Amsal 8:14

8:14 Counsel and sound wisdom belong to me; ¹ 

I possess understanding and might.

Amsal 10:29

10:29 The way of the Lord ²  is like ³  a stronghold for the upright, ⁴ 

but it is destruction ⁵  to evildoers. ⁶ 

Amsal 21:22

21:22 The wise person ⁷  can scale ⁸  the city of the mighty

and bring down the stronghold ⁹  in which they trust. ¹⁰ 

[8:14]  ¹ tc In the second half of v. 14 instead of אֲנִי (’ani) the editors propose reading simply לִי (li) as the renderings in the LXX, Latin, and Syriac suggest. Then, in place of the לִי that comes in the same colon, read וְלִי (vÿli). While the MT is a difficult reading, it can be translated as it is. It would be difficult to know exactly what the ancient versions were reading, because their translations could have been derived from either text. They represent an effort to smooth out the text.

[8:14]  tn Heb “To me [belong] counsel and sound wisdom.” The second colon in the verse has: “I, understanding, to me and might.”

[8:14]  sn In vv. 14-17 the pronouns come first and should receive greater prominence – although it is not always easy to do this with English.

[10:29]  ² sn The “way of the Lord” is an idiom for God’s providential administration of life; it is what the Lord does (“way” being a hypocatastasis).

[10:29]  ³ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[10:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “for the one with integrity” (לַתֹּם, latom).

[10:29]  ⁵ tn Or “ruin” (so NIV).

[10:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “those who practice iniquity.”

[21:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “The wise [one/man].”

[21:22]  ⁸ tn The Qal perfect tense of עָלָה (’alah) functions in a potential nuance. Wisdom can be more effectual than physical strength.

[21:22]  ⁹ sn In a war the victory is credited not so much to the infantry as to the tactician who plans the attack. Brilliant strategy wins wars, even over apparently insuperable odds (e.g., Prov 24:5-6; Eccl 9:13-16; 2 Cor 10:4).

[21:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and bring down the strength of its confidence.” The word “strength” is a metonymy of adjunct, referring to the place of strength, i.e., “the stronghold.” “Confidence” is a genitive of worth; the stronghold is their confidence, it is appropriate for the confidence of the city.