Amsal 2:12

2:12 to deliver ¹  you from the way of the wicked, ² 

from those ³  speaking perversity, ⁴ 

Amsal 3:12

3:12 For the Lord disciplines ⁵  those he loves,

just as a father ⁶  disciplines ⁷  the son in whom he delights.

Amsal 3:28

3:28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go! Return tomorrow

and I will give it,” when ⁸  you have it with you at the time. ⁹ 

Amsal 9:8

9:8 Do not reprove ¹⁰  a mocker or ¹¹  he will hate you;

reprove a wise person and he will love you.

Amsal 15:32

15:32 The one who refuses correction despises himself, ¹² 

but whoever hears ¹³  reproof acquires understanding. ¹⁴ 

Amsal 17:28

17:28 Even a fool who remains silent is considered ¹⁵  wise,

and the one who holds his tongue is deemed discerning. ¹⁶ 

Amsal 23:8

23:8 you will vomit up ¹⁷  the little bit you have eaten,

and will have wasted your pleasant words. ¹⁸ 

Amsal 23:21

23:21 because drunkards and gluttons become impoverished,

and drowsiness ¹⁹  clothes them with rags. ²⁰ 

Amsal 24:14

24:14 Likewise, know ²¹  that wisdom is sweet ²²  to your soul;

if you find it, ²³  you will have a future, ²⁴ 

and your hope will not be cut off.

Amsal 25:10

25:10 lest the one who hears it put you to shame

and your infamy ²⁵  will never go away.

Amsal 27:27

27:27 And there will be enough goat’s milk for your food, ²⁶ 

for the food of your household,

and for the sustenance ²⁷  of your servant girls.

Amsal 30:23

30:23 under an unloved ²⁸  woman who is married,

and under a female servant who dispossesses ²⁹  her mistress.

[2:12]  ¹ tn The Hiphil infinitive construct of נָצַל (natsal, “to deliver”) expresses the purpose of understanding right conduct: to protect a person from the wicked. The verb נָצַל (natsal) means “to save; to deliver; to rescue,” as in snatching away prey from an animal, rescuing from enemies, plucking a brand from the fire, retrieving property, or the like. Here it portrays rescue from the course of action of the wicked.

[2:12]  ² tn The term “wicked” (רַע, ra’) means “bad, harmful, painful.” Rather than referring to the abstract concept of “wickedness” in general, the term probably refers to wicked people because of the parallelism with “those speaking perversity.”

[2:12]  ³ tn Heb “man.” The singular noun אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) here will be further defined in vv. 13-15 with plural forms (verbs, nouns and suffixes). So the singular functions in a collective sense which is rendered in a plural sense in the translation for the sake of clarification and smoothness.

[2:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “perversities.” The plural form of תַּהְפֻּכוֹת (tahpukhot) may denote a plurality of number (“perverse things”) or intensification: “awful perversity.” As here, it often refers to perverse speech (Prov 8:13; 10:31, 32; 23:33). It is related to the noun הֶפֶךְ (hefekh, “that which is contrary, perverse”) which refers to what is contrary to morality (Isa 29:16; Ezek 16:34; BDB 246 s.v. הֶפֶךְ). The related verb הָפַךְ (hafakh, “to turn; to overturn”) is used (1) literally of turning things over, e.g., tipping over a bowl (2 Kgs 21:13) and turning over bread-cakes (Judg 7:13; Hos 7:8) and (2) figuratively of perverting things so that they are morally upside down, so to speak (Jer 23:36). These people speak what is contrary to morality, wisdom, sense, logic or the truth.

[3:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “chastens.” The verb יָכַח (yakhakh) here means “to chasten; to punish” (HALOT 410 s.v. יכח 1) or “to correct; to rebuke” (BDB 407 s.v. 6). The context suggests some kind of corporeal discipline rather than mere verbal rebuke or cognitive correction. This verse is quoted in Heb 12:5-6 to show that suffering in the service of the Lord is a sign of membership in the covenant community (i.e., sonship).

[3:12]  ⁶ tc MT reads וּכְאָב (ukh’av, “and like a father”) but the LXX reflects the Hiphil verb וְיַכְאִב (vÿyakh’iv, “and scourges every son he receives”). Both readings fit the parallelism; however, it is unnecessary to emend MT which makes perfectly good sense. The fact that the writer of Hebrews quotes this passage from the LXX and it became part of the inspired NT text does not mean that the LXX reflects the original Hebrew reading here.

[3:12]  ⁷ tn The verb “disciplines” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[3:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “and it is with you.” The prefixed vav introduces a circumstantial clause: “when …”

[3:28]  ⁹ tn The words “at the time” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:8]  ¹⁰ tn In view of the expected response for reproof, the text now uses a negated jussive to advise against the attempt. This is paralleled antithetically by the imperative in the second colon. This imperative is in an understood conditional clause: “if you reprove a wise person.”

