Amsal 5:17

5:17 Let them be for yourself ¹  alone,

and not for strangers with you. ² 

Amsal 6:25

6:25 Do not lust ³  in your heart for her beauty,

and do not let her captivate you with her alluring eyes; ⁴ 

Amsal 7:4

7:4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” ⁵ 

and call understanding a close relative,

Amsal 31:12

31:12 She brings him ⁶  good and not evil ⁷ 

all the days of her life.

Amsal 31:14

31:14 She is like ⁸  the merchant ships; ⁹ 

she brings her food from afar.

[5:17]  ¹ tn The ל (lamed) preposition denotes possession: “for you” = “yours.” The term לְבַדֶּךָ (lÿvadekha) is appositional, underscoring the possession as exclusive.

[5:17]  ² sn The point is that what is private is not to be shared with strangers; it belongs in the home and in the marriage. The water from that cistern is not to be channeled to strangers or to the public.

[6:25]  ³ tn The negated jussive gives the young person an immediate warning. The verb חָמַד (khamad) means “to desire,” and here in the sense of lust. The word is used in the Decalogue of Deut 5:21 for the warning against coveting.

[6:25]  sn Lusting after someone in the heart, according to Jesus, is a sin of the same kind as the act, not just the first step toward it (Matt 5:28). Playing with temptation in the heart – the seat of the will and the emotions – is only the heart reaching out after the sin.

[6:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “her eyelids” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “eyelashes”; TEV “flirting eyes”). This term is a synecdoche of part (eyelids) for the whole (eyes) or a metonymy of association for painted eyes and the luring glances that are the symptoms of seduction (e.g., 2 Kgs 9:30). The term “alluring” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarification.

[7:4]  ⁵ sn The metaphor is meant to signify that the disciple will be closely related to and familiar with wisdom and understanding, as close as to a sibling. Wisdom will be personified in the next two chapters, and so referring to it as a sister in this chapter certainly prepares for that personification.

[31:12]  ⁶ tn The first word of the third line begins with ג (gimel), the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:12]  ⁷ sn The joining of these two words, “good” and “evil,” is frequent in the Bible; they contrast the prosperity and well-being of her contribution with what would be devastating and painful. The way of wisdom is always characterized by “good”; the way of folly is associated with “evil.”

[31:14]  ⁸ tn The first word of the fifth line begins with ה (he), the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:14]  ⁹ sn The point of the simile is that she goes wherever she needs to go, near and far, to gather in all the food for the needs and the likes of the family. The line captures the vision and the industry of this woman.