24:18

This verse gives the reason or motivation for the young man to obey the advice in 24:17. The reason is that if he disobeys, there will be bad consequences. This verse does not have parallel parts.

18a or the LORD will see and disapprove,

18b and turn His wrath away from him.

24:18a

or: In Hebrew, this word is literally “lest.” It introduces the bad consequences in the rest of the verse.

the LORD will see: This part of the verse indicates that the LORD will notice or find out if the young man rejoices in the downfall of an enemy.

and disapprove: In Hebrew, this is literally “and it will be evil in his eyes.” It indicates that the LORD will be displeased with the young man’s behavior.

Some other ways to translate 24:18a are:

lest the Lord see it and be displeased (English Standard Version)
-or-
for the LORD will know ⌊what you are doing⌋ , and he will not like it

In some languages, it may be more natural to leave the connection with the previous verse implied. For example:

The Lord will notice and be displeased. (New Century Version)
-or-
The Lord will see it, he won’t like it (God’s Word)

In some languages, it may not be necessary to say explicitly that the LORD “will see.” For example:

For the Lord will be displeased with you (New Living Translation (2004))

This may be a good option if the meaning is understood implicitly.

24:18b

and turn His wrath away from him: This phrase indicates that the LORD will no longer direct his anger toward the young man’s enemy. He will stop punishing him. The preceding context (24:16–17) may imply that the disaster that made the enemy “stumble” was one of the ways in which the LORD showed his anger.

wrath: In Hebrew, this word is the most common word for anger. It refers here to the strong emotion that the LORD feels in response to a person’s sin. This response may involve punishment.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

Then he will stop being angry with them. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
and then he will not punish him
-or-
and he will not be angry with them anymore

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