Amsal 15:17

15:17 Better a meal of vegetables where there is love ¹ 

than a fattened ox where there is hatred. ² 

Amsal 23:1

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

consider carefully ³  what ⁴  is before you,

[15:17]  ¹ tn Heb “and love there.” This clause is a circumstantial clause introduced with vav, that becomes “where there is love.” The same construction is used in the second colon.

[15:17]  ² sn Again the saying concerns troublesome wealth: Loving relationships with simple food are better than a feast where there is hatred. The ideal, of course, would be loving family and friends with a great meal in addition, but this proverb is only comparing two things.

[23:1]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Or “who,” referring to the ruler (so ASV, NAB, TEV).