Amsal 3:28

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

and I will give it,” when ¹  you have it with you at the time. ² 

Amsal 3:31

3:31 Do not envy a violent man, ³ 

and do not choose to imitate ⁴  any of his ways;

Amsal 5:13

5:13 For ⁵  I did not obey my teachers ⁶ 

and I did not heed ⁷  my instructors. ⁸ 

Amsal 6:15

6:15 Therefore, his disaster will come suddenly;

in an instant ⁹  he will be broken, and there will be no remedy.

Amsal 8:14

8:14 Counsel and sound wisdom belong to me; ¹⁰ 

I possess understanding and might.

Amsal 18:17

18:17 The first to state his case ¹¹  seems ¹²  right,

until his opponent ¹³  begins to ¹⁴  cross-examine him. ¹⁵ 

Amsal 19:24

19:24 The sluggard plunges ¹⁶  his hand in the dish,

and he will not even bring it back to his mouth! ¹⁷ 

Amsal 20:25

20:25 It is a snare ¹⁸  for a person ¹⁹  to rashly cry, ²⁰  “Holy!”

and only afterward to consider ²¹  what he has vowed. ²² 

Amsal 23:8

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

and will have wasted your pleasant words. ²⁴ 

Amsal 24:5

24:5 A wise warrior ²⁵  is strong, ²⁶ 

and a man of knowledge makes his strength stronger;

Amsal 24:14

24:14 Likewise, know ²⁷  that wisdom is sweet ²⁸  to your soul;

if you find it, ²⁹  you will have a future, ³⁰ 

and your hope will not be cut off.

Amsal 24:19

24:19 Do not fret because of evil people

or be envious of wicked people,

Amsal 25:16

25:16 When you find ³¹  honey, eat only what is sufficient for you,

lest you become stuffed ³²  with it and vomit it up. ³³ 

Amsal 26:5

26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly, ³⁴ 

lest he be wise in his own estimation. ³⁵ 

Amsal 26:21

26:21 Like charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire,

so is a contentious person ³⁶  to kindle strife. ³⁷ 

Amsal 27:27

27:27 And there will be enough goat’s milk for your food, ³⁸ 

for the food of your household,

and for the sustenance ³⁹  of your servant girls.

Amsal 31:3

31:3 Do not give your strength ⁴⁰  to women,

nor your ways ⁴¹  to that which ruins ⁴²  kings.

[3:28]  ¹ tn Heb “and it is with you.” The prefixed vav introduces a circumstantial clause: “when …”

[3:28]  ² tn The words “at the time” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:31]  ³ tn Heb “a man of violence.” The noun חָמָס (khamas, “violence”) functions as an attributive genitive. The word itself means “violence, wrong” (HALOT 329 s.v.) and refers to physical violence, social injustice, harsh treatment, wild ruthlessness, injurious words, hatred, and general rudeness (BDB 329 s.v.).

[3:31]  ⁴ tn Heb “do not choose.”

[5:13]  ⁵ tn The vav that introduces this clause functions in an explanatory sense.

[5:13]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term מוֹרַי (moray) is the nominal form based on the Hiphil plural participle with a suffix, from the root יָרָה (yarah). The verb is “to teach,” the common noun is “instruction, law [torah],” and this participle form is teacher (“my teachers”).

[5:13]  ⁷ sn The idioms are vivid: This expression is “incline the ear”; earlier in the first line is “listen to the voice,” meaning “obey.” Such detailed description emphasizes the importance of the material.

[5:13]  ⁸ tn The form is the Piel plural participle of לָמַד (lamad) used substantivally.

[6:15]  ⁹ tn This word is a substantive that is used here as an adverbial accusative – with suddenness, at an instant.

[8:14]  ¹⁰ tc In the second half of v. 14 instead of אֲנִי (’ani) the editors propose reading simply לִי (li) as the renderings in the LXX, Latin, and Syriac suggest. Then, in place of the לִי that comes in the same colon, read וְלִי (vÿli). While the MT is a difficult reading, it can be translated as it is. It would be difficult to know exactly what the ancient versions were reading, because their translations could have been derived from either text. They represent an effort to smooth out the text.

[8:14]  tn Heb “To me [belong] counsel and sound wisdom.” The second colon in the verse has: “I, understanding, to me and might.”

[8:14]  sn In vv. 14-17 the pronouns come first and should receive greater prominence – although it is not always easy to do this with English.

[18:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in his legal case”; NAB “who pleads his case first.”

[18:17]  ¹² tn The term “seems” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness (cf. KJV “seemeth”).

[18:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “his neighbor”; NRSV “the other.”

[18:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “comes and.” The Kethib is the imperfect יָבֹא (yavo’), and the Qere is the conjunction with the participle/perfect tense form וּבָא (uva’). The latter is reflected in most of the ancient versions. There is not an appreciable difference in the translations, except for the use of the conjunction.