[9:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “lest he hate you.” The particle פֶּן (pen, “lest”) expresses fear or precaution (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 79, §476). The antonyms “love” and “hate” suggest that the latter means “reject” and the former means “choosing and embracing.”

[15:32]  ¹² sn To “despise oneself” means to reject oneself as if there was little value. The one who ignores discipline is not interested in improving himself.

[15:32]  ¹³ tn Or “heeds” (so NAB, NIV); NASB “listens to.”

[15:32]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text reads קוֹנֶה לֵּב (qoneh lev), the participle of קָנָה (qanah, “to acquire; to possess”) with its object, “heart.” The word “heart” is frequently a metonymy of subject, meaning all the capacities of the human spirit and/or mind. Here it refers to the ability to make judgments or discernment.

[17:28]  ¹⁵ tn The imperfect tense here denotes possibility: One who holds his tongue [may be considered] discerning.

[17:28]  ¹⁶ tn The Niphal participle is used in the declarative/estimative sense with stative verbs: “to be discerning” (Qal) becomes “to be declared discerning” (Niphal). The proverb is teaching that silence is one evidence of wisdom, and that even a fool can thereby appear wise. D. Kidner says that a fool who takes this advice is no longer a complete fool (Proverbs [TOTC], 127). He does not, of course, become wise – he just hides his folly.

[23:8]  ¹⁷ sn Eating and drinking with a selfish miser would be irritating and disgusting. The line is hyperbolic; the whole experience turns the stomach.

[23:8]  ¹⁸ tn Or “your compliments” (so NASB, NIV); cf. TEV “your flattery.”

[23:8]  sn This is the eighth saying; it claims that it would be a mistake to accept hospitality from a stingy person. He is always thinking about the cost, his heart is not in it, and any attempt at pleasant conversation will be lost.

[23:21]  ¹⁹ tn Here “drowsiness” is a metonymy of effect or adjunct, put for the drunkenness and gluttony that causes it. So all of it, the drunkenness and the drowsiness that comes from it, brings on the ruin (cf. CEV “you will end up poor”). Likewise, “rags” is a metonymy of adjunct, associated with the poverty brought on by a dissolute lifestyle.

[23:21]  ²⁰ sn This is the fourteenth saying, warning about poor associations. Drunkenness and gluttony represent the epitome of the lack of discipline. In the Mishnah they are used to measure a stubborn and rebellious son (m. Sanhedrin 8). W. G. Plaut notes that excessive drinking and eating are usually symptoms of deeper problems; we usually focus more on the drinking because it is dangerous to others (Proverbs, 241-42).

[24:14]  ²¹ tn D. W. Thomas argues for a meaning of “seek” in place of “know” (“Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 38 [1937]: 400-403).

[24:14]  ²² tn The phrase “is sweet” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[24:14]  ²³ tn The term “it” is supplied in the translation.

[24:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “there will be an end.” The word is אַחֲרִית (’akhrit, “after-part, end”). BDB 31 s.v. b says in a passage like this it means “a future,” i.e., a happy close of life, sometimes suggesting the idea of posterity promised to the righteous, often parallel to “hope.”

[25:10]  ²⁵ tn The noun דִּבָּה (dibbah, “infamy; defamation; evil report; whispering”) is used of an evil report here (e.g., Gen 37:2), namely a true report of evil doing. So if a person betrays another person’s confidence, he will never be able to live down the bad reputation he made as one who betrays secrets (cf. NIV).

[27:27]  ²⁶ sn This part of the proverb shows the proper interplay between human labor and divine provision. It teaches people to take care of what they have because it will not last forever.

[27:27]  ²⁷ tn Heb “life”; KJV, NAB “maintenance”; NRSV “nourishment.”

[30:23]  ²⁸ tn The Hebrew term means “hated,” from שָׂנֵא (sane’), a feminine passive participle. The text does not say why she is hated; some have speculated that she might be odious (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB) or unattractive, but perhaps she is married to someone incapable of showing love (e.g., Gen 29:31, 33; Deut 21:15; Isa 60:5). Perhaps the strange situation of Jacob was in the mind of the sage, for Leah was described as “hated” (Gen 29:31).

[30:23]  ²⁹ tn The verb יָרַשׁ (yarash) means either (1) “to possess; to inherit” or (2) “to dispossess.” Often the process of possessing meant the dispossessing of those already there (e.g., Hagar and Sarah in Gen 16:5; 21:10); another example is the Israelites’ wars against the Canaanites.