Amsal 1:5

1:5 (Let the wise also ¹  hear ²  and gain ³  instruction,

and let the discerning ⁴  acquire ⁵  guidance! ⁶ )

Amsal 4:5

4:5 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding;

do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak. ⁷ 

Amsal 4:7

4:7 Wisdom is supreme ⁸  – so ⁹  acquire wisdom,

and whatever you acquire, ¹⁰  acquire understanding! ¹¹ 

Amsal 9:9

9:9 Give instruction ¹²  to a wise person, ¹³  and he will become wiser still;

teach ¹⁴  a righteous person and he will add to his ¹⁵  learning.

Amsal 10:14

10:14 Those who are wise ¹⁶  store up ¹⁷  knowledge,

but foolish speech ¹⁸  leads to imminent ¹⁹  destruction.

Amsal 15:14

15:14 The discerning heart seeks knowledge,

but the mouth of fools feeds on folly. ²⁰ 

Amsal 23:23

23:23 Acquire ²¹  truth and do not sell it –

wisdom, and discipline, and understanding.

Amsal 23:1

23:1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,

consider carefully ²²  what ²³  is before you,

Kisah Para Rasul 3:9

3:9 All ²⁴  the people saw him walking and praising God,

Mazmur 119:97-104

מ (Mem)

119:97 O how I love your law!

All day long I meditate on it.

119:98 Your commandments ²⁵  make me wiser than my enemies,

for I am always aware of them.

119:99 I have more insight than all my teachers,

for I meditate on your rules.

119:100 I am more discerning than those older than I,

for I observe your precepts.

119:101 I stay away ²⁶  from the evil path,

so that I might keep your instructions. ²⁷ 

119:102 I do not turn aside from your regulations,

for you teach me.

119:103 Your words are sweeter

in my mouth than honey! ²⁸ 

119:104 Your precepts give me discernment.

Therefore I hate all deceitful actions. ²⁹ 

Lukas 8:8-10

8:8 But ³⁰  other seed fell on good soil and grew, ³¹  and it produced a hundred times as much grain.” ³²  As he said this, ³³  he called out, “The one who has ears to hear had better listen!” ³⁴ 

8:9 Then ³⁵  his disciples asked him what this parable meant. ³⁶  8:10 He ³⁷  said, “You have been given ³⁸  the opportunity to know ³⁹  the secrets ⁴⁰  of the kingdom of God, ⁴¹  but for others they are in parables, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understand. ⁴² 

Lukas 10:39

10:39 She ⁴³  had a sister named Mary, who sat ⁴⁴  at the Lord’s feet ⁴⁵  and listened to what he said.

Lukas 10:2

10:2 He ⁴⁶  said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest ⁴⁷  to send out ⁴⁸  workers into his harvest.

Titus 3:15

3:15 Everyone with me greets you. Greet those who love us in the faith. ⁴⁹  Grace be with you all. ⁵⁰ 

Yakobus 1:5

1:5 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him.

[1:5]  ¹ tn The term “also” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[1:5]  sn Verse 5 functions as a parenthesis in the purpose statements of 1:1-7. There are two purpose statements in 1:2 (“to know wisdom” and “to discern sayings”). The first is stated in detail in 1:3-4, first from the perspective of the student then the teacher. 1:6 will state the second purpose of 1:2. But between the two the writer notes that even the wise can become wiser. The book is not just for neophytes; it is for all who want to grow in wisdom.

[1:5]  ² tn The verb יִשְׁמַע (yishma’) functions as a jussive of advice or counsel (“Let him hear!”) rather than a customary imperfect (“he will hear”). The jussive is supported by the parallelism with the following Hiphil jussive וְיוֹסֶף (vÿyosef, “Let him add!”).

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “add.”

[1:5]  ⁴ tn The Niphal substantival participle נָבוֹן (navon, “discerning”), rather than the noun, is used to describe a person who is habitually characterized by discernment. 1:5 forms a striking contrast to 1:4 – there was the simpleton and the youth, here the wise and discerning. Both need this book.

[1:5]  ⁵ tn The Hiphil verb וְיוֹסֶף (vÿyosef) is a jussive rather than an imperfect as the final short vowel (segol) and accent on the first syllable shows (BDB 415 s.v. יָסַף Hiph).

[1:5]  ⁶ tn The noun תַּחְבֻּלָה (takhbulah, “direction; counsel”) refers to moral guidance (BDB 287 s.v.). It is related to חֹבֵל (khovel, “sailor”), חִבֵּל (khibel, “mast”) and חֶבֶל (khevel, “rope; cord”), so BDB suggests it originally meant directing a ship by pulling ropes on the mast. It is used in a concrete sense of God directing the path of clouds (Job 37:12) and in a figurative sense of moral guidance (Prov 11:14; 20:18; 24:6). Here it refers to the ability to steer a right course through life (A. Cohen, Proverbs, 2).

[4:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “from the words of my mouth” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); TEV, CEV “what I say.”

[4:5]  sn The verse uses repetition for the imperative “acquire” to underscore the importance of getting wisdom; it then uses two verb forms for the one prepositional phrase to stress the warning.

[4:7]  ⁸ tn The absolute and construct state of רֵאשִׁית (re’shit) are identical (BDB 912 s.v.). Some treat רֵאשִׁית חָכְמָה (re’shit khokhmah) as a genitive-construct phrase: “the beginning of wisdom” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV). Others take רֵאשִׁית as an absolute functioning as predicate and חָכְמָה as the subject: “wisdom is the first/chief thing” (cf. KJV, ASV). The context here suggests the predicate.

[4:7]  ⁹ tn The term “so” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and style.

