Pro 22:3 | NET2full | STEP | A shrewd person saw danger and hid himself, but the naive passed on by and paid for it.

‏ Proverbs 22:3

3 A shrewd person ^{▼▼sn The contrast is between the “shrewd” (prudent) person and the “simpleton.” The shrewd person knows where the dangers and pitfalls are in life and so can avoid them; the naive person is unwary, untrained, and gullible, unable to survive the dangers of the world and blundering into them.} saw ^{▼▼tn All the verbs in this verse are perfect forms, so past tense in English. They portray events that have happened as prototypical of what commonly happens.} danger ^{▼▼tn Heb “evil,” a term that is broad enough to include (1) “sin” as well as (2) any form of “danger” (NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT) or “trouble” (TEV, CEV). The second option is more likely what is meant here: The naive simpleton does not see the danger to be avoided and so suffers for it.} and hid ^{▼▼tc The Kethib is a Niphal imperfect, while the Qere is a Niphal perfect. The perfect form matches the rest of the verbs in the verse and is followed here.} himself,
but the naive passed on by and paid for it. ^{▼▼tn The verb עָנַשׁ (ʿanash) means “to fine” specifically. In the Niphal stem it means “to be fined,” or more generally, “to be punished.” In this line the punishment is the consequence of blundering into trouble—they will pay for it.}