Amsal 1:33

1:33 But the one who listens ¹  to me will live in security, ² 

and will be at ease ³  from the dread of harm.

Amsal 6:15

6:15 Therefore, his disaster will come suddenly;

in an instant ⁴  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, ⁵  and I found you!

Amsal 11:9-10

11:9 With his speech ⁶  the godless person ⁷  destroys ⁸  his neighbor,

but by knowledge ⁹  the righteous will be delivered.

11:10 When the righteous do well, ¹⁰  the city rejoices; ¹¹ 

when the wicked perish, there is joy.

Amsal 13:10

13:10 With pride ¹²  comes only ¹³  contention,

but wisdom is with the well-advised. ¹⁴ 

Amsal 14:28

14:28 A king’s glory is ¹⁵  the abundance of people,

but the lack of subjects ¹⁶  is the ruin ¹⁷  of a ruler.

Amsal 15:6

15:6 In the house ¹⁸  of the righteous is abundant wealth, ¹⁹ 

but the income of the wicked brings trouble. ²⁰ 

Amsal 17:21

17:21 Whoever brings a fool ²¹  into the world ²²  does so ²³  to his grief,

and the father of a fool has no joy. ²⁴ 

Amsal 23:22

23:22 Listen to your father who begot you,

and do not despise your mother when she is old.

[1:33]  ¹ tn The participle is used substantivally here: “whoever listens” will enjoy the benefits of the instruction.

[1:33]  ² tn The noun בֶּטַח (betakh, “security”) functions as an adverbial accusative of manner: “in security.” The phrase refers to living in a permanent settled condition without fear of danger (e.g., Deut 33:12; Ps 16:9). It is the antithesis of the dread of disaster facing the fool and the simple.

[1:33]  ³ tn The verb שַׁאֲנַן (sha’anan) is a Palel perfect of שָׁאַן (sha’an) which means “to be at ease; to rest securely” (BDB 983 s.v. שָׁאַן). Elsewhere it parallels the verb “to be undisturbed” (Jer 30:10), so it means “to rest undisturbed and quiet.” The reduplicated Palel stem stresses the intensity of the idea. The perfect tense functions in the so-called “prophetic perfect” sense, emphasizing the certainty of this blessing for the wise.

[6:15]  ⁴ tn This word is a substantive that is used here as an adverbial accusative – with suddenness, at an instant.

[7:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “to look diligently for your face.”

[11:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “with his mouth.” The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech.

[11:9]  ⁷ sn The Hebrew word originally meant “impious, godless, polluted, profane.” It later developed the idea of a “hypocrite” (Dan 11:32), one who conceals his evil under the appearance of godliness or kindness. This one is a false flatterer.

[11:9]  ⁸ sn The verb שָׁחַת (shakhat) means “to destroy; to ruin” (e.g., the destruction of Sodom in Gen 13:10). The imperfect tense is probably not an habitual imperfect (because the second colon shows exceptions), but probably a progressive imperfect (“this goes on”) or potential imperfect (“they can do this”).

[11:9]  ⁹ sn The antithetical proverb states that a righteous person can escape devastating slander through knowledge. The righteous will have sufficient knowledge and perception to see through the hypocrisy and avoid its effect.

[11:10]  ¹⁰ tn The text has “in the good [בְּטוֹב, bÿtov] of the righteous,” meaning when they do well, when they prosper. Cf. NCV, NLT “succeed”; TEV “have good fortune.”

[11:10]  ¹¹ sn The verb תַּעֲלֹץ (ta’alots, “to rejoice; to exult”) is paralleled with the noun רִנָּה (rinnah, “ringing cry”). The descriptions are hyperbolic, except when the person who dies is one who afflicted society (e.g., 2 Kgs 11:20; Esth 8:15). D. Kidner says, “However drab the world makes out virtue to be, it appreciates the boon of it in public life” (Proverbs [TOTC], 91).

[13:10]  ¹² sn The parallelism suggests pride here means contempt for the opinions of others. The wise listen to advice rather than argue out of stubborn pride.

[13:10]  ¹³ tn The particle רַק (raq, “only”) modifies the noun “contention” – only contention can come from such a person.

[13:10]  ¹⁴ tn The Niphal of יָעַץ (ya’ats, “to advise; to counsel”) means “to consult together; to take counsel.” It means being well-advised, receiving advice or consultation (cf. NCV “those who take advice are wise”).

[14:28]  ¹⁵ tn The preposition serves as the beth essentiae – the glory is the abundant population, not in it.

[14:28]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “people.” Cf. NLT “a dwindling nation.”

[14:28]  ¹⁷ sn The word means “ruin; destruction,” but in this context it could be a metonymy of effect, the cause being an attack by more numerous people that will bring ruin to the ruler. The proverb is purely a practical and secular saying, unlike some of the faith teachings in salvation history passages.

[15:6]  ¹⁸ tn The term בֵּית (bet, “house”) functions as an adverbial accusative of location.

[15:6]  ¹⁹ sn The Hebrew noun חֹסֶן (khosen) means “wealth; treasure.” Prosperity is the reward for righteousness. This is true only in so far as a proverb can be carried in its application, allowing for exceptions. The Greek text for this verse has no reference for wealth, but talks about amassing righteousness.

[15:6]  ²⁰ tn Heb “will be troubled.” The function of the Niphal participle may be understood in two ways: (1) substantival use: abstract noun meaning “disturbance, calamity” (BDB 747 s.v. עָכַר) or passive noun meaning “thing troubled,” or (2) verbal use: “will be troubled” (HALOT 824 s.v. עכר nif).

[17:21]  ²¹ sn Here the Hebrew terms כְּסִיל (kÿsil) and נָבָל (naval) are paired. The first one, which occurs about fifty times in the book, refers to a dullard, whether it be in spiritual, intellectual, or moral matters. The second word, rare in the book, primarily focuses on religious folly – it refers to the practical atheist, the one who lives as if there is no God.

[17:21]  ²² tn The form simply means “bears” or “gives birth to,” but since it is masculine it could be rendered “fathers” (cf. NASB “he who begets a fool”; NIV “To have a fool for a son”). The form for “fool” is masculine, but the proverb is not limited only to male children (cf. NCV “It is sad to have a foolish child”).

[17:21]  ²³ tn The phrase “does so” is supplied for the sake of clarification.

[17:21]  ²⁴ sn Parents of fools, who had hoped for children who would be a credit to the family, find only bitter disappointment (cf. TEV “nothing but sadness and sorrow”).