Amsal 4:1-2

Admonition to Follow Righteousness and Avoid Wickedness ¹ 

4:1 Listen, children, ²  to a father’s instruction, ³ 

and pay attention so that ⁴  you may gain ⁵  discernment.

4:2 Because I give ⁶  you good instruction, ⁷ 

do not forsake my teaching.

Amsal 8:6-11

8:6 Listen, for I will speak excellent things, ⁸ 

and my lips will utter ⁹  what is right.

8:7 For my mouth ¹⁰  speaks truth, ¹¹ 

and my lips ¹²  hate wickedness. ¹³ 

8:8 All the words of my mouth are righteous; ¹⁴ 

there is nothing in them twisted ¹⁵  or crooked.

8:9 All of them are clear ¹⁶  to the discerning

and upright to those who find knowledge.

8:10 Receive my instruction ¹⁷  rather than ¹⁸  silver,

and knowledge rather than choice gold.

8:11 For wisdom is better than rubies,

and desirable things cannot be compared ¹⁹  to her.

Amsal 22:17

The Sayings of the Wise ²⁰ 

22:17 Incline your ear ²¹  and listen to the words of the wise,

and apply your heart to my instruction. ²² 

Amsal 22:20-21

22:20 Have I not written thirty sayings ²³  for you,

sayings ²⁴  of counsel and knowledge,

22:21 to show you true and reliable words, ²⁵ 

so that you may give accurate answers ²⁶  to those who sent you?

[4:1]  ¹ sn The chapter includes an exhortation to acquire wisdom (1-4a), a list of the benefits of wisdom (4b-9), a call to pursue a righteous lifestyle (10-13), a warning against a wicked lifestyle (14-19), and an exhortation to righteousness (20-27).

[4:1]  ² tn Heb “sons.”

[4:1]  ³ tn Heb “discipline.”

[4:1]  ⁴ tn The Qal infinitive construct with preposition ל (lamed) indicates the purpose/result of the preceding imperative.

[4:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “know” (so KJV, ASV).

[4:2]  ⁶ tn The perfect tense has the nuance of instantaneous perfect; the sage is now calling the disciples to listen. It could also be a perfect of resolve, indicating what he is determined to do.

[4:2]  ⁷ tn The word לֶקַח (leqakh, “instruction”) can be subjective (instruction acquired) or objective (the thing being taught). The latter fits best here.

[8:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “noble” or “princely.” Wisdom begins the first motivation by claiming to speak noble things, that is, excellent things.

[8:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “opening of my lips” (so KJV, NASB). The noun “lips” is a metonymy of cause, with the organ of speech put for what is said.

[8:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “roof of the mouth.” This expression is a metonymy of cause for the activity of speaking.

[8:7]  ¹¹ tn The word “truth” (אֱמֶת, ’emet) is derived from the verbal root אָמַן (’aman) which means “to support.” There are a number of derived nouns that have the sense of reliability: “pillars,” “master craftsman,” “nurse,” “guardian.” Modifiers related to this group of words includes things like “faithful,” “surely,” “truly” (amen). In the derived stems the verb develops various nuances: The Niphal has the meanings of “reliable, faithful, sure, steadfast,” and the Hiphil has the meaning “believe” (i.e., consider something dependable). The noun “truth” means what is reliable or dependable, firm or sure.

[8:7]  ¹² sn Wise lips detest wickedness; wisdom hates speaking wicked things. In fact, speaking truth results in part from detesting wickedness.

[8:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “wickedness is an abomination to my lips” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[8:8]  ¹⁴ tn The phrase could be rendered with an understood ellipsis: “all the words of my mouth [are said] in righteousness”; or the preposition could be interpreted as a beth essentiae: “all the words of my mouth are righteousness.”

[8:8]  ¹⁵ sn The verb פָּתַל (patal) means “to twist.” In the Niphal it means “to wrestle” (to twist oneself). It was used in Gen 30:8 for the naming of Naphtali, with the motivation for the name from this verb: “with great struggling.” Here it describes speech that is twisted. It is a synonym for the next word, which means “twisted; crooked; perverse.”

[8:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “front of.” Describing the sayings as “right in front” means they are open, obvious, and clear, as opposed to words that might be twisted or perverse. The parallel word “upright” means “straight, smooth, right.” Wisdom’s teachings are in plain view and intelligible for those who find knowledge.

[8:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “discipline.” The term refers to instruction that trains with discipline (e.g., Prov 1:2).

[8:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and not” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “in preference to.”

[8:11]  ¹⁹ tn The verb יִשְׁווּ (yishvu, from שָׁוָה, shavah) can be rendered “are not comparable” or in a potential nuance “cannot be compared” with her.

[22:17]  ²⁰ sn A new collection of sayings begins here, forming the fourth section of the book of Proverbs. This collection is not like that of 1:1–9:18; here the introductory material is more personal than 1:1-7, and the style differs, showing great similarity to the Instruction of Amenemope in Egypt (especially the thirty precepts of the sages in 22:17–24:22). Verses 17-21 form the introduction, and then the sayings begin in v. 22. After the thirty sayings are given, there are further sayings in 24:23-34. There is much literature on this material: see W. K. Simpson, ed., Literature of Ancient Egypt; ANET 412-425; and A. Cody, “Notes on Proverbs 22:21 and 22:23b,” Bib 61 (1980): 418-26.

[22:17]  ²¹ sn To “incline the ear” means to “listen carefully” (cf. NCV); the expression is metonymical in that the ear is the instrument for hearing. It is like telling someone to lean over to hear better.

[22:17]  ²² tn Heb “knowledge” (so KJV, NASB); in this context it refers to the knowledge that is spoken by the wise, hence “instruction.”

[22:20]  ²³ tn Older English versions and a few more recent ones render this phrase as either “excellent things” following the Qere (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NKJV), “officers,” or “heretofore” [day before yesterday], following the Kethib. However (as in most recent English versions) the Qere should be rendered “thirty,” referring to the number in the collection (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[22:20]  ²⁴ tn The term “sayings” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[22:21]  ²⁵ tn Heb “to cause you to know the truth of words of truth” (NASB similar).

[22:21]  ²⁶ tn Heb “to return true words”; NAB “a dependable report”; NIV “sound answers.”