Amsal 1:13

1:13 We will seize ¹  all kinds ²  of precious wealth;

we will fill our houses with plunder. ³ 

Amsal 4:13

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

protect it, ⁵  because it is your life.

Amsal 5:6

5:6 Lest ⁶  she should make level the path leading to life, ⁷ 

her paths are unstable ⁸  but she does not know it. ⁹ 

Amsal 5:23

5:23 He will die because ¹⁰  there was no discipline;

because of the greatness of his folly ¹¹  he will reel. ¹² 

Amsal 6:12

6:12 A worthless and wicked person ¹³ 

walks around saying perverse ¹⁴  things; ¹⁵ 

Amsal 7:21

7:21 She persuaded him ¹⁶  with persuasive words; ¹⁷ 

with her smooth talk ¹⁸  she compelled him. ¹⁹ 

Amsal 11:5

11:5 The righteousness of the blameless will make straight their way, ²⁰ 

but the wicked person will fall by his own wickedness. ²¹ 

Amsal 11:19

11:19 True ²²  righteousness leads to ²³  life,

but the one who pursues evil pursues it ²⁴  to his own death. ²⁵ 

Amsal 13:3

13:3 The one who guards his words ²⁶  guards his life,

but ²⁷  whoever is talkative ²⁸  will come to ruin. ²⁹ 

Amsal 15:6

15:6 In the house ³⁰  of the righteous is abundant wealth, ³¹ 

but the income of the wicked brings trouble. ³² 

Amsal 19:23-24

19:23 Fearing the Lord ³³  leads ³⁴  to life, ³⁵ 

and one who does so will live ³⁶  satisfied; he will not be afflicted ³⁷  by calamity.

19:24 The sluggard plunges ³⁸  his hand in the dish,

and he will not even bring it back to his mouth! ³⁹ 

Amsal 26:20

26:20 Where there is no wood, a fire goes out,

and where there is no gossip, ⁴⁰  contention ceases. ⁴¹ 

Amsal 31:3

31:3 Do not give your strength ⁴²  to women,

nor your ways ⁴³  to that which ruins ⁴⁴  kings.

Amsal 31:24

31:24 She makes linen garments ⁴⁵  and sells them,

and supplies the merchants ⁴⁶  with sashes.

[1:13]  ¹ tn Heb “find.” The use of the verb מָצָא (matsa’, “to find”) is deliberate understatement to rhetorically down-play the heinous act of thievery.

[1:13]  ² tn Heb “all wealth of preciousness.”

[1:13]  ³ tn The noun שָׁלָל (shalal, “plunder”) functions as an adverbial accusative of material: “with plunder.” This term is normally used for the spoils of war (e.g., Deut 20:14; Josh 7:21; Judg 8:24, 25; 1 Sam 30:20) but here refers to “stolen goods” (so NCV, CEV; e.g., Isa 10:2; Prov 16:19; BDB 1022 s.v. 3). The enticement was to join a criminal gang and adopt a life of crime to enjoy ill-gotten gain (A. Cohen, Proverbs, 4). Cf. NAB, NRSV “booty”; TEV “loot.”

[4:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “discipline.”

[4:13]  ⁵ tn The form נִצְּרֶהָ (nitsÿreha, from נָצַר, natsar) has an anomalous doubled letter (see GKC 73 §20.h).

[5:6]  ⁶ tn The particle פֶּן (pen) means “lest” (probably from “for the aversion of”). It occurs this once, unusually, preceding the principal clause (BDB 814 s.v.). It means that some action has been taken to avert or avoid what follows. She avoids the path of life, albeit ignorantly.

[5:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “the path of life.” The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “of life”) functions as a genitive of direction (“leading to”).

[5:6]  ⁸ sn The verb נוּעַ (nua’) means “to quiver; to wave; to waver; to tremble”; cf. KJV “her ways are moveable”; NAB “her paths will ramble”; NLT “She staggers down a crooked trail.” The ways of the adulterous woman are unstable (BDB 631 s.v.).

[5:6]  ⁹ sn The sadder part of the description is that this woman does not know how unstable her life is, or how uneven. However, Thomas suggests that it means, “she is not tranquil.” See D. W. Thomas, “A Note on לא תדע in Proverbs v 6,” JTS 37 (1936): 59.

