, so the Lord withdrew his protection and allowed trouble to invade his life (vv. 8-11).
Psalm 30:7 tn Heb “in your good favor you caused to stand for my mountain strength.” Apparently this means “you established strength for my mountain” (“mountain” in this case representing his rule, which would be centered on Mt. Zion) or “you established strength as my mountain” (“mountain” in this case being a metaphor for security).
Psalm 30:7 tn Heb “you hid your face.” The idiom “hide the face” can mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or, as here, carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Ps 88:14).
Psalm 30:8 tn The prefixed verbal forms in v. 8 are probably preterites; the psalmist recalls that he prayed in his time of crisis.
Psalm 30:9 sn The following two verses (vv. 9-10) contain the prayer (or an excerpt of the prayer) that the psalmist offered to the Lord during his crisis.
Psalm 30:9 tn Heb “What profit [is there] in my blood?” “Blood” here represents his life.
Psalm 30:9 tn The Hebrew term שָׁחַת (shakhat, “pit”) is often used as a title for Sheol (see Pss 16:10; 49:9; 55:24 HT [55:23 ET]; 103:4).
Psalm 30:9 tn Heb “dust.” The words “of the grave” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
Psalm 30:9 tn The rhetorical questions anticipate the answer, “Of course not!”sn According to the OT, those who descend into the realm of death/Sheol are cut off from God’s mighty deeds and from the worshiping covenant community that experiences divine intervention (Pss 6:5; 88:10-12; Isa 38:18). In his effort to elicit a positive divine response, the psalmist reminds God that he will receive no praise or glory if he allows the psalmist to die. Dead men do not praise God!
Psalm 30:10 tn Heb “be a helper to me.”
Psalm 30:11 sn Covered me with joy. “Joy” probably stands metonymically for festive attire here.
Psalm 30:12 tn Heb “so that”; or “in order that.”
Psalm 30:12 tn Heb “glory.” Some view כָבוֹד (khavod, “glory”) here as a metonymy for man’s inner being (see BDB 459 s.v. II כָּבוֹד 5), but it is preferable to emend the form to כְּבֵדִי (k^evedi, “my liver”). Like the heart, the liver is viewed as the seat of one’s emotions. See also Pss 16:9; 57:9; 108:1, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 64, and M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:90. For an Ugaritic example of the heart/liver as the source of joy, see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 47-48: “her [Anat’s] liver swelled with laughter, her heart was filled with joy, the liver of Anat with triumph.” “Heart” is used in the translation above for the sake of English idiom; the expression “my liver sings” would seem odd indeed to the modern reader.
Psalm 30:12 tn Or “forever.”

Proverbs 20:28-30

²⁸Loyal love and truth^[a] preserve a king,
and his throne is upheld by loyal love.^[b]
²⁹The glory^[c] of young men is their strength,
and the splendor^[d] of old men is gray hair.^[e]
³⁰Beatings and wounds cleanse away^[f] evil,
and floggings cleanse^[g] the innermost being.^[h]

Footnotes

Proverbs 20:28 tn The first line uses two Hebrew words, חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת (khesed veʾemet, “loyal love and truth”), to tell where security lies. The first word is the covenant term for “loyal love; loving-kindness; mercy”; and the second is “truth” in the sense of what is reliable and dependable. The two words often are joined together to form a hendiadys: “faithful love.” That a hendiadys is intended here is confirmed by the fact that the second line uses only the critical word חֶסֶד.
Proverbs 20:28 sn The emphasis is on the Davidic covenant (2 Sam 7:11-16; Ps 89:19-37). It is the Lord and his faithful love for his covenant that ultimately makes the empire secure. But the enjoyment of divine protection requires the king to show loyal love as well.
Proverbs 20:29 tn The Hebrew term תִּפְאֶרֶת (tifʾeret) means “beauty; glory”; in a context like this it means “honor” in the sense of glorying or boasting (BDB 802 s.v. 3.b).
Proverbs 20:29 tn The Hebrew term הֲדַר (hadar), the noun in construct, means “splendor; honor; ornament.” The latter sense is used here, since grey hair is like a crown on the head.
Proverbs 20:29 sn Gray hair is a metonymy of adjunct; it represents everything valuable about old age—dignity, wisdom, honor, experience, as well as worry and suffering of life. At the very least, since they survived, they must know something. At the most, they were the sages and elders of the people.
Proverbs 20:30 tc The verb מָרַק (maraq) means “to polish; to scour”; in the Hiphil it means “to cleanse away,” but it is only attested here, and that in the Kethib reading of תַּמְרִיק (tamriq). The Qere has תַּמְרוּק (tamruq, “are a means of cleansing”). The LXX has “blows and contusions fall on evil men, and stripes penetrate their inner beings”; the Latin has “the bruise of a wound cleanses away evil things.” C. H. Toy suggests emending the text to read “stripes cleanse the body, and blows the inward parts” or “cosmetics purify the body, and blows the soul” (Proverbs [ICC], 397). Cf. CEV “can knock all of the evil out of you.”
Proverbs 20:30 tn The term “cleanse” does not appear in this line but is supplied in the translation in the light of the parallelism.
Proverbs 20:30 sn Physical punishment may prove spiritually valuable. Other proverbs say that some people will never learn from this kind of punishment, but in general this may be the only thing that works for some cases.

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The Arrival of Ezra

Artaxerxes Gives Official Endorsement to Ezra’s Mission

The Leaders Who Returned with Ezra

The Exiles Travel to Jerusalem

Footnotes

The Apostles’ Ministry

A Father’s Warning

Footnotes

Psalm 30[a]

A psalm, a song used at the dedication of the temple;[b] by David.

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 30^[a]

A psalm, a song used at the dedication of the temple;^[b] by David.