[18:17]  ¹⁵ sn The proverb is a continuous sentence teaching that there must be cross-examination to settle legal disputes. There are two sides in any disputes, and so even though the first to present his case sounds right, it must be challenged. The verb הָקַר (haqar, translated “cross-examines”) is used for careful, diligent searching and investigating to know something (e.g., Ps 139:1).

[19:24]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “buries” (so many English versions); KJV “hideth”; NAB “loses.”

[19:24]  ¹⁷ sn This humorous portrayal is an exaggeration; but the point is that laziness can overcome hunger. It would have a wider application for anyone who would start a project and then lack the interest or energy to finish it (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 111). Ibn Ezra proposes that the dish was empty, because the sluggard was too lazy to provide for himself.

[20:25]  ¹⁸ sn It would be a “snare” because it would lead people into financial difficulties; Leviticus 27 talks about foolish or rash vows.

[20:25]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “a man.”

[20:25]  ²⁰ tn The verb is from לוּע (lu’) or לָעַע (la’a’); it means “to talk wildly” (not to be confused with the homonym “to swallow”). It occurs here and in Job 6:3.

[20:25]  sn This refers to speaking rashly in dedicating something to the sanctuary by calling it “Holy.”

[20:25]  ²¹ tn Heb “reflect on.” The person is to consider the vows before making them, to ensure that they can be fulfilled. Too many people make their vow or promise without thinking, and then later worry about how they will fulfill their vows.

[20:25]  ²² tn Heb “the vows” (so NASB); CEV “promises.”

[23:8]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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.

[24:5]  ²⁵ sn The twenty-first saying seems to be concerned with the need for wisdom in warfare. In line with that, the word used here is גֶּבֶר (gever), “mighty man; hero; warrior.”

[24:5]  ²⁶ tn The expression בַּעוֹז (ba’oz) employs a beth essentiae, meaning he “is strong,” not “in strength.”

[24:14]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn The phrase “is sweet” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[24:14]  ²⁹ tn The term “it” is supplied in the translation.

[24:14]  ³⁰ 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.”

[25:16]  ³¹ tn The verse simply begins “you have found honey.” Some turn this into an interrogative clause for the condition laid down (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NLT); most make the form in some way subordinate to the following instruction: “when you find…eat.”

[25:16]  ³² tn The verb means “to be satisfied; to be sated; to be filled.” Here it means more than satisfied, since it describes one who overindulges and becomes sick. The English verb “stuffed” conveys this idea well.

[25:16]  ³³ sn The proverb warns that anything overindulged in can become sickening. The verse uses formal parallelism to express first the condition and then its consequences. It teaches that moderation is wise in the pleasures of life.

[26:5]  ³⁴ sn The apparent contradiction with the last verse has troubled commentators for some time. The Rabbis solved it by saying that v. 4 referred to secular things, but v. 5 referred to sacred or religious controversies. While this does not resolve the issue, it does give a sound application for the two verses together – in negligible issues one should just ignore the stupid person, but in issues that matter the fool must be dealt with, lest credence be given to what he says (W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 266). The text presents two proverbs each of which presents an aspect of the whole truth. One should not lower himself to the level of the fool, but there are times when the lesser of two evils is to do so, other than let the fool gain confidence that he is a wise person or be considered wise by others. Paul, for example, talked like a “fool” to correct the foolish ideas of the Corinthians (2 Cor 11:16-17; 12:11).

[26:5]  ³⁵ tn Heb “in his own eyes” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[26:21]  ³⁶ sn Heb “a man of contentions”; NCV, NRSV, NLT “a quarrelsome person.” The expression focuses on the person who is contentious by nature. His quarreling is like piling fuel on a fire that would otherwise go out. This kind of person not only starts strife, but keeps it going.

[26:21]  ³⁷ tn The Pilpel infinitive construct לְחַרְחַר (lÿkharkhar) from חָרַר (kharar, “to be hot; to be scorched; to burn”) means “to kindle; to cause to flare up.”

[27:27]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Heb “life”; KJV, NAB “maintenance”; NRSV “nourishment.”

[31:3]  ⁴⁰ sn The word translated “strength” refers to physical powers here, i.e., “vigor” (so NAB) or “stamina.” It is therefore a metonymy of cause; the effect would be what spending this strength meant – sexual involvement with women. It would be easy for a king to spend his energy enjoying women, but that would be unwise.

[31:3]  ⁴¹ sn The word “ways” may in general refer to the heart’s affection for or attention to, or it may more specifically refer to sexual intercourse. While in the book of Proverbs the term is an idiom for the course of life, in this context it must refer to the energy spent in this activity.

[31:3]  ⁴² tn The construction uses Qal infinitive construct לַמְחוֹת (lamkhot, “to wipe out; to blot out; to destroy”). The construction is somewhat strange, and so some interpreters suggest changing it to מֹחוֹת (mokhot, “destroyers of kings”); cf. BDB 562 s.v. מָחָה Qal.3. Commentators note that the form is close to an Aramaic word that means “concubine,” and an Arabic word that is an indelicate description for women.