Amsal 2:10

2:10 For wisdom will enter your heart, ¹ 

and moral knowledge ²  will be attractive ³  to you. ⁴ 

Amsal 22:26

22:26 Do not be one who strikes hands in pledge

or who puts up security for debts.

Amsal 27:10

27:10 Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend,

and do not enter your brother’s house in the day of your disaster;

a neighbor nearby is better than a brother far away. ⁵ 

Amsal 8:3

8:3 beside the gates opening into ⁶  the city,

at the entrance of the doorways she cries out: ⁷ 

Amsal 23:10

23:10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone,

or take over ⁸  the fields of the fatherless,

Amsal 4:14

4:14 Do not enter the path of the wicked

or walk ⁹  in the way of those who are evil.

Amsal 18:3

18:3 When a wicked person ¹⁰  arrives, contempt ¹¹  shows up with him,

and with shame comes ¹²  a reproach.

Amsal 18:6

18:6 The lips of a fool ¹³  enter into strife, ¹⁴ 

and his mouth invites ¹⁵  a flogging. ¹⁶ 

Amsal 26:22

26:22 The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels;

they go down into a person’s innermost being. ¹⁷ 

Amsal 5:10

5:10 lest strangers devour ¹⁸  your strength, ¹⁹ 

and your labor ²⁰  benefit ²¹  another man’s house.

Amsal 23:31

23:31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,

when it sparkles ²²  in the cup,

when it goes down smoothly. ²³ 

Amsal 2:19

2:19 None who go in to her will return, ²⁴ 

nor will they reach the paths of life. ²⁵ 

Amsal 11:8

11:8 The righteous person is delivered ²⁶  out of trouble,

and the wicked turns up in his stead. ²⁷ 

Amsal 7:22

7:22 Suddenly he went ²⁸  after her

like an ox that goes to the slaughter,

like a stag prancing into a trapper’s snare ²⁹ 

Amsal 17:10

17:10 A rebuke makes a greater impression on ³⁰  a discerning person

than a hundred blows on a fool. ³¹ 

Amsal 1:17

1:17 Surely it is futile to spread ³²  a net

in plain sight of ³³  any bird, ³⁴ 

Amsal 18:8

18:8 The words of a gossip ³⁵  are like choice morsels; ³⁶ 

they go down into the person’s innermost being. ³⁷ 

Amsal 19:3

19:3 A person’s folly ³⁸  subverts ³⁹  his way,

and ⁴⁰  his heart rages ⁴¹  against the Lord.

Amsal 20:30

20:30 Beatings and wounds cleanse away ⁴²  evil,

and floggings cleanse ⁴³  the innermost being. ⁴⁴ 

Amsal 23:20

23:20 Do not spend time ⁴⁵  among drunkards, ⁴⁶ 

among those who eat too much ⁴⁷  meat,

Amsal 14:10

14:10 The heart knows its own bitterness, ⁴⁸ 

and with its joy no one else ⁴⁹  can share. ⁵⁰ 

Amsal 20:3

20:3 It is an honor for a person ⁵¹  to cease ⁵²  from strife,

but every fool quarrels. ⁵³ 

Amsal 26:9

26:9 Like a thorn ⁵⁴  that goes into the hand of a drunkard,

so is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. ⁵⁵ 

Amsal 31:24

31:24 She makes linen garments ⁵⁶  and sells them,

and supplies the merchants ⁵⁷  with sashes.

Amsal 6:26

6:26 for on account ⁵⁸  of a prostitute one is brought down to a loaf of bread,

but the wife of another man ⁵⁹  preys on your precious life. ⁶⁰ 

Amsal 7:23

7:23 till an arrow pierces his liver ⁶¹  –

like a bird hurrying into a trap,

and he does not know that it will cost him his life. ⁶² 

Amsal 9:18

9:18 But they do not realize ⁶³  that the dead ⁶⁴  are there,

that her guests are in the depths of the grave. ⁶⁵ 

Amsal 18:10

18:10 The name of the Lord ⁶⁶  is like ⁶⁷  a strong tower; ⁶⁸ 

the righteous person runs ⁶⁹  to it and is set safely on high. ⁷⁰ 

Amsal 26:17

26:17 Like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears, ⁷¹ 

so is the person passing by who becomes furious ⁷²  over a quarrel not his own.

Amsal 25:8

25:8 Do not go out hastily to litigation, ⁷³ 

or ⁷⁴  what will you do afterward

when your neighbor puts you to shame?

