Amsal 22:15

22:15 Folly is bound up ¹  in the heart of a child, ² 

but the rod of discipline ³  will drive it far from him.

Amsal 29:9

29:9 If a wise person ⁴  goes to court ⁵  with a foolish person,

there is no peace ⁶  whether he is angry or laughs. ⁷ 

Amsal 26:4

26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, ⁸ 

lest you yourself also be like him. ⁹ 

Amsal 8:5

8:5 You who are naive, discern ¹⁰  wisdom!

And you fools, understand discernment! ¹¹ 

[22:15]  ¹ sn The passive participle is figurative (implied comparison with “binding”); it means that folly forms part of a child’s nature (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 238).

[22:15]  ² tn The “heart of a child” (לֶב־נָעַר, lev-na’ar) refers here to the natural inclination of a child to foolishness. The younger child is meant in this context, but the word can include youth. R. N. Whybray suggests that this idea might be described as a doctrine of “original folly” (Proverbs [CBC], 125). Cf. TEV “Children just naturally do silly, careless things.”

[22:15]  ³ tn The word “rod” is a metonymy of adjunct; it represents physical chastening for direction or punishment, to suppress folly and develop potential. The genitive (“discipline”) may be taken as an attributive genitive (“a chastening rod”) or an objective genitive, (“a rod [= punishment] that brings about correction/discipline”).

[29:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “a wise man…a foolish man.”

[29:9]  ⁵ tn The verb שָׁפַט (shafat) means “to judge.” In the Niphal stem it could be passive, but is more frequently reciprocal: “to enter into controversy” or “to go to court.” The word is usually used in connection with a lawsuit (so many recent English versions), but can also refer to an argument (e.g., 1 Sam 12:7; Isa 43:26); cf. NAB “disputes”; NASB “has a controversy.”

[29:9]  ⁶ tn The noun נָחַת (nakhat) is a derivative of נוּחַ (nuakh, “to rest”) and so means “quietness” or “rest,” i.e., “peace.”

[29:9]  sn The proverb is saying that there will be no possibility of settling the matter in a calm way, no matter what mood the fool is in (e.g., Prov 26:4). R. N. Whybray says one can only cut the losses and have no further dealings with the fool (Proverbs [CBC], 168).

[29:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he is angry and he laughs.” The construction uses the conjunctive vav to express alternate actions: “whether…or.”

[26:4]  ⁸ sn One should not answer a fool’s foolish questions in line with the fool’s mode of reasoning (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 274).

[26:4]  ⁹ sn The person who descends to the level of a fool to argue with him only looks like a fool as well.

[8:5]  ¹⁰ tn The imperative of בִּין (bin) means “to understand; to discern.” The call is for the simple to understand what wisdom is, not just to gain it.

[8:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “heart.” The noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) often functions metonymically for wisdom, understanding, discernment.