Amsal 8:4

8:4 “To you, O people, ¹  I call out,

and my voice calls ²  to all mankind. ³ 

Amsal 9:4

9:4 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,”

she says ⁴  to those ⁵  who lack understanding. ⁶ 

Amsal 9:16

9:16 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here,”

she says to those who lack understanding. ⁷ 

[8:4]  ¹ tn Heb “men.” Although it might be argued in light of the preceding material that males would be particularly addressed by wisdom here, the following material indicates a more universal appeal. Cf. TEV, NLT “to all of you.”

[8:4]  ² tn The verb “calls” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of style.

[8:4]  ³ tn Heb “sons of man.” Cf. NAB “the children of men”; NCV, NLT “all people”; NRSV “all that live.”

[9:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “lacking of heart she says to him.” The pronominal suffix is a resumptive pronoun, meaning, “she says to the lacking of heart.”

[9:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “him.”

[9:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “heart”; cf. NIV “to those who lack judgment.”

[9:16]  ⁷ tn This expression is almost identical to v. 4, with the exception of the addition of conjunctions in the second colon: “and the lacking of understanding and she says to him.” The parallel is deliberate, of course, showing the competing appeals for those passing by.