[2:10]  ¹ tn The noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as a metonymy of association for “mind” and “thoughts” (BDB 524 s.v. 3). It represents the center of the inner life where the volition and emotions join to bring about actions. It is used here in parallelism with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”), for which see note.

[2:10]  ² tn Heb “knowledge.” For the noun דַּעַת (da’at), see the note on 1:7.

[2:10]  ³ tn Heb “pleasant.” The verb יִנְעָם (yin’am, “to be pleasant”) describes what is attractive. It is used of being physically attracted to one’s lover (Song 7:7) or to a close friendship (2 Sam 1:26). Here wisdom becomes attractive to the righteous, that is, the righteous desires to acquire it.

[2:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “your soul.” The term נַפְשְׁךָ (nafshÿkha, “your soul”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= soul) for the whole person (= you); see BDB 660 s.v. 4.a.2. It also might function as a metonymy of association for emotions and passions (BDB 660 s.v. 6) or mental cognition (BDB 660 s.v. 7).

[27:10]  ⁵ sn The meaning of the verse is very difficult, although the translation is rather straightforward. It may simply be saying that people should retain family relationships but will discover that a friend who is available is better than a relative who is not. But C. H. Toy thinks that the verse is made up of three lines that have no connection: 10a instructs people to maintain relationships, 10b says not to go to a brother’s house [only?] when disaster strikes, and 10c observes that a nearby friend is better than a far-away relative. C. H. Toy suggests a connection may have been there, but has been lost (Proverbs [ICC], 485-86). The conflict between 17:17 and 10b may be another example of presenting two sides of the issue, a fairly frequent occurrence in the book of Proverbs.

[8:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “at the mouth of.”

[8:3]  ⁷ tn The cry is a very loud ringing cry that could not be missed. The term רָנַן (ranan) means “to give a ringing cry.” It is often only a shrill sound that might come with a victory in battle, but its use in the psalms for praise shows that it also can have clear verbal content, as it does here. For wisdom to stand in the street and give such a ringing cry would mean that it could be heard by all. It was a proclamation.

[23:10]  ⁸ tn Or “encroach on” (NIV, NRSV); Heb “go into.”

[4:14]  ⁹ tn The verb אָשַׁר (’ashar, “to walk”) is not to be confused with the identically spelled homonym אָשַׁר “to pronounce happy” as in BDB 80 s.v. אָשַׁר.

[18:3]  ¹⁰ tc The MT has “a wicked [person].” Many commentators emend the text to רֶשַׁע (resha’, “wickedness”) which makes better parallelism with “shame” (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 521; R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [AB], 112; C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 355; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). However, there is no external evidence for this emendation.

[18:3]  ¹¹ sn “Contempt” (בּוּז, buz) accompanies the wicked; “reproach” (חֶרְפָּה, kherpah) goes with shame. This reproach refers to the critical rebukes and taunts of the community against a wicked person.

[18:3]  ¹² tn The term “comes” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[18:6]  ¹³ sn The “lips” is a metonymy of cause, meaning what the fool says. The “mouth” in the second colon is likewise a metonymy for speech, what comes out of the mouth.

[18:6]  ¹⁴ sn “Strife” is a metonymy of cause, it is the cause of the beating or flogging that follows; “flogging” in the second colon is a metonymy of effect, the flogging is the effect of the strife. The two together give the whole picture.

[18:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “calls for.” This is personification: What the fool says “calls for” a beating or flogging. The fool deserves punishment, but does not actually request it.

[18:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “blows.” This would probably be physical beatings, either administered by the father or by society (e.g., also 19:25; Ps 141:5; cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT). Today, however, “a beating” could be associated with violent criminal assault, whereas the context suggests punishment. Therefore “a flogging” is used in the translation, since that term is normally associated with disciplinary action.

[26:22]  ¹⁷ tn The proverb is essentially the same as 18:8; it observes how appealing gossip is.

[5:10]  ¹⁸ tn Or “are sated, satisfied.”

[5:10]  ¹⁹ tn The word כֹּחַ (coakh, “strength”) refers to what laborious toil would produce (so a metonymy of cause). Everything that this person worked for could become the property for others to enjoy.

[5:10]  ²⁰ tn “labor, painful toil.”

[5:10]  ²¹ tn The term “benefit” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[23:31]  ²² tn Heb “its eye gives.” With CEV’s “bubbling up in the glass” one might think champagne was in view.