[5:23]  ¹⁰ tn The preposition בּ (bet) is used in a causal sense: “because” (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV).

[5:23]  ¹¹ sn The word אִוַּלְתּוֹ (’ivvalto, “his folly”) is from the root אול and is related to the noun אֶוִיל (’evil, “foolish; fool”). The noun אִוֶּלֶת (’ivvelet, “folly”) describes foolish and destructive activity. It lacks understanding, destroys what wisdom builds, and leads to destruction if it is not corrected.

[5:23]  ¹² sn The verb שָׁגָה (shagah, “to swerve; to reel”) is repeated in a negative sense. If the young man is not captivated by his wife but is captivated with a stranger in sinful acts, then his own iniquities will captivate him and he will be led to ruin.

[6:12]  ¹³ sn The terms describe one who is both worthless and wicked. Some suggest that בְּלִיַּעַל (bÿliyya’al) is a compound of the negative בְּלִי (bÿli) and a noun יַעַל (ya’al, “profit; worth”). Others suggest that the root is from בַּעַל (ba’al, “lord [of goats]”) or a derivative of בָּלַע (bala’) with reduplication (“confusion” or “engulfing ruin”), or a proper name from Babylonian Bililu. See B. Otzen, TDOT 2:131-36; and D. W. Thomas, “בְּלִיַּעַל in the Old Testament,” Biblical and Patristic Studies in Memory of Robert Pierce Casey, 11-19. Whatever the etymology, usage shows that the word describes people who violate the law (Deut 15:9; Judg 19:22; 1 Kgs 21:10, 13; Prov 16:27; et al.) or act in a contemptuous and foolish manner against cultic observance or social institutions (1 Sam 10:27; 25:17; 30:22); cf. NRSV “a scoundrel and a villain” (NAB and NIV similar). The present instruction will focus on the devious practice of such wicked and worthless folk.

[6:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “crooked” or “twisted.” This term can refer to something that is physically twisted or crooked, or something morally perverse. Cf. NAB “crooked talk”; NRSV “crooked speech.”

[6:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “walks around with a perverse mouth.” The term “mouth” is a metonymy of cause, an organ of speech put for what is said. This is an individual who says perverted or twisted things.

[7:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “she turned him aside.” This expression means that she persuaded him. This section now begins the description of the capitulation, for the flattering speech is finished.

[7:21]  ¹⁷ sn The term לֶקַח (leqakh) was used earlier in Proverbs for wise instruction; now it is used ironically for enticement to sin (see D. W. Thomas, “Textual and Philological Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 280-92).

[7:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “smooth of her lips”; cf. NAB “smooth lips”; NASB “flattering lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause representing what she says.

[7:21]  ¹⁹ tn The verb means “to impel; to thrust; to banish,” but in this stem in this context “to compel; to force” into some action. The imperfect tense has the nuance of progressive imperfect to parallel the characteristic perfect of the first colon.

[11:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “his way.”

[11:5]  ²¹ sn The righteous will enjoy security and serenity throughout life. Righteousness makes the path straight; wickedness destroys the wicked.

[11:19]  ²² tn Heb “the veritable of righteousness.” The adjective כֵּן (ken, “right; honest; veritable”) functions substantivally as an attributive genitive, meaning “veritable righteousness” = true righteousness (BDB 467 s.v. 2; HALOT 482 s.v. I כֵּן 2.b). One medieval Hebrew ms, LXX, and Syriac read בֵּן (ben), “son of righteousness.” That idiom, however, usually introduces bad qualities (“son of worthlessness”). Others interpret it as “righteousness is the foundation of life.” KB identifies the form as a participle and reads it as “steadfast in righteousness”; but the verb does not otherwise exist in the Qal. W. McKane reads it as כָּן (kan, from כּוּן, kun) and translates it “strive after” life (Proverbs [OTL], 435).

[11:19]  ²³ tn Heb “is to life.” The expression “leads to” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but the idiom implies it; it is supplied in the translation for smoothness.

[11:19]  ²⁴ tn The phrase “pursues it” does not appear in the Hebrew but has been supplied in the translation from context.

