Amsal 6:32

6:32 A man who commits adultery with a woman lacks wisdom, ¹ 

whoever does it destroys his own life. ² 

Amsal 14:1

14:1 Every wise woman ³  builds ⁴  her household, ⁵ 

but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.

Amsal 20:8

20:8 A king sitting on the throne to judge ⁶ 

separates out ⁷  all evil with his eyes. ⁸ 

Amsal 24:6

24:6 for with guidance you wage your war,

and with numerous advisers there is victory. ⁹ 

Amsal 25:15

25:15 Through patience ¹⁰  a ruler can be persuaded, ¹¹ 

and a soft tongue ¹²  can break a bone. ¹³ 

[6:32]  ¹ tn Heb “heart.” The term “heart” is used as a metonymy of association for discernment, wisdom, good sense. Cf. NAB “is a fool”; NIV “lacks judgment”; NCV, NRSV “has no sense.”

[6:32]  ² tn Heb “soul.” The noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) functions as a metonymy of association for “life” (BDB 659 s.v. 3.c).

[14:1]  ³ tn Heb “wise ones of women.” The construct phrase חַכְמוֹת נָשִׁים (khakhmot nashim) features a wholistic genitive: “wise women.” The plural functions in a distributive sense: “every wise woman.” The contrast is between wise and foolish women (e.g., Prov 7:10-23; 31:10-31).

[14:1]  ⁴ tn The perfect tense verb in the first colon functions in a gnomic sense, while the imperfect tense in the second colon is a habitual imperfect.

[14:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “house.” This term functions as a synecdoche of container (= house) for contents (= household, family).

[20:8]  ⁶ tn The infinitive construct is דִּין; it indicates purpose, “to judge” (so NIV, NCV) even though it does not have the preposition with it.

[20:8]  ⁷ tn The second line uses the image of winnowing (cf. NIV, NRSV) to state that the king’s judgment removes evil from the realm. The verb form is מִזָרֶה (mÿzareh), the Piel participle. It has been translated “to sift; to winnow; to scatter” and “to separate” – i.e., separate out evil from the land. The text is saying that a just government roots out evil (cf. NAB “dispels all evil”), but few governments have been consistently just.

[20:8]  ⁸ sn The phrase with his eyes indicates that the king will closely examine or look into all the cases that come before him.

[24:6]  ⁹ sn The point of the saying is that wise counsel is necessary in war. Victory, strategy, and counsel are more important than mere military strength – many great armies have been destroyed because of their unwise leaders. See on this theme 11:14; 20:18; and 21:22.

[25:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “long of anger” or “forbearance” (so NASB).

[25:15]  ¹¹ tn The two imperfect verbs in this line may be nuanced as potential imperfects because what is described could happen, but does not do so as a rule.

[25:15]  ¹² tn The “tongue” is a metonymy of cause; and so the expression here refers to soft or gentle speech. This fits well with the parallel idea of patience (“long of anger”) – through a calm patient persuasion much can be accomplished. Some English versions relate this figure directly to the persuasion of a ruler in the previous line (cf. TEV “can even convince rulers”).

[25:15]  ¹³ sn The idea of breaking a bone uses the hardest and most firm part of the body in contrast to the “softness of the tongue.” Both are figurative, forming a comparison. A gentle speech can break down any stiff opposition.