[23:31]  ²³ tn The expression is difficult, and is suspected of having been added from Song 7:10, although the parallel is not exact. The verb is the Hitpael imperfect of הָלַךְ (halakh); and the prepositional phrase uses the word “upright; equity; pleasing,” from יָשָׁר (yashar). KJV has “when it moveth itself aright”; much more helpful is ASV: “when it goeth down smoothly.” Most recent English versions are similar to ASV. The phrase obviously refers to the pleasing nature of wine.

[2:19]  ²⁴ tn Heb “all who go in to her will not return.”

[2:19]  ²⁵ 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).

[11:8]  ²⁶ tn The verb is the Niphal perfect from the first root חָלַץ (khalats), meaning “to draw off; to withdraw,” and hence “to be delivered.”

[11:8]  sn The verse is not concerned with the problem of evil and the suffering of the righteous; it is only concerned with the principle of divine justice.

[11:8]  ²⁷ tn The verb is masculine singular, so the subject cannot be “trouble.” The trouble from which the righteous escape will come on the wicked – but the Hebrew text literally says that the wicked “comes [= arrives; turns up; shows up] in the place of the righteous.” Cf. NASB “the wicked takes his place”; NRSV “the wicked get into it instead”; NIV “it comes on the wicked instead.”

[7:22]  ²⁸ tn The participle with “suddenly” gives a more vivid picture, almost as if to say “there he goes.”

[7:22]  ²⁹ tn The present translation follows R. B. Y. Scott (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [AB], 64). This third colon of the verse would usually be rendered, “fetters to the chastening of a fool” (KJV, ASV, and NASB are all similar). But there is no support that עֶכֶס (’ekhes) means “fetters.” It appears in Isaiah 3:16 as “anklets.” The parallelism here suggests that some animal imagery is required. Thus the ancient versions have “as a dog to the bonds.”

[17:10]  ³⁰ tn Heb “goes in deeper” (cf. NASB, NRSV). The verb נָחֵת (nakhet) “to go down; to descend” with the preposition בְּ (bet) means “to descend into; to make an impression on” someone.

[17:10]  ³¹ tn The form is the Hiphil infinitive of נָכָה (nakhah) with the comparative מִן, min. The word “fool” then would be an objective genitive – more than blows to/on a fool.

[1:17]  ³² tn Heb “for the net to be spread out.” The Pual participle of זָרָה (zarah) means “to be spread” (HALOT 280 s.v. I זרה pu.1). The subject of this verbal use of the participle is the noun הָרָשֶׁת (harashet, “the net”). It is futile for the net to be spread out in plain view of birds.

[1:17]  ³³ tn Heb “in the eyes of.”

[1:17]  sn This means either: (1) Spreading a net in view of birds is futile because birds will avoid the trap; but the wicked are so blind that they fail to see danger; or (2) it does not matter if a net is spread because birds are so hungry they will eat anyway and be trapped; the wicked act in a similar way.

[1:17]  ³⁴ tn Heb “all of the possessors of wings.”

[18:8]  ³⁵ tn Or “slanderer”; KJV, NAB “talebearer”; ASV, NRSV “whisperer.”

[18:8]  ³⁶ tn The word כְּמִתְלַהֲמִים (kÿmitlahamim) occurs only here. It is related to a cognate verb meaning “to swallow greedily.” Earlier English versions took it from a Hebrew root הָלַם (halam, see the word לְמַהֲלֻמוֹת [lÿmahalumot] in v. 6) meaning “wounds” (so KJV). But the translation of “choice morsels” fits the idea of gossip better.

[18:8]  ³⁷ tn Heb “they go down [into] the innermost parts of the belly”; NASB “of the body.”

[18:8]  sn When the choice morsels of gossip are received, they go down like delicious food – into the innermost being. R. N. Whybray says, “There is a flaw in human nature that assures slander will be listened to” (Proverbs [CBC], 105).

[19:3]  ³⁸ tn Heb “the folly of a man.”

[19:3]  ³⁹ tn The verb סָלַף (salaf) normally means “to twist; to pervert; to overturn,” but in this context it means “to subvert” (BDB 701 s.v.); cf. ASV “subverteth.”

[19:3]  sn J. H. Greenstone comments: “Man’s own failures are the result of his own folly and should not be attributed to God” (Proverbs, 201).

[19:3]  ⁴⁰ tn The clause begins with vav on the nonverb phrase “against the Lord.” While clause structure and word order is less compelling in a book like Proverbs, this fits well as a circumstantial clause indicating concession.

