Amsal 6:31

6:31 Yet ¹  if he is caught ²  he must repay ³  seven times over,

he might even have to give ⁴  all the wealth of his house.

Amsal 8:36

8:36 But the one who does not find me ⁵  brings harm ⁶  to himself; ⁷ 

all who hate me ⁸  love death.”

Amsal 20:5

20:5 Counsel ⁹  in a person’s heart ¹⁰  is like ¹¹  deep water, ¹² 

but an understanding person ¹³  draws it out.

[6:31]  ¹ tn The term “yet” is supplied in the translation.

[6:31]  ² tn Heb “is found out.” The perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive is equivalent to the imperfect nuances. Here it introduces either a conditional or a temporal clause before the imperfect.

[6:31]  ³ tn The imperfect tense has an obligatory nuance. The verb in the Piel means “to repay; to make restitution; to recompense”; cf. NCV, TEV, CEV “must pay back.”

[6:31]  ⁴ tn This final clause in the section is somewhat cryptic. The guilty thief must pay back sevenfold what he stole, even if it means he must use the substance of his whole house. The verb functions as an imperfect of possibility: “he might even give.”

[8:36]  ⁵ tn Heb “the one sinning [against] me.” The verb חָטָא (khata’, “to sin”) forms a contrast with “find” in the previous verse, and so has its basic meaning of “failing to find, miss.” So it is talking about the one who misses wisdom, as opposed to the one who finds it.

[8:36]  ⁶ tn The Qal active participle functions verbally here. The word stresses both social and physical harm and violence.

[8:36]  sn Brings harm. Whoever tries to live without wisdom is inviting all kinds of disaster into his life.

[8:36]  ⁷ tn Heb “his soul.”

[8:36]  ⁸ tn The basic idea of the verb שָׂנֵא (sane’, “to hate”) is that of rejection. Its antonym is also used in the line, “love,” which has the idea of choosing. So not choosing (i.e., hating) wisdom amounts to choosing (i.e., loving) death.

[20:5]  ⁹ sn The noun means “advice, counsel”; it can have the connotation of planning or making decisions. Those with understanding can sort out plans.

[20:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in the heart of a man”; NRSV “in the human mind.”

[20:5]  ¹¹ 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.

[20:5]  ¹² sn The motives or plans of a person are “difficult to fathom”; it takes someone with understanding to discover and surface them (the verb in the last colon continues the figure with the sense of bringing the plans to the surface and sorting them out).

[20:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “a man of understanding”; TEV “someone with insight”; NLT “the wise.”