Amsal 1:29

1:29 Because ¹  they hated moral knowledge, ² 

and did not choose to fear the Lord, ³ 

Amsal 2:19

2:19 None who go in to her will return, ⁴ 

nor will they reach the paths of life. ⁵ 

Amsal 6:1

Admonitions and Warnings against Dangerous and Destructive Acts ⁶ 

6:1 My child, ⁷  if you have made a pledge ⁸  for your neighbor,

and ⁹  have become a guarantor ¹⁰  for a stranger, ¹¹ 

Amsal 12:3

12:3 No one ¹²  can be established ¹³  through wickedness,

but a righteous root ¹⁴  cannot be moved.

Amsal 12:15

12:15 The way of a fool ¹⁵  is right ¹⁶  in his own opinion, ¹⁷ 

but the one who listens to advice is wise. ¹⁸ 

Amsal 13:8

13:8 The ransom ¹⁹  of a person’s ²⁰  life is his wealth,

but the poor person hears no threat. ²¹ 

Amsal 13:25

13:25 The righteous has enough food to satisfy his appetite, ²² 

but the belly of the wicked lacks food. ²³ 

Amsal 14:5-6

14:5 A truthful witness ²⁴  does not lie,

but a false witness ²⁵  breathes out lies. ²⁶ 

14:6 The scorner ²⁷  seeks wisdom but finds none, ²⁸ 

but understanding is easy ²⁹  for a discerning person.

Amsal 24:23

Further Sayings of the Wise

24:23 These sayings also are from the wise:

To show partiality ³⁰  in judgment is terrible: ³¹ 

Amsal 24:30

24:30 I passed by the field of a sluggard,

by the vineyard of one who lacks wisdom. ³² 

[1:29]  ¹ tn The causal particle תַּחַת כִּי (takhat ki, “for the reason that”) introduces a second accusation of sin and reason for punishment.

[1:29]  ² tn Heb “knowledge.” The noun דָעַת (da’at, “knowledge”) refers to moral knowledge. See note on 1:7.

[1:29]  ³ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” The noun is an objective genitive; the Lord is to be the object of fear. See note on 1:7.

[2:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “all who go in to her will not return.”

[2:19]  ⁵ sn The phrase “reach the paths of life” is a figurative expression for experiencing joy and fullness of blessing (BDB 673 s.v. נָשַׂג 2.a).

[6:1]  ⁶ sn The chapter advises release from foolish indebtedness (1-5), admonishes avoiding laziness (6-11), warns of the danger of poverty (9-11) and deviousness (12-15), lists conduct that the Lord hates (16-19), and warns about immorality (20-35).

[6:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “my son” (likewise in vv. 3, 20).

[6:1]  ⁸ sn It was fairly common for people to put up some kind of financial security for someone else, that is, to underwrite another’s debts. But the pledge in view here was foolish because the debtor was a neighbor who was not well known (זָר, zar), perhaps a misfit in the community. The one who pledged security for this one was simply gullible.

[6:1]  ⁹ tn The conjunction “and” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[6:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “struck your hands”; NIV “have struck hands in pledge”; NASB “have given a pledge.” The guarantee of a pledge was signaled by a handshake (e.g., 11:15; 17:18; 22:26).

[6:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “stranger.” The term זוּר (zur, “stranger”) probably refers to a neighbor who was not well-known. Alternatively, it could describe a person who is living outside the norms of convention, a moral misfit in the community. In any case, this “stranger” is a high risk in any financial arrangement.

[12:3]  ¹² tn Heb “a man cannot be.”

[12:3]  ¹³ tn The Niphal imperfect of כּוּן (cun, “to be established”) refers to finding permanent “security” (so NRSV, TEV, CEV) before God. Only righteousness can do that.

[12:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a root of righteousness.” The genitive צַדִּיקִים (tsadiqim, “righteousness”) functions as an attributive adjective. The figure “root” (שֹׁרֶשׁ, shoresh) stresses the security of the righteous; they are firmly planted and cannot be uprooted (cf. NLT “the godly have deep roots”). The righteous are often compared to a tree (e.g., 11:30; Ps 1:3; 92:13).

[12:15]  ¹⁵ sn The way of a fool describes a headlong course of actions (“way” is an idiom for conduct) that is not abandoned even when wise advice is offered.

[12:15]  ¹⁶ sn The fool believes that his own plans and ideas are perfect or “right” (יָשָׁר, yashar); he is satisfied with his own opinion.

[12:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in his own eyes.”

[12:15]  ¹⁸ tn Or “a wise person listens to advice” (cf. NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[13:8]  ¹⁹ sn As the word “ransom” (כֹּפֶר, cofer) indicates, the rich are susceptible to kidnapping and robbery. But the poor man pays no attention to blackmail – he does not have money to buy off oppressors. So the rich person is exposed to legal attacks and threats of physical violence and must use his wealth as ransom.

[13:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the life of a man.”

[13:8]  ²¹ tn The term גְּעָרָה (gÿ’arah) may mean (1) “rebuke” (so KJV, NASB) or (2) “threat” (so NIV; cf. ASV, NRSV, NLT ). If “rebuke” is the sense here, it means that the burdens of society fall on the rich as well as the dangers. But the sense of “threat” better fits the context: The rich are threatened with extortion, but the poor are not (cf. CEV “the poor don’t have that problem”).

[13:25]  ²² tn The noun נֶפֶשׁ (traditionally “soul”; cf. KJV, ASV) here means “appetite” (BDB 660 s.v. 5.a).

[13:25]  ²³ tn Heb “he will lack.” The term “food” is supplied in the translation as a clarification. The wicked may go hungry, or lack all they desire, just as the first colon may mean that what the righteous acquire proves satisfying to them.

[14:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “a witness of faithfulness.” The genitive functions in an attributive sense: “faithful witness” (so KJV, NRSV); TEV “reliable witness.”

[14:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “a witness of falsehood.” The genitive functions in an attributive sense: “false witness.”

[14:5]  ²⁶ sn This saying addresses the problem of legal testimony: A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness does lie – naturally. The first colon uses the verb כָּזַב (kazav, “to lie”) and the second colon uses the noun כָּזָב (kazav, “lie; falsehood”).

[14:6]  ²⁷ sn The “scorner” (לֵץ, lets) is intellectually arrogant; he lacks any serious interest in knowledge or religion. He pursues wisdom in a superficial way so that he can appear wise. The acquisition of wisdom is conditioned by one’s attitude toward it (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 149).

[14:6]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and there is not.”

[14:6]  ²⁹ sn The Niphal of קָלַל (qalal) means “to appear light; to appear trifling; to appear easy.”

[24:23]  ³⁰ tn Heb “to recognize faces”; KJV, ASV “to have respect of persons”; NLT “to show favoritism.”

[24:23]  ³¹ tn Heb “not good.” This is a figure known as tapeinosis – a deliberate understatement to emphasize a worst-case scenario: “it is terrible!”

[24:30]  ³² tn Heb “lacks heart”; KJV “understanding”; NAB, NASB, NLT “sense.”