Amsal 3:1

Exhortations to Seek Wisdom and Walk with the Lord ¹ 

3:1 My child, ²  do not forget my teaching,

but let your heart keep ³  my commandments,

Amsal 3:6

3:6 Acknowledge ⁴  him in all your ways, ⁵ 

and he will make your paths straight. ⁶ 

Amsal 4:1

Admonition to Follow Righteousness and Avoid Wickedness ⁷ 

4:1 Listen, children, ⁸  to a father’s instruction, ⁹ 

and pay attention so that ¹⁰  you may gain ¹¹  discernment.

Amsal 4:5

4:5 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding;

do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak. ¹² 

Amsal 4:13

4:13 Hold on to instruction, ¹³  do not let it go;

protect it, ¹⁴  because it is your life.

Amsal 10:17

10:17 The one who heeds instruction ¹⁵  is on the way to ¹⁶  life,

but the one who rejects ¹⁷  rebuke goes astray.

Amsal 17:4

17:4 One who acts wickedly ¹⁸  pays attention to evil counsel; ¹⁹ 

a liar listens ²⁰  to a malicious tongue. ²¹ 

Amsal 19:8

19:8 The one who acquires wisdom ²²  loves himself; ²³ 

the one who preserves understanding will prosper. ²⁴ 

Amsal 23:1

23:1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

consider carefully ²⁵  what ²⁶  is before you,

Amsal 23:19

23:19 Listen, my child, ²⁷  and be wise,

and guide your heart on the right way.

Amsal 29:19

29:19 A servant ²⁸  cannot be corrected ²⁹  by words,

for although ³⁰  he understands, there is no answer. ³¹ 

[3:1]  ¹ sn The chapter begins with an introductory exhortation (1-4), followed by an admonition to be faithful to the Lord (5-12). Wisdom is commended as the most valuable possession (13-18), essential to creation (19-20), and the way to a long and safe life (21-26). There then follows a warning to avoid unneighborliness (27-30) and emulating the wicked (31-35).

[3:1]  ² tn Heb “my son” (likewise in vv. 11, 21).

[3:1]  ³ tn The verb יִצֹּר (yitsor) is a Qal jussive and the noun לִבֶּךָ (libbekha, “your heart”) functions as the subject: “let your heart keep my commandments.”

[3:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “know him.” The verb יָדַע (yadah, “to know”) includes mental awareness of who God is and the consequential submission to his lordship. To know him is to obey him. The sage is calling for a life of trust and obedience in which the disciple sees the Lord in every event and relies on him. To acknowledge the Lord in every event means trusting and obeying him for guidance in right conduct.

[3:6]  ⁵ tn The term דֶרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) is figurative (hypocatastasis: implied comparison) referring to a person’s course of life, actions and undertakings (Prov 2:8; 3:6, 23; 11:5; 20:24; 29:27; 31:3; BDB 203 s.v. 5; cf. TEV “in everything you do”; NCV, NLT “in all you do”). This is a call for total commitment in trust for obedience in all things.

[3:6]  ⁶ tn The verb יָשָׁר (yashar) means “to make smooth; to make straight” (BDB 444 s.v.). This phrase means “to make the way free from obstacles,” that is, to make it successful (e.g., Isa 40:3). The straight, even road is the right road; God will make the way smooth for the believer.

[4:1]  ⁷ sn The chapter includes an exhortation to acquire wisdom (1-4a), a list of the benefits of wisdom (4b-9), a call to pursue a righteous lifestyle (10-13), a warning against a wicked lifestyle (14-19), and an exhortation to righteousness (20-27).

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “sons.”

[4:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “discipline.”

[4:1]  ¹⁰ tn The Qal infinitive construct with preposition ל (lamed) indicates the purpose/result of the preceding imperative.

[4:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “know” (so KJV, ASV).

[4:5]  ¹² tn Heb “from the words of my mouth” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); TEV, CEV “what I say.”

