33:9 He said to his father and mother, “I have not seen him,” 1
and he did not acknowledge his own brothers
or know his own children,
for they kept your word,
and guarded your covenant.
33:1 This is the blessing Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.
27:4 I have asked the Lord for one thing –
this is what I desire!
I want to live 4 in the Lord’s house 5 all the days of my life,
so I can gaze at the splendor 6 of the Lord
and contemplate in his temple.
84:10 Certainly 7 spending just one day in your temple courts is better
than spending a thousand elsewhere. 8
I would rather stand at the entrance 9 to the temple of my God
than live 10 in the tents of the wicked.
84:11 For the Lord God is our sovereign protector. 11
The Lord bestows favor 12 and honor;
he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity. 13
84:12 O Lord who rules over all, 14
how blessed are those who trust in you! 15
3:3 Do not let truth and mercy 16 leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart. 17
3:14 For her 18 benefit 19 is more profitable 20 than silver,
and her 21 gain 22 is better 23 than gold.
8:34 Blessed is the one 24 who listens to me,
watching 25 at my doors day by day,
waiting 26 beside my doorway. 27
10:21 The teaching 28 of the righteous feeds 29 many,
but fools die 30 for lack of wisdom. 31
13:20 The one who associates 32 with the wise grows wise,
but a companion of fools suffers harm. 33
1 sn This statement no doubt alludes to the Levites’ destruction of their own fellow tribesmen following the golden calf incident (Exod 32:25-29).
2 sn The
3 sn To formulate blessings. The most famous example of this is the priestly “blessing formula” of Num 6:24-26.
4 tn Heb “my living.”
5 sn The
6 tn Or “beauty.”
7 tn Or “for.”
8 tn Heb “better is a day in your courts than a thousand [spent elsewhere].”
9 tn Heb “I choose being at the entrance of the house of my God over living in the tents of the wicked.” The verb סָפַף (safaf) appears only here in the OT; it is derived from the noun סַף (saf, “threshold”). Traditionally some have interpreted this as a reference to being a doorkeeper at the temple, though some understand it to mean “lie as a beggar at the entrance to the temple” (see HALOT 765 s.v. ספף).
10 tn The verb דּוּר (dur, “to live”) occurs only here in the OT.
11 tn Heb “[is] a sun and a shield.” The epithet “sun,” though rarely used of Israel’s God in the OT, was a well-attested royal title in the ancient Near East. For several examples from Ugaritic texts, the Amarna letters, and Assyrian royal inscriptions, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 131, n. 2.
12 tn Or “grace.”
13 tn Heb “he does not withhold good to those walking in integrity.”
14 tn Traditionally “
15 tn Heb “[Oh] the happiness [of] the man [who] trusts in you.” Hebrew literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle stated here is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, we translate the gender and age specific “man” with the plural “those.” The individual referred to here is representative of all followers of God, as the use of the plural form in v. 12b indicates.
16 tn The two words חֶסֶד וֶאֶמֶת (khesed ve’emet, “mercy and truth”) form a nominal hendiadys, the second word becoming an adjective: “faithful covenant love” or “loyal [covenant] love and faithfulness.”
17 sn This involves two implied comparisons (hypocatastasis). One is a comparison of living out the duties and responsibilities taught with binding a chain around the neck, and the other is a comparison of the inward appropriation of the teachings with writing them on a tablet. So the teachings are not only to become the lifestyle of the disciple but his very nature.
18 tn Heb “her profit.” The 3rd person feminine singular suffix on the noun is probably a genitive of source: “from her.”
19 tn Heb “profit.” The noun סַחַר (sakhar, “trading profit”) often refers to the financial profit of traveling merchants (Isa 23:3, 18; 45:14; HALOT 750 s.v.). The related participle describes a traveling “trader, dealer, wholesaler, merchant” (e.g., Gen 37:28; Prov 31:14; Isa 23:2; Ezek 27:36; HALOT 750 s.v. סחר qal.2). Here the noun is used figuratively to describe the moral benefit of wisdom.
20 tn The noun סַחַר (“profit”) is repeated in this line for emphasis. The two usages draw upon slightly different nuances, creating a polysemantic wordplay. The moral “benefit” of wisdom is more “profitable” than silver.
21 tn Heb “her yield.” The 3rd person feminine singular suffix on the noun is probably a genitive of source: “from her.”
22 tn Heb “yield.” The noun תְּבוּאָה (tÿvu’ah, “product; yield”) is normally used of crops and harvests (BDB 100 s.v. 1). Here it is figurative for the moral benefit of wisdom (BDB 100 s.v. 2.b).
23 tn The phrase “is better” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.
24 tn Heb “the man.”
25 tn The form לִשְׁקֹד (lishqod) is the infinitive construct serving epexegetically in the sentence. It explains how the person will listen to wisdom.
26 tn Heb “keeping” or “guarding.”
27 tn Heb “at the posts of my doors” (so KJV, ASV).
28 tn Heb “lips.” The term “lips” functions as a metonymy of cause for what is said (or in this case taught).
29 tn The verb רָעָה (ra’ah) means “to feed” or “to shepherd” (e.g., Gen 48:15). What they say will meet the needs of many.
30 tn In what sense the fool “dies” is unclear. Fools ruin their lives and the lives of others by their lack of discipline and knowledge. The contrast is between enhancing life and ruining life.
31 tn Heb “heart.” The term לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as a metonymy of association for wisdom and knowledge (BDB 524 s.v. 3.a).
32 tn Heb “walks.” When used with the preposition אֶת (’et, “with”), the verb הָלַךְ (halakh, “to walk”) means “to associate with” someone (BDB 234 s.v. הָלַךְ II.3.b; e.g., Mic 6:8; Job 34:8). The active participle of הָלַךְ (“to walk”) stresses continual, durative action. One should stay in close association with the wise, and move in the same direction they do.
33 tn The verb form יֵרוֹעַ (yeroa’) is the Niphal imperfect of רָעַע (ra’a’), meaning “to suffer hurt.” Several have attempted to parallel the repetition in the wordplay of the first colon. A. Guillaume has “he who associates with fools will be left a fool” (“A Note on the Roots רִיע, יָרַע, and רָעַע in Hebrew,” JTS 15 [1964]: 294). Knox translated the Vulgate thus: “Fool he ends that fool befriends” (cited by D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 104).
34 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
35 tn This reflexive makes it clear that Mary took the initiative in sitting by Jesus.
36 sn The description of Mary sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to him makes her sound like a disciple (compare Luke 8:35).
37 sn The term distracted means “to be pulled away” by something (L&N 25.238). It is a narrative comment that makes clear who is right in the account.
38 tn Grk “with much serving.”
39 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the following was a result of Martha’s distraction.
40 tn The negative οὐ (ou) used with the verb expects a positive reply. Martha expected Jesus to respond and rebuke Mary.
41 tn Grk “has left me to serve alone.”
42 tn The conjunction οὖν (oun, “then, therefore”) has not been translated here.
43 tc Most
44 tn Grk “answering, said to her.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “answered her.”
45 sn The double vocative Martha, Martha communicates emotion.
46 tn Or “upset.” Here the meanings of μεριμνάω (merimnaw) and θορυβάζομαι (qorubazomai) reinforce each other (L&N 25.234).
47 tc Or, with some
48 tn Or “better”; Grk “good.” This is an instance of the positive adjective used in place of the superlative adjective. According to ExSyn 298, this could also be treated as a positive for comparative (“better”).
49 tn Grk “said.”
50 sn This is another reference to hearing and doing the word of God, which here describes Jesus’ teaching; see Luke 8:21.