Amsal 15:5

15:5 A fool rejects his father’s discipline,

but whoever heeds reproof shows good sense. ¹ 

Amsal 1:23

1:23 If only ²  you will respond ³  to my rebuke, ⁴ 

then ⁵  I will pour ⁶  out my thoughts ⁷  to you

and ⁸  I will make ⁹  my words known to you.

Amsal 9:8-9

9:8 Do not reprove ¹⁰  a mocker or ¹¹  he will hate you;

reprove a wise person and he will love you.

9:9 Give instruction ¹²  to a wise person, ¹³  and he will become wiser still;

teach ¹⁴  a righteous person and he will add to his ¹⁵  learning.

Amsal 13:20

13:20 The one who associates ¹⁶  with the wise grows wise,

but a companion of fools suffers harm. ¹⁷ 

Amsal 19:20

19:20 Listen to advice ¹⁸  and receive discipline,

that ¹⁹  you may become wise ²⁰  by the end of your life. ²¹ 

Amsal 25:12

25:12 Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold, ²² 

so is a wise reprover to the ear of the one who listens. ²³ 

[15:5]  ¹ tn Heb “is prudent” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NCV, NLT “is wise.” Anyone who accepts correction or rebuke will become prudent in life.

[1:23]  ² tn The imperfect tense is in the conditional protasis without the conditional particle, followed by the clause beginning with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “then”). The phrase “If only…” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied by the syntax; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:23]  ³ tn Heb “turn.” The verb is from שׁוּב (shuv, “to return; to respond; to repent”).

[1:23]  ⁴ sn The noun תּוֹכַחַת (tokhakhat, “rebuke”) is used in all kinds of disputes including rebuking, arguing, reasoning, admonishing, and chiding. The term is broad enough to include here warning and rebuke. Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “reproof”; TEV “when I reprimand you”; CEV “correct you.”

[1:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “Behold!”

[1:23]  ⁶ tn The Hiphil cohortative of נָבַע (nava’, “to pour out”) describes the speaker’s resolution to pour out wisdom on those who respond.

[1:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “my spirit.” The term “spirit” (רוּחַ, ruakh) functions as a metonymy (= spirit) of association (= thoughts), as indicated by the parallelism with “my words” (דְּבָרַי, dÿbaray). The noun רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) can have a cognitive nuance, e.g., “spirit of wisdom” (Exod 28:3; Deut 34:9). It is used metonymically for “words” (Job 20:3) and “mind” (Isa 40:13; Ezek 11:5; 20:32; 1 Chr 28:12; see BDB 925 s.v. רוּחַ 6). The “spirit of wisdom” produces skill and capacity necessary for success (Isa 11:2; John 7:37-39).

[1:23]  ⁸ tn The conjunction “and” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[1:23]  ⁹ tn Here too the form is the cohortative, stressing the resolution of wisdom to reveal herself to the one who responds.

[9:8]  ¹⁰ tn In view of the expected response for reproof, the text now uses a negated jussive to advise against the attempt. This is paralleled antithetically by the imperative in the second colon. This imperative is in an understood conditional clause: “if you reprove a wise person.”

[9:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “lest he hate you.” The particle פֶּן (pen, “lest”) expresses fear or precaution (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 79, §476). The antonyms “love” and “hate” suggest that the latter means “reject” and the former means “choosing and embracing.”

[9:9]  ¹² tn The noun “instruction” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation.

[9:9]  ¹³ sn The parallelism shows what Proverbs will repeatedly stress, that the wise person is the righteous person.

[9:9]  ¹⁴ tn The Hiphil verb normally means “to cause to know, make known”; but here the context suggests “to teach” (so many English versions).

[9:9]  ¹⁵ tn The term “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for the sake of smoothness and clarity.

[13:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “walks.” When used with the preposition אֶת (’et, “with”), the verb הָלַךְ (halakh, “to walk”) means “to associate with” someone (BDB 234 s.v. הָלַךְ II.3.b; e.g., Mic 6:8; Job 34:8). The active participle of הָלַךְ (“to walk”) stresses continual, durative action. One should stay in close association with the wise, and move in the same direction they do.

[13:20]  ¹⁷ tn The verb form יֵרוֹעַ (yeroa’) is the Niphal imperfect of רָעַע (ra’a’), meaning “to suffer hurt.” Several have attempted to parallel the repetition in the wordplay of the first colon. A. Guillaume has “he who associates with fools will be left a fool” (“A Note on the Roots רִיע, יָרַע, and רָעַע in Hebrew,” JTS 15 [1964]: 294). Knox translated the Vulgate thus: “Fool he ends that fool befriends” (cited by D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 104).

[19:20]  ¹⁸ sn The advice refers in all probability to the teachings of the sages that will make one wise.

[19:20]  ¹⁹ tn The proverb is one continuous thought, but the second half of the verse provides the purpose for the imperatives of the first half.

[19:20]  ²⁰ tn The imperfect tense has the nuance of a final imperfect in a purpose clause, and so is translated “that you may become wise” (cf. NAB, NRSV).

[19:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “become wise in your latter end” (cf. KJV, ASV) which could obviously be misunderstood.

[25:12]  ²² sn This saying is another example of emblematic parallelism; the first half is the simile, and the second half makes the point from it: A wise rebuke that is properly received is of lasting value. The rebuke in the ear of an obedient student is like ornaments of fine jewelry.

[25:12]  ²³ tn The “ear of the listener” refers to the obedient disciple, the one who complies with the reproof he hears. Cf. KJV, ASV, NAB “an obedient ear.”