58 Heb “recompense” (so ); , “wages.” The noun פְּעֻלַּה (pé’ullah) has a two-fold range of meanings: (1) “work; deed” and (2) “reward; recompense” ( 821 ). There is a clear correlation between a person’s conduct and its consequences. Rewards are determined by moral choices. What one receives in life depends on the use of gifts and a righteous character.
59 Heb “the recompense of the righteous.”
60 Heb “harvest.” The term תְּבוּאַת (tévu’at, “harvest; yield”) is used figuratively here (hypocatastasis), drawing an implied comparison between the agricultural yield of a farmer’s labors with the consequences of the actions of the wicked. They will “reap” (= judgment) what they “sow” (= sin).
61 Heb “the harvest of the wicked.”
62 Heb “sin.” The term חַטָּאת (khatta’t, “sin”) functions as a metonymy of cause (= sin) for effect (= punishment). In contrast to the righteous who receive a reward, the wicked receive punishment for their sin (cf. , , ). See D. W. Thomas, “The Meaning of חַטָּאת in Proverbs X.16,” 15 (1964): 295–96.
63 Heb “discipline.” The noun מוּסָר (musar) has a basic two-fold range of meanings: (1) “discipline” (so ; “admonition”; , “correction”) and (2) “instruction” ( 416 ; so , , ). The wise person listens to instruction (first colon); however, the fool will not even take discipline to heart (second colon).
64 The term is a genitive of location indicating the goal ( §9.5.2f).
65 The contrast with the one who holds fast to discipline is the one who forsakes or abandons reproof or correction. Whereas the first is an example, this latter individual causes people to wander from the true course of life, that is, causes them to err.