Amsal 2:1

Benefits of Seeking Wisdom ¹ 

2:1 My child, ²  if ³  you receive my words,

and store up ⁴  my commands within you,

Amsal 8:9

8:9 All of them are clear ⁵  to the discerning

and upright to those who find knowledge.

Amsal 10:31

10:31 The speech ⁶  of the righteous bears the fruit of wisdom, ⁷ 

but the one who speaks perversion ⁸  will be destroyed. ⁹ 

Amsal 12:2

12:2 A good person obtains favor from the Lord,

but the Lord ¹⁰  condemns a person with wicked schemes. ¹¹ 

Amsal 15:20

15:20 A wise child ¹²  brings joy to his father,

but a foolish person ¹³  despises ¹⁴  his mother.

Amsal 16:23

16:23 A wise person’s heart ¹⁵  makes his speech wise ¹⁶ 

and it adds persuasiveness ¹⁷  to his words. ¹⁸ 

Amsal 18:15

18:15 The discerning person ¹⁹  acquires knowledge,

and the wise person ²⁰  seeks ²¹  knowledge.

Amsal 20:15

20:15 There is gold, and an abundance of rubies,

but ²²  words of knowledge ²³  are like ²⁴  a precious jewel.

Amsal 23:4

23:4 Do not wear yourself out to become rich;

be wise enough to restrain yourself. ²⁵ 

Amsal 23:15

23:15 My child, ²⁶  if your heart is wise,

then my heart also will be glad;

Amsal 31:26

31:26 She opens her mouth ²⁷  with wisdom,

and loving instruction ²⁸  is on her tongue.

[2:1]  ¹ sn The chapter begins with an admonition to receive wisdom (1-4) and then traces the benefits: the knowledge of God and his protection (5-8), moral discernment for living (9-11), protection from evil men (12-15) and immoral women (16-19), and enablement for righteous living (20-22).

[2:1]  ² tn Heb “my son.”

[2:1]  ³ sn Verses 1-11 form one long conditional sentence in the Hebrew text: (1) the protasis (“if…”) encompasses vv. 1-4 and (2) the apodosis (“then…”) consists of two parallel panels in vv. 5-8 and vv. 9-11 both of which are introduced by the particle אָז (’az, “then”).

[2:1]  ⁴ sn The verb “to store up” (צָפַן, tsafan; cf. NAB, NLT “treasure”) in the second colon qualifies the term “receive” (לָקַח, laqakh) in the first, just as “commands” intensifies “words.” This pattern of intensification through parallelism occurs throughout the next three verses. The verb “to store up; to treasure” is used in reference to things of value for future use, e.g., wealth, dowry for a bride. Since proverbs will be useful throughout life and not always immediately applicable, the idea of storing up the sayings is fitting. They will form the way people think which in turn will influence attitudes (W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 43).

[8:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “front of.” Describing the sayings as “right in front” means they are open, obvious, and clear, as opposed to words that might be twisted or perverse. The parallel word “upright” means “straight, smooth, right.” Wisdom’s teachings are in plain view and intelligible for those who find knowledge.

[10:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “the mouth.” The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech.

[10:31]  ⁷ tn Heb “bears wisdom.” The verb נוּב (nuv) means “to bear fruit.” It is used figuratively of the righteous; they produce wisdom and righteousness. The term חָכְמָה (khokhmah, “wisdom”) represents the “fruit” that the righteous bear: “they bear the fruit of wisdom” (BDB 626 s.v.).

[10:31]  ⁸ tn Heb “the tongue of perversions.” The noun תַּהְפֻּכוֹת (tahpukhot, “perversions”) functions as a genitive of content; it refers to what the tongue says – perverse things. The plural form depicts a plural of character. The term לָשׁוֹן (lashon, “tongue”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= tongue) for the whole person (= the speaker). The tongue is emphasized because this person is characterized by perverse speech. The term תַּהְפֻּכוֹת (“perversions”) refers to those who turn things upside down, overthrow, or pervert what is right.

[10:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “will be cut off” (so NAB, NRSV, NLT); cf. KJV, NASB, NIV “cut out.” Their tongue will be cut off, a hyperbole meaning to bring to an end the evil that they speak.

[12:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “but he condemns”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a man of wicked plans.” The noun מְזִמּוֹת (mÿzimmot, “evil plans”) functions as an attributive genitive: “an evil-scheming man.” Cf. NASB “a man who devises evil”; NAB “the schemer.”

[15:20]  ¹² tn Heb “son.”

[15:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “a fool of a man,” a genitive of specification.

[15:20]  ¹⁴ sn The proverb is almost the same as 10:1, except that “despises” replaces “grief.” This adds the idea of the callousness of the one who inflicts grief on his mother (D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 116).

[16:23]  ¹⁵ tn Or “mind” (cf. NCV, NRSV, NLT).

[16:23]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “makes wise his mouth,” with “mouth” being a metonymy of cause for what is said: “speech.”

[16:23]  ¹⁷ sn Those who are wise say wise things. The proverb uses synthetic parallelism: The first line asserts that the wise heart ensures that what is said is wise, and the second line adds that such a person increases the reception of what is said.

[16:23]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “to his lips.” The term “lips” functions as a metonymy of cause for what is said.

[18:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “discerning heart.” The term “heart” is a synecdoche of part (= heart) for the whole (= person); cf. TEV, NLT “intelligent people.” By paralleling “heart” and “ear” the proverb stresses the full acquisition of knowledge. The “ear” listens to instruction, and the heart considers what is heard to acquire knowledge.

[18:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the ear of the wise.” The term “ear” is a synecdoche of part (= ear) for the whole (= person): “wise person.”

[18:15]  sn The wise continually seek more knowledge. D. Kidner says, “Those who know most know best how little they know” (Proverbs [TOTC], 129).

[18:15]  ²¹ sn This line features a mixed metaphor: The “ear” is pictured “seeking.” The “ear of the wise” actually means the wise person’s capacity to hear, and so the wise are seeking as they hear.

[20:15]  ²² tn The verse is usually taken as antithetical parallelism: There may be gold and rubies but the true gem is knowledge. However, C. H. Toy arranges it differently: “store of gold and wealth of corals and precious vessels – all are wise lips” (Proverbs [ICC], 388). But this uses the gems as metaphors for wise speech, and does not stress the contrast between wealth and wisdom.

[20:15]  ²³ tn Heb “lips of knowledge.” The term “lips” is a metonymy for speaking, and “knowledge” could be either an attributive genitive or objective genitive: “knowledgeable lips.” Lips that impart knowledge are the true jewel to be sought.

[20:15]  ²⁴ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[23:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “from your understanding cease.” In the context this means that the person should have enough understanding to stop wearing himself out trying to be rich (cf. NRSV “be wise enough to desist”).

[23:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “my son,” although the context does not limit this exhortation to male children.

[31:26]  ²⁷ tn The first word of the seventeenth line begins with פּ (pe), the seventeenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:26]  sn The words “mouth” (“opens her mouth”) and “tongue” (“on her tongue”) here are also metonymies of cause, referring to her speaking.

[31:26]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew phrase תּוֹרַת־חֶסֶד (torat-khesed) is open to different interpretations. (1) The word “law” could here refer to “teaching” as it does frequently in the book of Proverbs, and the word “love,” which means “loyal, covenant love,” could have the emphasis on faithfulness, yielding the idea of “faithful teaching” to parallel “wisdom” (cf. NIV). (2) The word “love” should probably have more of the emphasis on its basic meaning of “loyal love, lovingkindness.” It also would be an attributive genitive, but its force would be that of “loving instruction” or “teaching with kindness.”