Amsal 10:14

10:14 Those who are wise ¹  store up ²  knowledge,

but foolish speech ³  leads to imminent ⁴  destruction.

Amsal 11:30

11:30 The fruit of the righteous is like ⁵  a tree producing life, ⁶ 

and the one who wins souls ⁷  is wise. ⁸ 

Amsal 12:15-16

12:15 The way of a fool ⁹  is right ¹⁰  in his own opinion, ¹¹ 

but the one who listens to advice is wise. ¹² 

12:16 A fool’s annoyance ¹³  is known at once, ¹⁴ 

but the prudent ¹⁵  overlooks ¹⁶  an insult.

Amsal 13:1

13:1 A wise son accepts ¹⁷  his father’s discipline, ¹⁸ 

but a scoffer ¹⁹  does not listen to rebuke.

Amsal 13:14

13:14 Instruction ²⁰  from the wise ²¹  is like ²²  a life-giving fountain, ²³ 

to turn ²⁴  a person ²⁵  from deadly snares. ²⁶ 

Amsal 14:15

14:15 A naive person ²⁷  believes everything,

but the shrewd person discerns his steps. ²⁸ 

Amsal 14:18

14:18 The naive inherit ²⁹  folly,

but the shrewd ³⁰  are crowned ³¹  with knowledge.

Amsal 16:21

16:21 The one who is wise in heart ³²  is called ³³  discerning,

and kind speech ³⁴  increases persuasiveness. ³⁵ 

Amsal 22:17

The Sayings of the Wise ³⁶ 

22:17 Incline your ear ³⁷  and listen to the words of the wise,

and apply your heart to my instruction. ³⁸ 

Amsal 23:9

23:9 Do not speak in the ears of a fool, ³⁹ 

for he will despise the wisdom of your words. ⁴⁰ 

Amsal 23:19

23:19 Listen, my child, ⁴¹  and be wise,

and guide your heart on the right way.

[10:14]  ¹ tn Heb “wise men.”

[10:14]  ² sn The verb צָפַן (tsafan, “to store up; to treasure”) may mean (1) the wise acquire and do not lose wisdom (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV), or (2) they do not tell all that they know (cf. NCV), that is, they treasure it up for a time when they will need it. The fool, by contrast, talks without thinking.

[10:14]  ³ tn Heb “the mouth of foolishness”; cf. NRSV, NLT “the babbling of a fool.” The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech. The genitive אֶוִיל (’evil, “foolishness”) functions as an attributive adjective: “a foolish mouth” = foolish speech.

[10:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “near destruction.” The words of the fool that are uttered without wise forethought may invite imminent ruin (e.g., James 3:13-18). See also Ptah-hotep and Amenemope in ANET 414 and 423.

[11:30]  ⁵ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[11:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “tree of life” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV). The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “life”) is genitive of product. What the righteous produce (“fruit”) is like a tree of life – a long and healthy life as well as a life-giving influence and provision for others.

[11:30]  ⁷ tc The Leningrad Codex mistakenly vocalized ש (sin or shin) as שׂ (sin) instead of שׁ (shin) in the term נְפָשׂוֹת (nefashot) which is vocalized as נְפָשׁוֹת (nefasot, “souls”) in the other medieval Hebrew mss and early printed editions of the Masoretic Text.

[11:30]  ⁸ tc The MT reads חָכָם (khakham, “wise”) and seems to refer to capturing (לָקַח, laqakh; “to lay hold of; to seize; to capture”) people with influential ideas (e.g., 2 Sam 15:6). An alternate textual tradition reads חָמָס (khamas) “violent” (reflected in the LXX and Syriac) and refers to taking away lives: “but the one who takes away lives (= kills people) is violent” (cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV). The textual variant was caused by orthographic confusion of ס (samek) and כ (kaf), and metathesis of מ (mem) between the 2nd and 3rd consonants. If the parallelism is synonymous, the MT reading fits; if the parallelism is antithetical, the alternate tradition fits. See D. C. Snell, “‘Taking Souls’ in Proverbs 11:30,” VT 33 (1083): 362-65.

[12:15]  ⁹ sn The way of a fool describes a headlong course of actions (“way” is an idiom for conduct) that is not abandoned even when wise advice is offered.

[12:15]  ¹⁰ sn The fool believes that his own plans and ideas are perfect or “right” (יָשָׁר, yashar); he is satisfied with his own opinion.

[12:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in his own eyes.”

[12:15]  ¹² tn Or “a wise person listens to advice” (cf. NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[12:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “The fool, at once his vexation is known.” This rhetorically emphatic construction uses an independent nominative absolute, which is then followed by the formal subject with a suffix. The construction focuses attention on “the fool,” then states what is to be said about him.

[12:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “on the day” or “the same day.”

[12:16]  sn The fool is impatient and unwise, and so flares up immediately when anything bothers him. W. McKane says that the fool’s reaction is “like an injured animal and so his opponent knows that he has been wounded” (Proverbs [OTL], 442).

[12:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “shrewd.”

[12:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “covers.” The verb כָּסָה (casah) means “covers” in the sense of ignores or bides his time. The point is not that he does not respond at all, but that he is shrewd enough to handle the criticism or insult in the best way – not instinctively and irrationally.

[13:1]  ¹⁷ tn The term “accepts” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and clarity.