[4:5]  sn The verse uses repetition for the imperative “acquire” to underscore the importance of getting wisdom; it then uses two verb forms for the one prepositional phrase to stress the warning.

[4:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “discipline.”

[4:13]  ¹⁴ tn The form נִצְּרֶהָ (nitsÿreha, from נָצַר, natsar) has an anomalous doubled letter (see GKC 73 §20.h).

[10:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “discipline.” The noun מוּסָר (musar) has a basic two-fold range of meanings: (1) “discipline” (so NIV; NAB “admonition”; NCV, NLT “correction”) and (2) “instruction” (BDB 416 s.v.; so KJV, NASB, NRSV). The wise person listens to instruction (first colon); however, the fool will not even take discipline to heart (second colon).

[10:17]  ¹⁶ tn The term is a genitive of location indicating the goal (IBHS 147-48 §9.5.2f).

[10:17]  ¹⁷ sn The contrast with the one who holds fast to discipline is the one who forsakes or abandons reproof or correction. Whereas the first is an example, this latter individual causes people to wander from the true course of life, that is, causes them to err.

[17:4]  ¹⁸ tn The Hiphil participle מֵרַע (mera’) indicates one who is a doer of evil. The line affirms that a person of this nature will eagerly listen to evil talk – it is part of his nature.

[17:4]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to the lip of evil”; ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV “wicked lips.” The term “lip” is a metonymy of cause for speech (what is said); the term “evil” is an attributive genitive. The same will be true in the parallel line where the expression “to the tongue of destruction” (NASB “a destructive tongue”) means things that are said that destroy others.

[17:4]  ²⁰ tc The verb מֵזִין (mezin) is from זִין (zir, “to feed”); therefore, the suggested emendation is to take it from אֹזֶן (’ozen, “ear”) as a denominative verb, “to give ear; to listen to.” Two Hebrew mss have this variant.

[17:4]  ²¹ sn Wicked, self-serving people find destructive speech appealing. They should be rebuked and not tolerated (Lev 19:17).

[19:8]  ²² tn Heb “heart.” Most English versions translate as “wisdom,” but cf. NAB “intelligence.” This refers to a mind that works (e.g., Prov 7:7; 9:4).

[19:8]  ²³ tn Heb “his own soul.” The expression “loves his soul” means that he is paying attention to his needs or taking care of his life (cf. NAB “is his own best friend”). This expression works with its parallel to provide the whole idea: “loving the soul” is the metonymy of the cause for prospering, and “prospering” is the metonymy of the effect (of loving).

[19:8]  ²⁴ tn Heb “finds good” (similar KJV, NASB); NCV “will succeed.” The MT reads לִמְצֹא (limtso’), a Qal infinitive construct. The LXX (as well as the other major early versions) renders it as a future, which reflects a Vorlage of יִמְצָא (yimtsa’). The infinitive is used here in a modal sense, meaning “is destined to” or “is certain of” finding good in life.

[23:1]  ²⁵ tn The construction uses the imperfect tense of instruction with the infinitive absolute to emphasize the careful discernment required on such occasions. Cf. NIV “note well”; NLT “pay attention.”

[23:1]  ²⁶ tn Or “who,” referring to the ruler (so ASV, NAB, TEV).

[23:19]  ²⁷ tn Heb “my son,” but the immediate context does not limit this to male children.

[29:19]  ²⁸ sn Servants could not be corrected by mere words; they had to be treated like children for they were frequently unresponsive. This, of course, would apply to certain kinds of servants. The Greek version translated this as “a stubborn servant.”

[29:19]  ²⁹ tn The Niphal imperfect here is best rendered as a potential imperfect – “cannot be corrected.” The second line of the verse clarifies that even though the servant understands the words, he does not respond. It will take more.

[29:19]  ³⁰ tn Heb “for he understands, but there is no answer.” The concessive idea (“although”) is taken from the juxtaposition of the two parts.

[29:19]  ³¹ sn To say “there is no answer” means that this servant does not obey – he has to be trained in a different way.