Amsal 13:19

13:19 A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,

but fools abhor ¹  turning away from evil.

Amsal 15:28

15:28 The heart of the righteous considers ²  how ³  to answer, ⁴ 

but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. ⁵ 

Amsal 18:4

18:4 The words of a person’s mouth are like ⁶  deep waters, ⁷ 

and ⁸  the fountain of wisdom ⁹  is like ¹⁰  a flowing brook. ¹¹ 

Amsal 19:12

19:12 A king’s wrath is like ¹²  the roar of a lion, ¹³ 

but his favor is like dew on the grass. ¹⁴ 

[13:19]  ¹ tn Heb “an abomination of fools.” The noun כְּסִילִים (kÿsilim, “fools”) functions as a subjective genitive: “fools hate to turn away from evil” (cf. NAB, TEV, CEV). T. T. Perowne says: “In spite of the sweetness of good desires accomplished, fools will not forsake evil to attain it” (Proverbs, 103). Cf. Prov 13:12; 29:27.

[15:28]  ² tn The verb יֶהְגֶּה (yehgeh) means “to muse; to meditate; to consider; to study.” It also involves planning, such as with the wicked “planning” a vain thing (Ps 2:1, which is contrasted with the righteous who “meditate” in the law [1:2]).

[15:28]  ³ tn The word “how” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:28]  ⁴ tc The LXX reads: “the hearts of the righteous meditate faithfulness.”

[15:28]  sn The advice of the proverb is to say less but better things. The wise – here called the righteous – are cautious in how they respond to others. They think about it (heart = mind) before speaking.

[15:28]  ⁵ sn The form is plural. What they say (the “mouth” is a metonymy of cause) is any range of harmful things.

[18:4]  ⁶ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[18:4]  ⁷ sn The metaphor “deep waters” indicates either that the words have an inexhaustible supply or that they are profound.

[18:4]  ⁸ tn There is debate about the nature of the parallelism between lines 4a and 4b. The major options are: (1) synonymous parallelism, (2) antithetical parallelism (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV) or (3) formal parallelism. Normally a vav (ו) would begin an antithetical clause; the structure and the ideas suggest that the second colon continues the idea of the first half, but in a parallel way rather than as additional predicates. The metaphors used in the proverb elsewhere describe the wise.

[18:4]  ⁹ sn This is an implied comparison (hypocatastasis), the fountain of wisdom being the person who speaks. The Greek version has “fountain of life” instead of “wisdom,” probably influenced from 10:11.

[18:4]  ¹⁰ 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.

[18:4]  ¹¹ sn The point of this metaphor is that the wisdom is a continuous source of refreshing and beneficial ideas.

[19:12]  ¹² sn The verse contrasts the “rage” of the king with his “favor” by using two similes. The first simile presents the king at his most dangerous – his anger (e.g., 20:2; Amos 3:4). The second simile presents his favor as beneficial for life (e.g., 16:14-15; 28:15).

[19:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “is a roaring like a lion.”

[19:12]  ¹⁴ sn The proverb makes an observation about a king’s power to terrify or to refresh. It advises people to use tact with a king.