Amsal 19:27

19:27 If you stop listening to ¹  instruction, my child,

you will stray ²  from the words of knowledge.

Amsal 23:15

23:15 My child, ³  if your heart is wise,

then my heart also will be glad;

Amsal 23:19

23:19 Listen, my child, ⁴  and be wise,

and guide your heart on the right way.

Amsal 23:26

23:26 Give me your heart, my son, ⁵ 

and let your eyes observe my ways;

Amsal 24:13

24:13 Eat honey, ⁶  my child, for it is good,

and honey from the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.

Amsal 24:21

24:21 Fear the Lord, my child, ⁷  as well as the king,

and do not associate ⁸  with rebels, ⁹ 

[19:27]  ¹ tn Heb “Stop listening…!” The infinitive construct לִשְׁמֹעַ (lishmoa’) functions as the direct object of the imperative: “stop heeding [or, listening to].” Of course in this proverb which shows the consequences of doing so, this is irony. The sage is instructing not to stop. The conditional protasis construction does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation.

[19:27]  ² tn The second line has an infinitive construct לִשְׁגוֹת (lishgot), meaning “to stray; to go astray; to err.” It indicates the result of the instruction – stop listening, and as a result you will go astray. The LXX took it differently: “A son who ceases to attend to discipline is likely to stray from words of knowledge.” RSV sees the final clause as the purpose of the instructions to be avoided: “do not listen to instructions to err.”

[23:15]  ³ tn Heb “my son,” although the context does not limit this exhortation to male children.

[23:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “my son,” but the immediate context does not limit this to male children.

[23:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “my son”; the reference to a “son” is retained in the translation here because in the following lines the advice is to avoid women who are prostitutes.

[24:13]  ⁶ sn The twenty-sixth saying teaches that one should develop wisdom because it has a profitable future. The saying draws on the image of honey; its health-giving properties make a good analogy to wisdom.

[24:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “my son,” but there is no indication in the immediate context that this should be limited only to male children.

[24:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “do not get mixed up with”; cf. TEV “Have nothing to do with”; NIV “do not join with.” The verb עָרַב (’arav) is used elsewhere meaning “to exchange; to take on pledge.” In the Hitpael stem it means “to have fellowship; to share; to associate with.” Some English versions (e.g., KJV) interpret as “to meddle” in this context, because “to have fellowship” is certainly not what is meant.

[24:21]  ⁹ tn The form rendered “rebellious” is difficult; it appears to be the Qal active participle, plural, from שָׁנָה (shanah), “to change” – “those who change.” The RV might have thought of the idea of “change” when they rendered it “political agitators.” The Syriac and Tg. Prov 24:21 have “fools,” the Latin has “detractors,” and the LXX reads, “do not disobey either of them,” referring to God and the king in the first line. Accordingly the ruin predicted in the next line would be the ruin that God and the king can inflict. If the idea of “changers” is retained, it would have to mean people who at one time feared God and the king but no longer do.