Amsal 15:31

15:31 The person ¹  who hears the reproof that leads to life ² 

is at home ³  among the wise. ⁴ 

Amsal 23:34

23:34 And you will be like one who lies down in the midst ⁵  of the sea,

and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging. ⁶ 

Amsal 26:13

26:13 The sluggard ⁷  says, “There is a lion in the road!

A lion in the streets!” ⁸ 

[15:31]  ¹ tn Heb “ear” (so KJV, NRSV). The term “ear” is a synecdoche of part (= ear) for the whole (= person).

[15:31]  ² tn “Life” is an objective genitive: Reproof brings or preserves life. Cf. NIV “life-giving rebuke”; NLT “constructive criticism.”

[15:31]  ³ tn Heb “lodges.” This means to live with, to be at home with.

[15:31]  ⁴ sn The proverb is one full sentence; it affirms that a teachable person is among the wise.

[23:34]  ⁵ tn Heb “heart.” The idiom here means “middle”; KJV “in the midst.”

[23:34]  ⁶ sn The point of these similes is to compare being drunk with being seasick. One who tries to sleep when at sea, or even worse, when up on the ropes of the mast, will be tossed back and forth.

[26:13]  ⁷ sn The Book of Fools covered vv. 1-12. This marks the beginning of what may be called the Book of Sluggards (vv. 13-16).

[26:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the broad plazas”; NAB, NASB “in the square.” This proverb makes the same point as 22:13, namely, that the sluggard uses absurd excuses to get out of work. D. Kidner notes that in this situation the sluggard has probably convinced himself that he is a realist and not a lazy person (Proverbs [TOTC], 163).