Amsal 1:13

1:13 We will seize ¹  all kinds ²  of precious wealth;

we will fill our houses with plunder. ³ 

Amsal 4:22

4:22 for they are life to those who find them

and healing to one’s entire body. ⁴ 

Amsal 6:15

6:15 Therefore, his disaster will come suddenly;

in an instant ⁵  he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.

Amsal 7:15

7:15 That is why I came out to meet you,

to look for you, ⁶  and I found you!

Amsal 8:17

8:17 I love ⁷  those who love me,

and those who seek me find me.

Amsal 11:13

11:13 The one who goes about slandering others ⁸  reveals ⁹  secrets,

but the one who is trustworthy ¹⁰  conceals a matter.

Amsal 11:23

11:23 What the righteous desire ¹¹  leads ¹²  only to good,

but what the wicked hope for ¹³  leads ¹⁴  to wrath.

Amsal 19:8

19:8 The one who acquires wisdom ¹⁵  loves himself; ¹⁶ 

the one who preserves understanding will prosper. ¹⁷ 

Amsal 20:11

20:11 Even a young man ¹⁸  is known ¹⁹  by his actions,

whether his activity is pure and whether it is right. ²⁰ 

Amsal 21:21

21:21 The one who pursues righteousness and love ²¹ 

finds life, bounty, ²²  and honor.

Amsal 24:14

24:14 Likewise, know ²³  that wisdom is sweet ²⁴  to your soul;

if you find it, ²⁵  you will have a future, ²⁶ 

and your hope will not be cut off.

Amsal 27:4

27:4 Wrath is cruel and anger is overwhelming, ²⁷ 

but who can stand before jealousy? ²⁸ 

Amsal 27:16

27:16 Whoever hides her hides the wind ²⁹ 

or grasps ³⁰  oil with his right hand. ³¹ 

[1:13]  ¹ tn Heb “find.” The use of the verb מָצָא (matsa’, “to find”) is deliberate understatement to rhetorically down-play the heinous act of thievery.

[1:13]  ² tn Heb “all wealth of preciousness.”

[1:13]  ³ tn The noun שָׁלָל (shalal, “plunder”) functions as an adverbial accusative of material: “with plunder.” This term is normally used for the spoils of war (e.g., Deut 20:14; Josh 7:21; Judg 8:24, 25; 1 Sam 30:20) but here refers to “stolen goods” (so NCV, CEV; e.g., Isa 10:2; Prov 16:19; BDB 1022 s.v. 3). The enticement was to join a criminal gang and adopt a life of crime to enjoy ill-gotten gain (A. Cohen, Proverbs, 4). Cf. NAB, NRSV “booty”; TEV “loot.”

[4:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “to all of his flesh.”

[6:15]  ⁵ tn This word is a substantive that is used here as an adverbial accusative – with suddenness, at an instant.

[7:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “to look diligently for your face.”

[8:17]  ⁷ sn In contrast to the word for “hate” (שָׂנֵא, shaneh) the verb “love” (אָהֵב, ’ahev) includes within it the idea of choosing spontaneously. So in this line loving and seeking point up the means of finding wisdom.

[11:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “going about in slander.” This expression refers to a slanderer. The noun means “slander” and so “tale-bearer” (so KJV, ASV, NASB), “informer.” The related verb (רָכַל, rakhal) means “to go about” from one person to another, either for trade or for gossip.

[11:13]  ⁹ tn The participle מְגַלֶּה (mÿgaleh) means “uncovering” or “revealing” secrets.

[11:13]  sn This is the intent of a person who makes disparaging comments about others – he cannot wait to share secrets that should be kept.

[11:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “faithful of spirit.” This phrase describes the inner nature of the person as faithful and trustworthy. This individual will not rush out to tell whatever information he has heard, but will conceal it.

[11:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the desire of the righteous.” The noun תַּאֲוַת (ta’avat) functions as an objective genitive: “what the righteous desire.”

[11:23]  ¹² tn The phrase “leads to” does not appear in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation. The desire of the righteous (in itself good) ends in good things, whereas the hope of the wicked ends in wrath, i.e., divine judgment on them. Another interpretation is that the righteous desire is to do good things, but the wicked hope to produce wrath (cf. CEV “troublemakers hope to stir up trouble”).

[11:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “the hope of the wicked.” The noun תִּקְוַת (tiqvat) “expectation” functions as an objective genitive: “what the wicked hope for.”

[11:23]  ¹⁴ tn The term “leads” does not appear in the Hebrew text in this line but is implied by the parallelism. It is supplied in the translation for clarity and smoothness.