[19:3]  ⁴¹ sn The “heart raging” is a metonymy of cause (or adjunct); it represents the emotions that will lead to blaming God for the frustration. Genesis 42:28 offers a calmer illustration of this as the brothers ask what God was doing to them.

[20:30]  ⁴² tc The verb מָרַק (maraq) means “to polish; to scour”; in the Hiphil it means “to cleanse away,” but it is only attested here, and that in the Kethib reading of תַּמְרִיק (tamriq). The Qere has תַּמְרוּק (tamruq, “are a means of cleansing”). The LXX has “blows and contusions fall on evil men, and stripes penetrate their inner beings”; the Latin has “the bruise of a wound cleanses away evil things.” C. H. Toy suggests emending the text to read “stripes cleanse the body, and blows the inward parts” or “cosmetics purify the body, and blows the soul” (Proverbs [ICC], 397). Cf. CEV “can knock all of the evil out of you.”

[20:30]  ⁴³ tn The term “cleanse” does not appear in this line but is supplied in the translation in the light of the parallelism.

[20:30]  ⁴⁴ sn Physical punishment may prove spiritually valuable. Other proverbs say that some people will never learn from this kind of punishment, but in general this may be the only thing that works for some cases.

[23:20]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “do not be among,” but in the sense of “associate with” (TEV); “join” (NIV); “consort…with” (NAB).

[23:20]  ⁴⁶ tn The verb סָבָא (sava’) means “to imbibe; to drink largely.” The participial construction here, סֹבְאֵי־יַיִן (sov’e-yayin), describes “drunkards” (cf. NLT) which is somewhat stronger than saying it refers to “people who drink too much” (cf. NIV, TEV).

[23:20]  ⁴⁷ tn The verb זָלַל (zalal) means “to be light; to be worthless; to make light of.” Making light of something came to mean “to be lavish with; to squander,” especially with regard to food. So it describes “gluttons” primarily; but in the expression there is also room for the person who wastes a lot of food as well.

[14:10]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “bitterness of its soul.”

[14:10]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “stranger” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[14:10]  ⁵⁰ tn The verb is the Hitpael of II עָרַב (’arav), which means “to take in pledge; to give in pledge; to exchange.” Here it means “to share [in].” The proverb is saying that there are joys and sorrows that cannot be shared. No one can truly understand the deepest feelings of another.

[20:3]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “man.”

[20:3]  ⁵² tn Heb “cessation” (שֶׁבֶת, shevet); NAB “to shun strife”; NRSV “refrain from strife.”

[20:3]  sn One cannot avoid conflict altogether; but the proverb is instructing that at the first sign of conflict the honorable thing to do is to find a way to end it.

[20:3]  ⁵³ tn Heb “breaks out.” The Hitpael of the verb גָּלַע (gala’, “to expose; to lay bare”) means “to break out; to disclose oneself,” and so the idea of flaring up in a quarrel is clear. But there are also cognate connections to the idea of “showing the teeth; snarling” and so quarreling viciously.

[26:9]  ⁵⁴ sn The picture is one of seizing a thornbush and having the thorn pierce the hand (עָלָה בְיַד־, ’alah vÿyad). A drunk does not know how to handle a thornbush because he cannot control his movements and so gets hurt (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 599). C. H. Toy suggests that this rather means a half-crazy drunken man brandishing a stick (Proverbs [ICC], 475). In this regard cf. NLT “a thornbush brandished by a drunkard.”

[26:9]  ⁵⁵ sn A fool can read or speak a proverb but will be intellectually and spiritually unable to handle it; he will misapply it or misuse it in some way. In doing so he will reveal more of his folly. It is painful to hear fools try to use proverbs.

[31:24]  ⁵⁶ 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]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “to the Canaanites.” These are the Phoenician traders that survived the wars and continued to do business down to the exile.

[6:26]  ⁵⁸ tn The word בְעַד (bÿ’ad) may be taken either as “on account of” (= by means of a) prostitute (cf. ASV, NASB), or “for the price of” a prostitute (cf. NAB). Most expositors take the first reading, though that use of the preposition is unattested, and then must supply “one is brought to.” The verse would then say that going to a prostitute can bring a man to poverty, but going to another man’s wife can lead to death. If the second view were taken, it would mean that one had a smaller price than the other. It is not indicating that one is preferable to the other; both are to be avoided.

[6:26]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “the wife of a man.”

