Amsal 10:19

10:19 When words abound, transgression is inevitable, ¹ 

but the one who restrains ²  his words ³  is wise.

Amsal 13:3

13:3 The one who guards his words ⁴  guards his life,

but ⁵  whoever is talkative ⁶  will come to ruin. ⁷ 

Amsal 17:27

17:27 The truly wise person ⁸  restrains ⁹  his words,

and the one who stays calm ¹⁰  is discerning.

Amsal 17:18

17:18 The one who lacks wisdom ¹¹  strikes hands in pledge, ¹² 

and puts up financial security ¹³  for his neighbor. ¹⁴ 

Amsal 18:13

18:13 The one who gives an answer ¹⁵  before he listens ¹⁶  –

that is his folly and his shame. ¹⁷ 

[10:19]  ¹ tn Heb “does not cease.” It is impossible to avoid sinning in an abundance of words – sooner or later one is bound to say something wrong.

[10:19]  ² tn Or “holds his lips under control.” The verb חָשַׂךְ (khasakh) means “to withhold; to restrain; to hold in check” (BDB 362 s.v.). The related Arabic term is used in reference to placing a piece of wood in the mouth of a goat to prevent it from sucking (HALOT 359 s.v. חשׂךְ).

[10:19]  ³ tn Heb “his lips” (so KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “his tongue.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause for speech.

[13:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “mouth” (so KJV, NAB). The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech.

[13:3]  ⁵ tn The term “but” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[13:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “opens wide his lips.” This is an idiom meaning “to be talkative” (BDB 832 s.v. פָּשַׂק Qal). Cf. NIV “speaks rashly”; TEV “a careless talker”; CEV “talk too much.”

[13:3]  ⁷ sn Tight control over what one says prevents trouble (e.g., Prov 10:10; 17:28; Jas 3:1-12; Sir 28:25). Amenemope advises to “sleep a night before speaking” (5:15; ANET 422, n. 10). The old Arab proverb is appropriate: “Take heed that your tongue does not cut your throat” (O. Zockler, Proverbs, 134).

[17:27]  ⁸ tn Heb “the one knowing knowledge.” The cognate accusative underscores the meaning of the participle – this is a truly knowledgeable person.

[17:27]  ⁹ sn The participle חוֹשֵׂךְ (khosekh) means “withholds; restrains; refrains; spares; holds in check,” etc. One who has knowledge speaks carefully.

[17:27]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “cool of spirit.” This genitive of specification describes one who is “calm” (so NCV, TEV, CEV) or “even-tempered” (so NIV, NLT); he is composed.

[17:18]  ¹¹ tn Heb “heart”; KJV, ASV “a man void of understanding”; NIV “a man lacking in judgment.”

[17:18]  ¹² tn The phrase “in pledge” is supplied for the sake of clarification.

[17:18]  ¹³ tn The line uses the participle עֹרֵב (’orev) with its cognate accusative עֲרֻבָּה (’arubah), “who pledges a pledge.”

[17:18]  ¹⁴ sn It is foolish to pledge security for someone’s loans (e.g., Prov 6:1-5).

[18:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “returns a word”; KJV “He that answereth a matter.”

[18:13]  ¹⁶ sn Poor listening and premature answering indicate that the person has a low regard for what the other is saying, or that he is too absorbed in his own ideas. The Mishnah lists this as the second characteristic of the uncultured person (m. Avot 5:7).

[18:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “it is folly to him and shame.” The verse uses formal parallelism, with the second colon simply completing the thought of the first.