Amsal 14:24

14:24 The crown of the wise is their riches, ¹ 

but the folly ²  of fools is folly.

Amsal 19:21

19:21 There are many plans ³  in a person’s mind, ⁴ 

but it ⁵  is the counsel ⁶  of the Lord which will stand.

Amsal 21:5

21:5 The plans of the diligent ⁷  lead ⁸  only to plenty, ⁹ 

but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. ¹⁰ 

Amsal 23:15

23:15 My child, ¹¹  if your heart is wise,

then my heart also will be glad;

Amsal 23:32

23:32 Afterward ¹²  it bites like a snake,

and stings like a viper.

Amsal 27:23

27:23 Pay careful attention to ¹³  the condition of your flocks, ¹⁴ 

give careful attention ¹⁵  to your herds,

[14:24]  ¹ sn C. H. Toy suggests that this line probably means that wealth is an ornament to those who use it well (Proverbs [ICC], 269). J. H. Greenstone suggests that it means that the wisdom of the wise, which is their crown of glory, constitutes their wealth (Proverbs, 155).

[14:24]  ² tc The MT reads אִוֶלֶת (’ivelet, “folly”). The editors of BHS propose emending the text to וְלִוְיַת (vÿlivyat, “but the wealth”), as suggested by the LXX. See M. Rotenberg, “The Meaning of אִוֶּלֶת in Proverbs,” LesŒ 25 (1960-1961): 201. A similar emendation is followed by NAB (“the diadem”) and NRSV (“the garland”).

[19:21]  ³ sn The plans (from the Hebrew verb חָשַׁב [khashav], “to think; to reckon; to devise”) in the human heart are many. But only those which God approves will succeed.

[19:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “in the heart of a man” (cf. NAB, NIV). Here “heart” is used for the seat of thoughts, plans, and reasoning, so the translation uses “mind.” In contemporary English “heart” is more often associated with the seat of emotion than with the seat of planning and reasoning.

[19:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “but the counsel of the Lord, it will stand.” The construction draws attention to the “counsel of the Lord”; it is an independent nominative absolute, and the resumptive independent pronoun is the formal subject of the verb.

[19:21]  ⁶ tn The antithetical parallelism pairs “counsel” with “plans.” “Counsel of the Lord” (עֲצַת יְהוָה, ’atsat yehvah) is literally “advice” or “counsel” with the connotation of “plan” in this context (cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT “purpose”; NCV “plan”; TEV “the Lord’s will”).

[19:21]  sn The point of the proverb is that the human being with many plans is uncertain, but the Lord with a sure plan gives correct counsel.

[21:5]  ⁷ tn The word “diligent” is an adjective used substantivally. The related verb means “to cut, sharpen, decide”; so the adjective describes one who is “sharp” – one who acts decisively. The word “hasty” has the idea of being pressed or pressured into quick actions. So the text contrasts calculated expeditiousness with unproductive haste. C. H. Toy does not like this contrast, and so proposes changing the latter to “lazy” (Proverbs [ICC], 399), but W. McKane rightly criticizes that as unnecessarily forming a pedestrian antithesis (Proverbs [OTL], 550).

[21:5]  ⁸ tn The term “lead” is supplied in the translation.

[21:5]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew noun translated “plenty” comes from the verb יָתַר (yatar), which means “to remain over.” So the calculated diligence will lead to abundance, prosperity.

[21:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lack; need; thing needed”; NRSV “to want.”

[23:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my son,” although the context does not limit this exhortation to male children.

[23:32]  ¹² tn Heb “its end”; NASB “At the last”; TEV (interpretively) “The next morning.”

[27:23]  ¹³ tn The sentence uses the infinitive absolute and the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “to know”). The imperfect here has been given the obligatory nuance, “you must know,” and that has to be intensified with the infinitive.

[27:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the faces of your flock.”

[27:23]  ¹⁵ tn The idiom is “place [it on] your heart” or “take to heart.” Cf. NLT “put your heart into.”

[27:23]  sn The care of the flock must become the main focus of the will, for it is the livelihood. So v. 23 forms the main instruction of this lengthy proverb (vv. 23-27).