Amsal 2:10

2:10 For wisdom will enter your heart, ¹ 

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

Amsal 3:17

3:17 Her ways are very pleasant, ⁵ 

and all her paths are peaceful.

Amsal 24:13-14

24:13 Eat honey, ⁶  my child, for it is good,

and honey from the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.

24:14 Likewise, know ⁷  that wisdom is sweet ⁸  to your soul;

if you find it, ⁹  you will have a future, ¹⁰ 

and your hope will not be cut off.

Mazmur 19:10

19:10 They are of greater value ¹¹  than gold,

than even a great amount of pure gold;

they bring greater delight ¹²  than honey,

than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.

Mazmur 119:103

119:103 Your words are sweeter

in my mouth than honey! ¹³ 

Mazmur 119:111

119:111 I claim your rules as my permanent possession,

for they give me joy. ¹⁴ 

Mazmur 119:162

119:162 I rejoice in your instructions,

like one who finds much plunder. ¹⁵ 

Yeremia 15:16

15:16 As your words came to me I drank them in, ¹⁶ 

and they filled my heart with joy and happiness

because I belong to you. ¹⁷ 

[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).

[3:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “her ways are ways of pleasantness” (so KJV, NRSV). The present translation contracts this expression for the sake of smoothness. The plural of דֶרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) is repeated for emphasis. The noun נֹעַם (no’am, “pleasantness”) functions as an attributive genitive: “pleasant ways.”

[24:13]  ⁶ sn The twenty-sixth saying teaches that one should develop wisdom because it has a profitable future. The saying draws on the image of honey; its health-giving properties make a good analogy to wisdom.

[24:14]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn The phrase “is sweet” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[24:14]  ⁹ tn The term “it” is supplied in the translation.

[24:14]  ¹⁰ 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.”

[19:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “more desirable.”

[19:10]  ¹² tn Heb “are sweeter.” God’s law is “sweet’ in the sense that, when obeyed, it brings a great reward (see v. 11b).

[119:103]  ¹³ 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.”

[119:111]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “for the joy of my heart [are] they.”

[119:162]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “like one who finds great plunder.” See Judg 5:30. The image is that of a victorious warrior who finds a large amount of plunder on the field of battle.

[15:16]  ¹⁶ sn Heb “Your words were found and I ate them.” This along with Ezek 2:8–3:3 is a poetic picture of inspiration. The prophet accepted them, assimilated them, and made them such a part of himself that he spoke with complete assurance what he knew were God’s words.

[15:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Your name is called upon me.”

[15:16]  sn See Jer 14:9 where this idiom is applied to Israel as a whole and Jer 7:10 where it is applied to the temple. For discussion cf. notes on 7:10.