[4:7]  ¹⁰ tn The noun קִנְיָן (qinyan) means “thing got or acquired; acquisition” (BDB 889 s.v.). With the preposition that denotes price, it means “with (or at the price of) all that you have acquired.” The point is that no price is too high for wisdom – give everything for it (K&D 16:108).

[4:7]  ¹¹ tc The verse is not in the LXX; some textual critics delete the verse as an impossible gloss that interrupts vv. 6 and 8 (e.g., C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 88).

[9:9]  ¹² tn The noun “instruction” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation.

[9:9]  ¹³ sn The parallelism shows what Proverbs will repeatedly stress, that the wise person is the righteous person.

[9:9]  ¹⁴ tn The Hiphil verb normally means “to cause to know, make known”; but here the context suggests “to teach” (so many English versions).

[9:9]  ¹⁵ tn The term “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for the sake of smoothness and clarity.

[10:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “wise men.”

[10:14]  ¹⁷ sn The verb צָפַן (tsafan, “to store up; to treasure”) may mean (1) the wise acquire and do not lose wisdom (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV), or (2) they do not tell all that they know (cf. NCV), that is, they treasure it up for a time when they will need it. The fool, by contrast, talks without thinking.

[10:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the mouth of foolishness”; cf. NRSV, NLT “the babbling of a fool.” The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech. The genitive אֶוִיל (’evil, “foolishness”) functions as an attributive adjective: “a foolish mouth” = foolish speech.

[10:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “near destruction.” The words of the fool that are uttered without wise forethought may invite imminent ruin (e.g., James 3:13-18). See also Ptah-hotep and Amenemope in ANET 414 and 423.

[15:14]  ²⁰ tn The idea expressed in the second colon does not make a strong parallelism with the first with its emphasis on seeking knowledge. Its poetic image of feeding (a hypocatastasis) would signify the acquisition of folly – the fool has an appetite for it. D. W. Thomas suggests the change of one letter, ר (resh) to ד (dalet), to obtain a reading יִדְעֶה (yid’eh); this he then connects to an Arabic root da`a with the meaning “sought, demanded” to form what he thinks is a better parallel (“Textual and Philological Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 285). But even though the parallelism is not as precise as some would prefer, there is insufficient warrant for such a change.

[23:23]  ²¹ tn Heb “buy” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT); CEV “Invest in truth.”

[23:23]  sn The sixteenth saying is an instruction to buy/acquire the kind of life that pleases God and brings joy to parents. “Getting truth” would mean getting training in the truth, and getting wisdom and understanding would mean developing the perception and practical knowledge of the truth.

[23:1]  ²² tn The construction uses the imperfect tense of instruction with the infinitive absolute to emphasize the careful discernment required on such occasions. Cf. NIV “note well”; NLT “pay attention.”

[23:1]  ²³ tn Or “who,” referring to the ruler (so ASV, NAB, TEV).

[3:9]  ²⁴ tn Grk “And all.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[119:98]  ²⁵ tn The plural form needs to be revocalized as a singular in order to agree with the preceding singular verb and the singular pronoun in the next line. The Lord’s “command” refers here to the law (see Ps 19:8).

[119:101]  ²⁶ tn Heb “I hold back my feet.”

[119:101]  ²⁷ tn Heb “your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss read the plural.

[119:103]  ²⁸ tn Heb “How smooth they are to my palate, your word, more than honey to my mouth.” A few medieval Hebrew mss, as well as several other ancient witnesses, read the plural “your words,” which can then be understood as the subject of the plural verb “they are smooth.”

[119:104]  ²⁹ tn Heb “every false path.”

[8:8]  ³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the final stage of the parable.

[8:8]  ³¹ tn Grk “when it grew, after it grew.”

[8:8]  ³² sn Unlike the parallel accounts in Matt 13:8 and Mark 4:8, there is no distinction in yield in this version of the parable.

[8:8]  ³³ tn Grk “said these things.”

[8:8]  ³⁴ tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 14:35).

[8:9]  ³⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:9]  ³⁶ tn Grk “what this parable might be” (an optative after a secondary tense, in keeping with good Koine style).

[8:10]  ³⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[8:10]  ³⁸ tn This is an example of a so-called “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

[8:10]  ³⁹ tn Grk “it has been given to you to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.

[8:10]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “the mysteries.”

[8:10]  sn The key term secrets (μυστήριον, musthrion) can mean either (1) a new revelation or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation as in Dan 2:17-23, 27-30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the NT consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1-4; Heb 1:1-2). The traditional translation of this word, “mystery,” is misleading to the modern English reader because this English word suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).

[8:10]  ⁴¹ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[8:10]  ⁴² sn A quotation from Isa 6:9. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.

[10:39]  ⁴³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[10:39]  ⁴⁴ tn This reflexive makes it clear that Mary took the initiative in sitting by Jesus.

[10:39]  ⁴⁵ sn The description of Mary sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to him makes her sound like a disciple (compare Luke 8:35).

[10:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[10:2]  ⁴⁷ sn The phrase Lord of the harvest recognizes God’s sovereignty over the harvest process.

[10:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Grk “to thrust out.”

[3:15]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “faithfully.”

[3:15]  ⁵⁰ tc Most witnesses (א² D¹ F G H Ψ 0278 Ï lat sy bo) conclude this letter with ἀμήν (amhn, “amen”). Such a conclusion is routinely added by scribes to NT books because a few of these books originally had such an ending (cf. Rom 16:27; Gal 6:18; Jude 25). A majority of Greek witnesses have the concluding ἀμήν in every NT book except Acts, James, and 3 John (and even in these books, ἀμήν is found in some witnesses). It is thus a predictable variant. Further, early and excellent witnesses (א* A C D* 048 33 81 1739 1881 sa) lack the particle, rendering the omission the preferred reading.