[11:19]  ²⁵ sn “Life” and “death” describe the vicissitudes of this life but can also refer to the situation beyond the grave. The two paths head in opposite directions.

[13:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “mouth” (so KJV, NAB). The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech.

[13:3]  ²⁷ tn The term “but” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[13:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “opens wide his lips.” This is an idiom meaning “to be talkative” (BDB 832 s.v. פָּשַׂק Qal). Cf. NIV “speaks rashly”; TEV “a careless talker”; CEV “talk too much.”

[13:3]  ²⁹ sn Tight control over what one says prevents trouble (e.g., Prov 10:10; 17:28; Jas 3:1-12; Sir 28:25). Amenemope advises to “sleep a night before speaking” (5:15; ANET 422, n. 10). The old Arab proverb is appropriate: “Take heed that your tongue does not cut your throat” (O. Zockler, Proverbs, 134).

[15:6]  ³⁰ tn The term בֵּית (bet, “house”) functions as an adverbial accusative of location.

[15:6]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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).

[19:23]  ³³ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This expression features an objective genitive: “fearing the Lord.”

[19:23]  ³⁴ tn The term “leads” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and style.

[19:23]  ³⁵ tn Here “life” is probably a metonymy of subject for “blessings and prosperity in life.” The plural form often covers a person’s “lifetime.”

[19:23]  ³⁶ tn The subject of this verb is probably the one who fears the Lord and enjoys life. So the proverb uses synthetic parallelism; the second half tells what this life is like – it is an abiding contentment that is not threatened by calamity (cf. NCV “unbothered by trouble”).

[19:23]  ³⁷ tn Heb “he will not be visited” (so KJV, ASV). The verb פָּקַד (paqad) is often translated “visit.” It describes intervention that will change the destiny. If God “visits” it means he intervenes to bless or to curse. To be “visited by trouble” means that calamity will interfere with the course of life and change the direction or the destiny. Therefore this is not referring to a minor trouble that one might briefly experience. A life in the Lord cannot be disrupted by such major catastrophes that would alter one’s destiny.

[19:24]  ³⁸ tn Heb “buries” (so many English versions); KJV “hideth”; NAB “loses.”

[19:24]  ³⁹ sn This humorous portrayal is an exaggeration; but the point is that laziness can overcome hunger. It would have a wider application for anyone who would start a project and then lack the interest or energy to finish it (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 111). Ibn Ezra proposes that the dish was empty, because the sluggard was too lazy to provide for himself.

[26:20]  ⁴⁰ sn Gossip (that is, the one who goes around whispering and slandering) fuels contention just as wood fuels a fire. The point of the proverb is to prevent contention – if one takes away the cause, contention will cease (e.g., 18:8).

[26:20]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “becomes silent.”

[31:3]  ⁴² sn The word translated “strength” refers to physical powers here, i.e., “vigor” (so NAB) or “stamina.” It is therefore a metonymy of cause; the effect would be what spending this strength meant – sexual involvement with women. It would be easy for a king to spend his energy enjoying women, but that would be unwise.

[31:3]  ⁴³ sn The word “ways” may in general refer to the heart’s affection for or attention to, or it may more specifically refer to sexual intercourse. While in the book of Proverbs the term is an idiom for the course of life, in this context it must refer to the energy spent in this activity.

[31:3]  ⁴⁴ tn The construction uses Qal infinitive construct לַמְחוֹת (lamkhot, “to wipe out; to blot out; to destroy”). The construction is somewhat strange, and so some interpreters suggest changing it to מֹחוֹת (mokhot, “destroyers of kings”); cf. BDB 562 s.v. מָחָה Qal.3. Commentators note that the form is close to an Aramaic word that means “concubine,” and an Arabic word that is an indelicate description for women.

[31:24]  ⁴⁵ tn The first word of the fifteenth line begins with ס (samek), the fifteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:24]  sn The poet did not think it strange or unworthy for a woman of this stature to be a businesswoman engaged in an honest trade. In fact, weaving of fine linens was a common trade for women in the ancient world.

[31:24]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “to the Canaanites.” These are the Phoenician traders that survived the wars and continued to do business down to the exile.