1:16
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:
16a For their feet run to evil,
16b and they are swift to shed blood.
In this set of parallel lines, “shed blood” is a specific instance of “evil.” The Contemporary English Version provides another way to make this relationship clear. It has:
They are in a big hurry to commit some crime, perhaps even murder.
1:16a–b
For: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces the first reason why the young man should not follow the lifestyle of criminals. It is because they lead a wicked life. See the summary for Paragraph 1:15–19 above.
In some languages, it may be more natural to introduce this reason without a specific conjunction. For example:
They rush to commit evil deeds. (New Living Translation (2004))
Introduce this reason in a natural way in your language.
their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood: The phrase their feet is a figure of speech (synecdoche) in which a part (their feet) represents the whole person. The phrase shed blood is also a figurative expression that refers in this context to murder.
The words run and swift indicate that these criminals are eager to commit crimes, not that they literally run or move swiftly. Another way to express this meaning is:
They are eager to do evil and are quick to kill. (New Century Version)
-or-
They can’t wait to do something bad. They’re always ready to kill. (Good News Translation)
evil…shed blood: The writer probably intended both of these terms to be understood with a double meaning. The Hebrew word raʿ, which is translated by the Berean Standard Bible as evil, can be understood as either “wickedness” (see the New Century Version or the Good News Translation above) or “harm/disaster.” For example:
they are eager to inflict harm (NET Bible)
Although the criminals intend to do something wicked and harm someone else (1:11), their actions will result in disaster for themselves (1:18). Verse 1:11 also says that they intend to shed the blood of an innocent person. By omitting the word “innocent” here in 1:16, the writer implies that the criminals will end up being killed themselves. This implied meaning is not made explicit until 1:18.
Translators should try to maintain this ambiguity if possible by not specifying the object of the criminals’ actions. If your language requires that an object be made explicit, it is recommended that you use an expression that could refer to either the criminals or their victims. For example:
They are eager to harm someone. They cannot wait for someone to be killed.
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