Amsal 16:23

16:23 A wise person’s heart ¹  makes his speech wise ² 

and it adds persuasiveness ³  to his words. ⁴ 

Amsal 10:8

10:8 The wise person ⁵  accepts instructions, ⁶ 

but the one who speaks foolishness ⁷  will come to ruin. ⁸ 

Amsal 23:15

23:15 My child, ⁹  if your heart is wise,

then my heart also will be glad;

[16:23]  ¹ tn Or “mind” (cf. NCV, NRSV, NLT).

[16:23]  ² tn Heb “makes wise his mouth,” with “mouth” being a metonymy of cause for what is said: “speech.”

[16:23]  ³ sn Those who are wise say wise things. The proverb uses synthetic parallelism: The first line asserts that the wise heart ensures that what is said is wise, and the second line adds that such a person increases the reception of what is said.

[16:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “to his lips.” The term “lips” functions as a metonymy of cause for what is said.

[10:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “the wise of heart” (so NASB, NRSV). The genitive noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as an attributive adjective: “the wise heart.” The term לֵב functions as a synecdoche of part (= heart) for the whole person (= person). The heart is emphasized because it is the seat of wisdom (BDB 524 s.v. 3.b).

[10:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “commandments.”

[10:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “fool of lips.” The phrase is a genitive of specification: “a fool in respect to lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause (= lips) for effect (= speech). This person talks foolishness; he is too busy talking to pay attention to instruction.

[10:8]  ⁸ tn The Niphal verb לָבַט (lavat) means “to be thrust down [or, away]”; that is, “to be ruined; to fall” or “to stumble” (e.g., Hos 4:14). The fool who refuses to listen to advice – but abides by his own standards which he freely expresses – will suffer the predicaments that he creates.

[23:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “my son,” although the context does not limit this exhortation to male children.