Amsal 2:20

2:20 So ¹  you will walk in the way of good people, ² 

and will keep on the paths of the righteous. ³ 

Amsal 5:12

5:12 And you will say, “How I hated discipline!

My heart spurned reproof!

Amsal 22:18

22:18 For it is pleasing if ⁴  you keep these sayings ⁵  within you,

and ⁶  they are ready on your lips. ⁷ 

Amsal 23:17

23:17 Do not let your heart envy ⁸  sinners,

but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord ⁹  all the time.

[2:20]  ¹ tn The conjunction לְמַעַן (lÿma’an, “so; as a result”) introduces the concluding result (BDB 775 s.v. מַעַן 2; HALOT 614 s.v. מַעַן 2.c) of heeding the admonition to attain wisdom (2:1-11) and to avoid the evil men and women and their destructive ways (2:12-19).

[2:20]  ² tn The noun “good” (טוֹבִים, tovim) does not function as an attributive genitive (“the good way”) because it is a plural noun and the term “way” (דֶרֶךְ, derekh) is singular. Rather it functions as a genitive of possession identifying the people who walk on this path: “the way of the good people.”

[2:20]  ³ tn In the light of the parallelism, the noun “righteous” (צַדִּיקִים, tsadiqim) functions as a genitive of possession rather than an attributive genitive.

[22:18]  ⁴ tn Or “when” (so NIV).

[22:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “keep them,” referring to the words of the wise expressed in these sayings. The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:18]  ⁶ tn The term “and” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation.

[22:18]  ⁷ sn If the teachings are preserved in the heart/mind of the disciple, then that individual will always be ready to speak what was retained.

[23:17]  ⁸ tn The verb in this line is אַל־יְקַנֵּא (’al-yÿqanne’), the Piel jussive negated. The verb means “to be jealous, to be zealous”; it describes passionate intensity for something. In English, if the object is illegitimate, it is called “envy”; if it is correct, it is called “zeal.” Here the warning is not to envy the sinners. The second colon could use the verb in the positive sense to mean “but rather let your passion burn for the fear of the Lord.”

[23:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This expression features an objective genitive: “fearing the Lord.”