Amsal 22:4

22:4 The reward ¹  for humility ²  and fearing the Lord ³ 

is riches and honor and life.

Amsal 24:14

24:14 Likewise, know ⁴  that wisdom is sweet ⁵  to your soul;

if you find it, ⁶  you will have a future, ⁷ 

and your hope will not be cut off.

Amsal 31:31

31:31 Give ⁸  her credit for what she has accomplished, ⁹ 

and let her works praise her ¹⁰  in the city gates. ¹¹ 

[22:4]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term עֵקֶב (’eqev, “reward”) is related to the term meaning “heel”; it refers to the consequences or the reward that follows (akin to the English expression “on the heels of”).

[22:4]  ² tn “Humility” is used here in the religious sense of “piety”; it is appropriately joined with “the fear of the Lord.” Some commentators, however, make “the fear of the Lord” the first in the series of rewards for humility, but that arrangement is less likely here.

[22:4]  ³ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This is an objective genitive; the Lord is the object of the fear.

[24:14]  ⁴ tn D. W. Thomas argues for a meaning of “seek” in place of “know” (“Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 38 [1937]: 400-403).

[24:14]  ⁵ tn The phrase “is sweet” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[24:14]  ⁶ tn The term “it” is supplied in the translation.

[24:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “there will be an end.” The word is אַחֲרִית (’akhrit, “after-part, end”). BDB 31 s.v. b says in a passage like this it means “a future,” i.e., a happy close of life, sometimes suggesting the idea of posterity promised to the righteous, often parallel to “hope.”

[31:31]  ⁸ tn The first word of the twenty-second line begins with ת (tav), the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “Give her from the fruit of her hands.” The expression “the fruit of her hands” employs two figures. The word “fruit” is a figure known as hypocatastasis, an implied comparison, meaning “what she produces.” The word “hand” is a metonymy of cause, meaning her efforts to produce things. So the line is saying essentially “give her her due.” This would either mean give her credit for what she has done (the option followed by the present translation; cf. TEV) or reward her for what she has done (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT).

[31:31]  ¹⁰ sn Psalm 111 began with the imperative יָה הָלְלוּ (halÿlu yah, “praise the Lord”), and this poem ends with the jussive וִיהָלְלוּהָּ (vihalÿluha, “and let [her works] praise her”). Psalm 111:2 speaks of God’s works, and this verse of the woman’s (or wisdom’s) works that deserve praise.

[31:31]  ¹¹ tn “Gates” is a metonymy of subject. It refers to the people and the activity that occurs in the gates – business dealings, legal transactions, and social meetings. The term “city” is supplied in the translation for clarity. One is reminded of the acclaim given to Ruth by Boaz: “for all the gate of my people knows that you are a noble woman [אֵשֶׁת חַיִל, ’eshet khayil]” (Ruth 3:11).