Bible Strands
Proverbs 1:11
If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The text records the collective voice of sinners addressing each other, presented as an enticement directed toward the son in Proverbs 1:10. The words — The Hebrew נֶאֶרְבָ֥ה (ne.'er.Vah) means "let us lie in wait," paired with לְ/דָ֑ם (le./Dam), literally "for blood," establishing a deliberate, communal plot. The thread — This ambush motif recurs in Proverbs 1:18, where the plotters' own blood is targeted, and in Proverbs 12:6 and Jeremiah 5:26, where wicked words and traps are set for the innocent. Why it lands — The verse presents a direct invitation to join a conspiracy against the defenseless, demanding the reader recognize and reject the allure of collective violence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
Cross-references
- Proverbs 1:18 But they lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush their own lives.
- Proverbs 12:6 The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.
- Jeremiah 5:26 For among My people are wicked men; they watch like fowlers lying in wait; they set a trap to catch men.
- Jeremiah 18:18 Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”
- Acts 25:3 to grant them a concession against Paul by summoning him to Jerusalem, because they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.
- Psalms 10:8 He lies in wait near the villages; in ambush he slays the innocent; his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless.
- Psalms 17:12 like a lion greedy for prey, like a young lion lurking in ambush.
- Psalms 35:7 For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul.
- Psalms 56:6 They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps while they wait to take my life.
- Psalms 64:5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they speak of hiding their snares. “Who will see them?” they say.