[6:26]  ⁶⁰ tn These two lines might be an example of synthetic parallelism, that is, “A, what’s more B.” The A-line describes the detrimental moral effect of a man going to a professional prostitute; the B-line heightens this and describes the far worse effect – moral and mortal! – of a man committing adultery with another man’s wife. When a man goes to a prostitute, he lowers himself to become nothing more than a “meal ticket” to sustain the life of that woman; however, when a man commits adultery, he places his very life in jeopardy – the rage of the husband could very well kill him.

[7:23]  ⁶¹ sn The figure of an arrow piercing the liver (an implied comparison) may refer to the pangs of a guilty conscience that the guilty must reap along with the spiritual and physical ruin that follows (see on these expressions H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament).

[7:23]  ⁶² tn The expression that it is “for/about/over his life” means that it could cost him his life (e.g., Num 16:38). Alternatively, the line could refer to moral corruption and social disgrace rather than physical death – but this would not rule out physical death too.

[9:18]  ⁶³ tn Heb “he does not know.”

[9:18]  ⁶⁴ sn The “dead” are the Rephaim, the “shades” or dead persons who lead a shadowy existence in Sheol (e.g., Prov 2:18-19; Job 3:13-19; Ps 88:5; Isa 14:9-11). This approximates an “as-if” motif of wisdom literature: The ones ensnared in folly are as good as in Hell. See also Ptah-hotep’s sayings (ANET 412-414).

[9:18]  ⁶⁵ tc The LXX adds to the end of v. 18: “But turn away, linger not in the place, neither set your eye on her: for thus will you go through alien water; but abstain from alien water, drink not from an alien fountain, that you may live long, that years of life may be added to you.”

[9:18]  sn The text has “in the depths of Sheol” (בְּעִמְקֵי שְׁאוֹל, bÿ’imqe shÿ’ol). The parallelism stresses that those who turn to this way of life are ignorant and doomed. It may signal a literal death lying ahead in the not too distant future, but it is more likely an analogy. The point is that the life of folly, a life of undisciplined, immoral, riotous living, runs counter to God’s appeal for wisdom and leads to ruin. That is the broad way that leads to destruction.

[18:10]  ⁶⁶ sn The “name of the Lord” is a metonymy of subject. The “name” here signifies not the personal name “Yahweh,” for that would be redundant in the expression “the name of Yahweh,” but the attributes of the Lord (cf. Exod 34:5-7) – here his power to protect.

[18:10]  ⁶⁷ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[18:10]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “a tower of strength,” with “strength” regarded as attributive by most English versions. The metaphor “strong tower” indicates that God is a secure refuge. The figure is qualified in the second colon.

[18:10]  ⁶⁹ sn The metaphor of “running” to the Lord refers to a whole-hearted and unwavering trust in God’s protection (e.g., Isa 40:31).

[18:10]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “is high” or “is inaccessible.” This military-type expression stresses the effect of the trust – security, being out of danger (see HALOT 1305 s.v. שׂגב). Other scriptures will supply the ways that God actually protects people who trust him.

[26:17]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “grabs the ears of a dog. The word “wild” has been supplied in the translation to make clear that these were not domesticated pets. CEV, to accomplish the same point, has “a mad dog,” but there is no indication of that in context.

[26:17]  sn Someone who did this ran a serious risk of injury or harm. Dogs were not domestic pets in the ancient Near East; they were scavengers that ran in packs like jackals.

[26:17]  ⁷² tn The word מִתְעַבֵּר (mit’abber) means “to put oneself in a fury” or “become furious” (BDB 720 s.v.). The Latin version apparently assumed the verb was עָרַב (’arav), for it has the sense of “meddle” (so also NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). However, the MT reading could easily fit the verse, referring to anyone passing by who gets furious over a fight that is not his.

[25:8]  ⁷³ tn Heb “do not go out hastily to strive”; the verb “to strive” means dispute in the legal context. The last clause of v. 7, “what your eyes have seen,” does fit very well with the initial clause of v. 8. It would then say: What you see, do not take hastily to court, but if the case was not valid, he would end up in disgrace.

[25:8]  sn The Hebrew verb רִיב (riv) is often used in legal contexts; here the warning is not to go to court hastily lest it turn out badly.

[25:8]  ⁷⁴ tn The clause begins with פֶּן (pen, “lest”) which seems a bit out of place in this line. C. H. Toy suggests changing it to כִּי (ki, “for”) to make a better connection, instead of supplying an ellipsis: “lest it be said what…” (Proverbs [ICC], 461).