Proverbs 17:13

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Proverbs 17:13 tn The sentence begins with the participle מֵשִׁיב (meshiv, “the one who repays”). The whole first colon may be taken as an independent nominative absolute, with the formal sentence to follow. Some English versions have made the first colon a condition by supplying “if” (NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT).
2. Proverbs 17:13 tn The verb מוּשׁ (mush) means “to depart; to remove.” The Kethib is a Hiphil, which would yield a meaning of “to take away”; so the Qere, which is the Qal, makes more sense in the line.
3. Proverbs 17:13 sn The proverb does not explain whether God will turn evil back on him directly or whether people will begin to treat him as he treated others.