Amsal 15:6

15:6 In the house ¹  of the righteous is abundant wealth, ² 

but the income of the wicked brings trouble. ³ 

Amsal 20:15

20:15 There is gold, and an abundance of rubies,

but ⁴  words of knowledge ⁵  are like ⁶  a precious jewel.

Amsal 21:20

21:20 There is desirable treasure and olive oil ⁷  in the dwelling of the wise,

but a foolish person ⁸  devours all he has. ⁹ 

Amsal 27:23-27

27:23 Pay careful attention to ¹⁰  the condition of your flocks, ¹¹ 

give careful attention ¹²  to your herds,

27:24 for riches do not last ¹³  forever,

nor does a crown last ¹⁴  from generation to generation.

27:25 When the hay is removed and new grass appears,

and the grass from the hills is gathered in,

27:26 the lambs will be for your clothing,

and the goats will be for the price of a field. ¹⁵ 

27:27 And there will be enough goat’s milk for your food, ¹⁶ 

for the food of your household,

and for the sustenance ¹⁷  of your servant girls.

[15:6]  ¹ tn The term בֵּית (bet, “house”) functions as an adverbial accusative of location.

[15:6]  ² sn The Hebrew noun חֹסֶן (khosen) means “wealth; treasure.” Prosperity is the reward for righteousness. This is true only in so far as a proverb can be carried in its application, allowing for exceptions. The Greek text for this verse has no reference for wealth, but talks about amassing righteousness.

[15:6]  ³ tn Heb “will be troubled.” The function of the Niphal participle may be understood in two ways: (1) substantival use: abstract noun meaning “disturbance, calamity” (BDB 747 s.v. עָכַר) or passive noun meaning “thing troubled,” or (2) verbal use: “will be troubled” (HALOT 824 s.v. עכר nif).

[20:15]  ⁴ tn The verse is usually taken as antithetical parallelism: There may be gold and rubies but the true gem is knowledge. However, C. H. Toy arranges it differently: “store of gold and wealth of corals and precious vessels – all are wise lips” (Proverbs [ICC], 388). But this uses the gems as metaphors for wise speech, and does not stress the contrast between wealth and wisdom.

[20:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “lips of knowledge.” The term “lips” is a metonymy for speaking, and “knowledge” could be either an attributive genitive or objective genitive: “knowledgeable lips.” Lips that impart knowledge are the true jewel to be sought.

[20:15]  ⁶ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[21:20]  ⁷ tn The mention of “olive oil” (שֶׁמֶן, shemen) is problematic in the line – how can a fool devour it? Several attempts have been made to alleviate the problem. The NIV interprets “treasure” as “choice food,” so that food and oil would make more sense being swallowed. C. H. Toy (Proverbs [ICC], 406) suggests dropping “oil” altogether based on the reading in the LXX, but the Greek is too general for any support: It has “precious treasure will rest on the mouth of the sage.” W. McKane wants to change “oil” to an Arabic word “expensive” to read “desirable and rare wealth” (Proverbs [OTL], 552), but this idea does not match the metaphor any better. The figure of “devouring” in the second line simply means the fool uses up whatever he has.

[21:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “a fool of a man.”

[21:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “he swallows it.” The imagery compares swallowing food with consuming one’s substance. The fool does not prepare for the future.

[27:23]  ¹⁰ tn The sentence uses the infinitive absolute and the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “to know”). The imperfect here has been given the obligatory nuance, “you must know,” and that has to be intensified with the infinitive.

[27:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the faces of your flock.”

[27:23]  ¹² tn The idiom is “place [it on] your heart” or “take to heart.” Cf. NLT “put your heart into.”

[27:23]  sn The care of the flock must become the main focus of the will, for it is the livelihood. So v. 23 forms the main instruction of this lengthy proverb (vv. 23-27).

[27:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “riches are not forever” (so KJV, NASB); TEV “wealth is not permanent.” The term “last” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[27:24]  ¹⁴ tn The conjunction and the particle indicate that the same nuance continues here in the second colon, and so “last” has been supplied here as well.

[27:26]  ¹⁵ sn Verse 25 is the protasis and v. 26 the apodosis. The two verses say that when the harvest is taken in, then the grass will grow, and they can sell and use their livestock. The lambs will provide clothing, and the goats when sold will pay for land.

[27:27]  ¹⁶ sn This part of the proverb shows the proper interplay between human labor and divine provision. It teaches people to take care of what they have because it will not last forever.

[27:27]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “life”; KJV, NAB “maintenance”; NRSV “nourishment.”