Proverbs 1:18 - Exposition

And they lay wait for their own blood, etc. The third reason or argument why the teacher's warning should be followed, drawn from the destruction which overtakes the sinners themselves. "Lay wait," and "lurk privily," as in Proverbs 1:11 , from which this verse is evidently borrowed. They propose, as they say, to lay wait for the blood of others; but it is, says the teacher, for their own blood. לְדָמָם ( l'dhammam ), contra sanguinem suum ; they lurk privily. as they say, for the innocent, but in reality it is for their own lives; לְנַפְשֹׁתָם ( l'naph'shotham ); contra animus suas (Vulgate); or, as the LXX . puts it, αὐτοὶ γὰρ οἱ φόνον μετέχοντες θησαυρίζουσιν ἑαυτοῖς κατὰ , "For they who take part in murder treasure up evils for themselves;" that is, they am bringing a heavier and surer destruction upon themselves than they can ever inflict upon others (Wardlaw). The LXX . adds, at the close of the verse, ἡ δὲ καταστροφὴ ἀνδρῶν παρανόμων κακή , "And the overthrowing or destruction of transgressors is wrest, or evil." The Arabic Version has a similar addition.