[19:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “heart.” Most English versions translate as “wisdom,” but cf. NAB “intelligence.” This refers to a mind that works (e.g., Prov 7:7; 9:4).

[19:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “his own soul.” The expression “loves his soul” means that he is paying attention to his needs or taking care of his life (cf. NAB “is his own best friend”). This expression works with its parallel to provide the whole idea: “loving the soul” is the metonymy of the cause for prospering, and “prospering” is the metonymy of the effect (of loving).

[19:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “finds good” (similar KJV, NASB); NCV “will succeed.” The MT reads לִמְצֹא (limtso’), a Qal infinitive construct. The LXX (as well as the other major early versions) renders it as a future, which reflects a Vorlage of יִמְצָא (yimtsa’). The infinitive is used here in a modal sense, meaning “is destined to” or “is certain of” finding good in life.

[20:11]  ¹⁸ sn In the first nine chapters of the book of Proverbs the Hebrew term נַעַר (na’ar) referred to an adolescent, a young person whose character was being formed in his early life.

[20:11]  ¹⁹ sn The Hebrew verb נָכַר (nakhar) means “to recognize” more than simply “to know.” Certain character traits can be recognized in a child by what he does (cf. NCV “by their behavior”).

[20:11]  ²⁰ sn Character is demonstrated by actions at any age. But the emphasis of the book of Proverbs would also be that if the young child begins to show such actions, then the parents must try to foster and cultivate them; if not, they must try to develop them through teaching and discipline.

[21:21]  ²¹ sn These two attributes, “righteousness” (צְדָקָה, tsÿdaqah) and “loyal love” (חֶסֶד, khesed) depict the life style of the covenant-believer who is pleasing to God and a blessing to others. The first term means that he will do what is right, and the second means that he will be faithful to the covenant community.

[21:21]  ²² sn The Hebrew term translated “bounty” is צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) again, so there is a wordplay on the term in the verse. The first use of the word had the basic meaning of “conduct that conforms to God’s standard”; this second use may be understood as a metonymy of cause, indicating the provision or reward (“bounty”) that comes from keeping righteousness (cf. NIV “prosperity”; NCV “success”). The proverb is similar to Matt 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”

[24:14]  ²³ tn D. W. Thomas argues for a meaning of “seek” in place of “know” (“Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 38 [1937]: 400-403).

[24:14]  ²⁴ tn The phrase “is sweet” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[24:14]  ²⁵ tn The term “it” is supplied in the translation.

[24:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “there will be an end.” The word is אַחֲרִית (’akhrit, “after-part, end”). BDB 31 s.v. b says in a passage like this it means “a future,” i.e., a happy close of life, sometimes suggesting the idea of posterity promised to the righteous, often parallel to “hope.”

[27:4]  ²⁷ tn Heb “fierceness of wrath and outpouring [= flood] of anger.” A number of English versions use “flood” here (e.g., NASB, NCV, NLT).

[27:4]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew term translated “jealousy” here probably has the negative sense of “envy” rather than the positive sense of “zeal.” It is a raging emotion (like “anger” and “wrath,” this word has nuances of heat, intensity) that defies reason at times and can be destructive like a consuming fire (e.g., 6:32-35; Song 8:6-7). The rhetorical question is intended to affirm that no one can survive a jealous rage. (Whether one is the subject who is jealous or the object of the jealousy of someone else is not so clear.)

[27:16]  ²⁹ tn The participle and verb both are from the root צָפַן (tsafan, “to hide”). This combination could be translated “hiding her is [like] hiding the wind.”

[27:16]  sn A contentious woman is uncontrollable. The wind can gust at any moment; so too the contentious woman can nag or complain without warning. If anyone can hide the wind he can hide her.

[27:16]  ³⁰ sn The verb is the Qal imperfect of קָרָא (qara’); BDB 895 s.v. 5.b defines it here as “call for = demand, require,” but acknowledge that it is probably corrupt. R. B. Y. Scott interprets it to mean “grasping” oil in the hand, an expression he compares to the modern “butterfingers” (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [AB], 163). Others have interpreted it to mean “betrays” – “ointment of his right hand betrays itself,” meaning its smell persists. However, the connection to the proverb does not seem obvious with that interpretation.

[27:16]  ³¹ tc The LXX took an etymologizing approach to the whole verse and translated it “the north wind is a severe wind, but by its name is termed auspicious.” In this rendering the Hebrew text’s “oil” became “its name,” “right hand” became “auspicious,” and “grasp” became “called.”