Amsal 4:5

4:5 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding;

do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak. ¹ 

Amsal 18:22

18:22 The one who finds ²  a wife finds what is enjoyable, ³ 

and receives a pleasurable gift ⁴  from the Lord. ⁵ 

Amsal 19:8

19:8 The one who acquires wisdom ⁶  loves himself; ⁷ 

the one who preserves understanding will prosper. ⁸ 

[4:5]  ¹ 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.

[18:22]  ² tn The verb מָצָא (matsa’, translated “finds”) is used twice in the first colon. It is paralleled by the verb פּוּק (puq, translated “receives”) in the second colon, which carries the same nuance as the preceding verbs. The first perfect tense verb might function in a hypothetical or conditional sense: “If a man finds…then he finds.” But taken as a principle the nuances of the verbs would be gnomic or characteristic.

[18:22]  ³ tn Heb “good.” The term טוֹב (tov, “good; enjoyable; fortune”) might be an allusion to Gen 2:18, which affirms that it is not good for man to be alone. The word describes that which is pleasing to God, beneficial for life, and abundantly enjoyable.

[18:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “what is pleasant.” The noun רָצוֹן (ratson, “what is pleasing”) is often interpreted in a religious-theological sense here: “receives favor from the Lord” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV). However, this term is probably referring to the pleasure that a person enjoys in marriage, so it should be understood in a nonreligious, marital sense: “pleasure” (e.g., Esth 1:8; HALOT 1282 s.v. 1); cf. CEV “she is a gift from the Lord.”

[18:22]  sn The parallelism is formal; the second line of the verse continues the first but explains it further: Finding a spouse, one receives a pleasurable gift from God.

[18:22]  ⁵ tc The LXX adds this embellishment to complete the thought: “Whoever puts away a good wife puts away good, and whoever keeps an adulteress is foolish and ungodly.”

[19:8]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.