Paragraph 7:3–4

7:3a–b

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

3a
They delight the king with their evil,

3b and the princes with their lies.

There is an ellipsis in 7:3b. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply the missing verb from 7:3a. For example:

3b
⌊ they delight⌋the princes with their lies.

These lines both indicate that the wicked deeds of the people of Israel delighted their rulers.

king…princes: See how you translated “king or prince” in 3:4a.

their evil…their lies: The word evil refers to actions that are against God’s will, such as dishonest or immoral behavior. See how you translated “evil” in 7:2a.

The word lies refers here to lies or deceit. The words evil and lies are parallel here. This may indicate that deceit was the specific kind of wickedness that delighted the king and the other officials.

Here are some other ways to translate these parallel words:

sin…deceit (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
evil schemes…lies (NET Bible)
-or-
wickedness…treachery (Revised English Bible)

7:3a

They delight the king: The word delight is literally “make glad.” It means that the people’s wicked actions caused the king to be happy. Probably this ruler was glad because the evil deeds benefited hm.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

they make the king happy (New Century Version)
-or-
they make the king glad (New Revised Standard Version)

the king: In Hebrew, there is no article the here. It is possible that this lack of an article indicates any king, not a specific king. For example:

They make kings happy (God’s Word)
-or-
They make a king merry (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)

7:3b

the princes: The word princes probably refers here to the rulers and officials that serve under a king.

Here are some ways to translate this word:

the king and his officials (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
their rulers (New Century Version)
-or-

chief men (New Jerusalem Bible)

General Comment on 7:3a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder and/or combine the parallel parts. For example:

The people’s deceit pleases their rulers.

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