Amsal 2:6

2:6 For ¹  the Lord gives ²  wisdom,

and from his mouth ³  comes ⁴  knowledge and understanding.

Amsal 3:6

3:6 Acknowledge ⁵  him in all your ways, ⁶ 

and he will make your paths straight. ⁷ 

Amsal 17:3

17:3 The crucible ⁸  is for refining ⁹  silver and the furnace ¹⁰  is for gold,

likewise ¹¹  the Lord tests ¹²  hearts.

Amsal 19:23

19:23 Fearing the Lord ¹³  leads ¹⁴  to life, ¹⁵ 

and one who does so will live ¹⁶  satisfied; he will not be afflicted ¹⁷  by calamity.

Amsal 20:25

20:25 It is a snare ¹⁸  for a person ¹⁹  to rashly cry, ²⁰  “Holy!”

and only afterward to consider ²¹  what he has vowed. ²² 

Amsal 28:14

28:14 Blessed is the one who is always cautious, ²³ 

but whoever hardens his heart ²⁴  will fall into evil.

[2:6]  ¹ tn This is a causal clause. The reason one must fear and know the Lord is that he is the source of true, effectual wisdom.

[2:6]  ² tn The verb is an imperfect tense which probably functions as a habitual imperfect describing a universal truth in the past, present and future.

[2:6]  ³ sn This expression is an anthropomorphism; it indicates that the Lord is the immediate source or author of the wisdom. It is worth noting that in the incarnation many of these “anthropomorphisms” become literal in the person of the Logos, the Word, Jesus, who reveals the Father.

[2:6]  ⁴ tn The verb “comes” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[3:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “know him.” The verb יָדַע (yadah, “to know”) includes mental awareness of who God is and the consequential submission to his lordship. To know him is to obey him. The sage is calling for a life of trust and obedience in which the disciple sees the Lord in every event and relies on him. To acknowledge the Lord in every event means trusting and obeying him for guidance in right conduct.

[3:6]  ⁶ tn The term דֶרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) is figurative (hypocatastasis: implied comparison) referring to a person’s course of life, actions and undertakings (Prov 2:8; 3:6, 23; 11:5; 20:24; 29:27; 31:3; BDB 203 s.v. 5; cf. TEV “in everything you do”; NCV, NLT “in all you do”). This is a call for total commitment in trust for obedience in all things.

[3:6]  ⁷ tn The verb יָשָׁר (yashar) means “to make smooth; to make straight” (BDB 444 s.v.). This phrase means “to make the way free from obstacles,” that is, to make it successful (e.g., Isa 40:3). The straight, even road is the right road; God will make the way smooth for the believer.

[17:3]  ⁸ sn The noun מַצְרֵף (matsref) means “a place or instrument for refining” (cf. ASV, NASB “the refining pot”). The related verb, which means “to melt, refine, smelt,” is used in scripture literally for refining and figuratively for the Lord’s purifying and cleansing and testing people.

[17:3]  ⁹ tn The term “refining” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[17:3]  ¹⁰ sn The term כּוּר (cur) describes a “furnace” or “smelting pot.” It can be used figuratively for the beneficial side of affliction (Isa 48:10).

[17:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and.” Most English versions treat this as an adversative (“but”).

[17:3]  ¹² sn The participle בֹּחֵן (bokhen, “tests”) in this emblematic parallelism takes on the connotations of the crucible and the furnace. When the Lord “tests” human hearts, the test, whatever form it takes, is designed to improve the value of the one being tested. Evil and folly will be removed when such testing takes place.

[19:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” This expression features an objective genitive: “fearing the Lord.”

[19:23]  ¹⁴ tn The term “leads” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and style.

[19:23]  ¹⁵ tn Here “life” is probably a metonymy of subject for “blessings and prosperity in life.” The plural form often covers a person’s “lifetime.”

[19:23]  ¹⁶ tn The subject of this verb is probably the one who fears the Lord and enjoys life. So the proverb uses synthetic parallelism; the second half tells what this life is like – it is an abiding contentment that is not threatened by calamity (cf. NCV “unbothered by trouble”).

[19:23]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he will not be visited” (so KJV, ASV). The verb פָּקַד (paqad) is often translated “visit.” It describes intervention that will change the destiny. If God “visits” it means he intervenes to bless or to curse. To be “visited by trouble” means that calamity will interfere with the course of life and change the direction or the destiny. Therefore this is not referring to a minor trouble that one might briefly experience. A life in the Lord cannot be disrupted by such major catastrophes that would alter one’s destiny.

[20:25]  ¹⁸ sn It would be a “snare” because it would lead people into financial difficulties; Leviticus 27 talks about foolish or rash vows.

[20:25]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a man.”

[20:25]  ²⁰ tn The verb is from לוּע (lu’) or לָעַע (la’a’); it means “to talk wildly” (not to be confused with the homonym “to swallow”). It occurs here and in Job 6:3.

[20:25]  sn This refers to speaking rashly in dedicating something to the sanctuary by calling it “Holy.”

[20:25]  ²¹ tn Heb “reflect on.” The person is to consider the vows before making them, to ensure that they can be fulfilled. Too many people make their vow or promise without thinking, and then later worry about how they will fulfill their vows.

[20:25]  ²² tn Heb “the vows” (so NASB); CEV “promises.”

[28:14]  ²³ tn Most commentators (and some English versions, e.g., NIV) assume that the participle מְפַחֵד (mÿfakhed, “fears”) means “fears the Lord,” even though “the Lord” is not present in the text. Such an assumption would be more convincing if the word יִרְאַת (yir’at) had been used. It is possible that the verse refers to fearing sin or its consequences. In other words, the one who is always apprehensive about the nature and consequences of sin will avoid sin and find God’s blessing. Of course the assumption that the phrase means “fear the Lord” could be correct as well. There would be little difference in the outcome; in either case sin would be avoided.

[28:14]  ²⁴ sn The one who “hardens his heart” in this context is the person who refuses to fear sin and its consequences. The image of the “hard heart” is one of a stubborn will, unyielding and unbending (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT). This individual will fall into sin.