Amsal 5:14

5:14 I almost ¹  came to complete ruin ² 

in the midst of the whole congregation!” ³ 

Amsal 8:1

The Appeal of Wisdom ⁴ 

8:1 Does not wisdom call out?

Does not understanding raise her voice?

Amsal 8:3

8:3 beside the gates opening into ⁵  the city,

at the entrance of the doorways she cries out: ⁶ 

Amsal 19:20

19:20 Listen to advice ⁷  and receive discipline,

that ⁸  you may become wise ⁹  by the end of your life. ¹⁰ 

Amsal 31:25

31:25 She is clothed ¹¹  with strength ¹²  and honor, ¹³ 

and she can laugh ¹⁴  at the time ¹⁵  to come.

[5:14]  ¹ tn The expression כִּמְעַט (kim’at) is “like a little.” It means “almost,” and is used of unrealized action (BDB 590 s.v. 2). Cf. NCV “I came close to”; NLT “I have come to the brink of.”

[5:14]  ² tn Heb “I was in all evil” (cf. KJV, ASV).

[5:14]  ³ tn The text uses the two words “congregation and assembly” to form a hendiadys, meaning the entire assembly.

[8:1]  ⁴ sn In this chapter wisdom is personified. In 1:20-33 wisdom proclaims her value, and in 3:19-26 wisdom is the agent of creation. Such a personification has affinities with the wisdom literature of the ancient Near East, and may have drawn on some of that literature, albeit with appropriate safeguards (Claudia V. Camp, Wisdom and the Feminine in the Book of Proverbs, 23-70). Wisdom in Proverbs 8, however, is not a deity like Egypt’s Ma`at or the Assyrian-Babylonian Ishtar. It is simply presented as if it were a self-conscious divine being distinct but subordinate to God; but in reality it is the personification of the attribute of wisdom displayed by God (R. B. Y. Scott, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [AB], 69-72; and R. Marcus, “On Biblical Hypostases of Wisdom,” HUCA 23 [1950-1951]: 157-71). Many have equated wisdom in this chapter with Jesus Christ. This connection works only in so far as Jesus reveals the nature of the Father, just as Proverbs presents wisdom as an attribute of God. Jesus’ claims included wisdom (Matt 12:42) and a unique knowledge of God (Matt 11:25-27). He even personified wisdom in a way that was similar to Proverbs (Matt 11:19). Paul saw the fulfillment of wisdom in Christ (Col 1:15-20; 2:3) and affirmed that Christ became our wisdom in the crucifixion (1 Cor 1:24, 30). So this personification in Proverbs provides a solid foundation for the similar revelation of wisdom in Christ. But because wisdom is a creation of God in Proverbs 8, it is unlikely that wisdom here is to be identified with Jesus Christ. The chapter unfolds in three cycles: After an introduction (1-3), wisdom makes an invitation (4, 5) and explains that she is noble, just, and true (6-9); she then makes another invitation (10) and explains that she is valuable (11-21); and finally, she tells how she preceded and delights in creation (22-31) before concluding with the third invitation (32-36).

[8:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “at the mouth of.”

[8:3]  ⁶ 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.

[19:20]  ⁷ sn The advice refers in all probability to the teachings of the sages that will make one wise.

[19:20]  ⁸ tn The proverb is one continuous thought, but the second half of the verse provides the purpose for the imperatives of the first half.

[19:20]  ⁹ tn The imperfect tense has the nuance of a final imperfect in a purpose clause, and so is translated “that you may become wise” (cf. NAB, NRSV).

[19:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “become wise in your latter end” (cf. KJV, ASV) which could obviously be misunderstood.

[31:25]  ¹¹ sn The idea of clothing and being clothed is a favorite figure in Hebrew. It makes a comparison between wearing clothes and having strength and honor. Just as clothes immediately indicate something of the nature and circumstances of the person, so do these virtues.

[31:25]  ¹² tn The first word of the sixteenth line begins with ע (ayin), the sixteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:25]  ¹³ sn This word appears in Ps 111:3 which says that the Lord’s work is honorable, and here the woman is clothed with strength and honor.

[31:25]  ¹⁴ sn Here “laugh” is either a metonymy of adjunct or effect. The point is that she is confident for the future because of all her industry and planning.

[31:25]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “day.” This word is a metonymy of subject meaning any events that take place on the day or in the time to come.