[13:1]  ¹⁸ tc G. R. Driver suggested reading this word as מְיֻסַּר (mÿyussar, “allows himself to be disciplined”); see his “Hebrew Notes on Prophets and Proverbs,” JTS 41 (1940): 174. But this is not necessary at all; the MT makes good sense as it stands. Similarly, the LXX has “a wise son listens to his father.”

[13:1]  tn Heb “discipline of a father.”

[13:1]  ¹⁹ sn The “scoffer” is the worst kind of fool. He has no respect for authority, reviles worship of God, and is unteachable because he thinks he knows it all. The change to a stronger word in the second colon – “rebuke” (גָּעַר, ga’ar) – shows that he does not respond to instruction on any level. Cf. NLT “a young mocker,” taking this to refer to the opposite of the “wise son” in the first colon.

[13:14]  ²⁰ tn The term תוֹרָה (torah) in legal literature means “law,” but in wisdom literature often means “instruction; teaching” (BDB 435 s.v.); cf. NAV, NIV, NRSV “teaching”; NLT “advice.”

[13:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “instruction of the wise.” The term חָכָם (khakham, “the wise”) is a genitive of source.

[13:14]  ²² tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[13:14]  ²³ tn Heb “fountain of life” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV). The genitive חַיִּים (khayyim) functions as a genitive of material, similar to the expression “fountain of water.” The metaphor means that the teaching of the wise is life-giving. The second colon is the consequence of the first, explaining this metaphor.

[13:14]  ²⁴ tn The infinitive construct with preposition לְ (lamed) gives the result (or, purpose) of the first statement. It could also be taken epexegetically, “by turning.”

[13:14]  ²⁵ tn The term “person” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[13:14]  ²⁶ tn Heb “snares of death” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The genitive מָוֶת (mavet) functions as an attributive adjective. The term “snares” makes an implied comparison with hunting; death is like a hunter. W. McKane compares the idea to the Ugaritic god Mot, the god of death, carrying people off to the realm of the departed (Proverbs [OTL], 455). The expression could also mean that the snares lead to death.

[14:15]  ²⁷ sn The contrast is with the simpleton and the shrewd. The simpleton is the young person who is untrained morally or intellectually, and therefore gullible. The shrewd one is the prudent person, the one who has the ability to make critical discriminations.

[14:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “his step”; cf. TEV “sensible people watch their step.”

[14:18]  ²⁹ tc G. R. Driver, however, proposed reading the verb as “are adorned” from הלה (“Problems in the Hebrew Text of Proverbs,” Bib 32 [1951]: 181). A similar reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[14:18]  sn The proverb anticipates what the simple will receive, assuming they remain simpletons.

[14:18]  ³⁰ tn Or “prudent” (KJV, NASB, NIV); NRSV, TEV “clever.”

[14:18]  ³¹ tn The meaning of יַכְתִּרוּ (yakhtiru, Hiphil imperfect of כָּתַר, katar) is elusive. It may not mean “to be crowned” or “to crown themselves,” but “to encircle” or “to embrace.” BDB 509 s.v. כָּתַר Hiph suggests “to throw out crowns” (throw out knowledge as a crown) or “to encompass knowledge,” i.e., possess it (parallel to inherit).

[16:21]  ³² tn Heb “wise of heart” (so NRSV).

[16:21]  ³³ tn Heb “to the wise of heart it will be called discerning.” This means that the wise of heart, those who make wise decisions (“heart” being the metonymy), will gain a reputation of being the discerning ones.

[16:21]  ³⁴ tn Heb “sweetness of lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause, meaning what is said. It is a genitive of specification. The idea of “sweetness” must be gracious and friendly words. The teaching will be well-received because it is both delightful and persuasive (cf. NIV “pleasant words promote instruction”).

[16:21]  ³⁵ tn Heb “teaching” or “receptivity”; KJV “learning”; NIV “instruction.”

[22:17]  ³⁶ sn A new collection of sayings begins here, forming the fourth section of the book of Proverbs. This collection is not like that of 1:1–9:18; here the introductory material is more personal than 1:1-7, and the style differs, showing great similarity to the Instruction of Amenemope in Egypt (especially the thirty precepts of the sages in 22:17–24:22). Verses 17-21 form the introduction, and then the sayings begin in v. 22. After the thirty sayings are given, there are further sayings in 24:23-34. There is much literature on this material: see W. K. Simpson, ed., Literature of Ancient Egypt; ANET 412-425; and A. Cody, “Notes on Proverbs 22:21 and 22:23b,” Bib 61 (1980): 418-26.

[22:17]  ³⁷ sn To “incline the ear” means to “listen carefully” (cf. NCV); the expression is metonymical in that the ear is the instrument for hearing. It is like telling someone to lean over to hear better.

[22:17]  ³⁸ tn Heb “knowledge” (so KJV, NASB); in this context it refers to the knowledge that is spoken by the wise, hence “instruction.”

[23:9]  ³⁹ sn The mention of “the ears” emphasizes the concerted effort to get the person’s undivided attention. However, a fool rejects instruction and discipline.

[23:9]  ⁴⁰ sn Saying number nine indicates that wisdom is wasted on a fool. The literature of Egypt has no specific parallel to this one.

[23:19]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “my son,” but the immediate context does not limit this to male children.