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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comKeil and Delitzsch Commentary - Proverbs 13:21 - 13:21
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21 Evil pursueth sinners,
And the righteous is repaid with good.
To תְּרַדֵּף of the punishment which follows after sinners at their heels, cf. Nah 1:8. Greek art gives wings to Nemesis in this sense. To translate 21b, with Löwenstein, “The pious, the good rewards them,” is untenable, for טוב, the good (e.g., Pro 11:27), never appears personified, only טוב, goodness, Psa 23:6, according to which the lxx τοὺς δὲ δικαίους καταλήψεται (ישׂיג) ἀγαθά. Still less is טוֹב meant personally, as the Venet. τὰ δὲ δίκαια ἀποδώσει χρηστός, which probably means: righteous conduct will a good one, viz., God, reward. טוב .dr is an attribute of God, but never the name of God. So the verb שִׁלֵּם, after the manner of verbs of educating and leading (גמל, עשׂה, עבד), is connected with a double accusative. The Syr., Targum, and Jerome translate passively, and so also do we; for while we must think of God in the retribuet, yet the proverb does not name Him any more than at Pro 12:14, cf. Pro 10:24; it is designedly constructed, placing Him in the background, with vague generality: the righteous will one, will they, reward with good - this expression, with the most general personal subject, almost coincides with one altogether passive.