Amsal 10:7

10:7 The memory ¹  of the righteous is a blessing,

but the reputation ²  of the wicked will rot. ³ 

Amsal 14:4

14:4 Where there are no oxen, the feeding trough is clean,

but an abundant harvest is produced by strong oxen. ⁴ 

Amsal 17:25

17:25 A foolish child is a grief ⁵  to his father,

and bitterness to the mother who bore him. ⁶ 

[10:7]  ¹ sn “Memory” (זֵכֶר, zekher) and “name” are often paired as synonyms. “Memory” in this sense has to do with reputation, fame. One’s reputation will be good or bad by righteousness or wickedness respectively.

[10:7]  ² tn Heb “name.” The term “name” often functions as a metonymy of association for reputation (BDB 1028 s.v. שֵׁם 2.b).

[10:7]  ³ tn The editors of BHS suggest a reading “will be cursed” to make a better parallelism, but the reading of the MT is more striking as a metaphor.

[10:7]  sn To say the wicked’s name will rot means that the name will be obliterated from memory (Exod 17:14; Deut 25:19), leaving only a bad memory for a while.

[14:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “the strength of oxen.” The genitive שׁוֹר (shor, “oxen”) functions as an attributed genitive: “strong oxen.” Strong oxen are indispensable for a good harvest, and for oxen to be strong they must be well-fed. The farmer has to balance grain consumption with the work oxen do.

[17:25]  ⁵ sn The Hebrew noun means “vexation, anger, grief.”

[17:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the one who bore him.” Because the participle is feminine singular in Hebrew, this has been translated as “the mother who bore him.”

[17:25]  sn The proverb is similar to v. 21, 10:1, and 15:20.