Deuteronomy 4:40

4:40 Keep his statutes and commandments that I am setting forth ¹  today so that it may go well with you and your descendants and that you may enjoy longevity in the land that the Lord your God is about to give you as a permanent possession.

Deuteronomy 5:16

5:16 Honor ²  your father and your mother just as the Lord your God has commanded you to do, so that your days may be extended and that it may go well with you in the land that he ³  is about to give you.

Deuteronomy 6:2

6:2 and that you may so revere the Lord your God that you will keep all his statutes and commandments ⁴  that I am giving ⁵  you – you, your children, and your grandchildren – all your lives, to prolong your days.

Proverbs 3:2

3:2 for they will provide ⁶  a long and full life, ⁷ 

and they will add well-being ⁸  to you.

Proverbs 3:16

3:16 Long life ⁹  is in her right hand;

in her left hand are riches and honor.

Proverbs 4:10

4:10 Listen, my child, ¹⁰  and accept my words,

so that ¹¹  the years of your life will be many. ¹² 

Proverbs 9:11

9:11 For because ¹³  of me your days will be many,

and years will be added ¹⁴  to your life.

¹ tn Heb “commanding” (so NRSV).

² tn The imperative here means, literally, “regard as heavy” (כַּבֵּד, kabbed). The meaning is that great importance must be ascribed to parents by their children.

³ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “He” in 5:3.

⁴ tn Here the terms are not the usual חֻקִּים (khuqqim) and מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim; as in v. 1) but חֻקֹּת (khuqqot, “statutes”) and מִצְוֹת (mitsot, “commandments”). It is clear that these terms are used interchangeably and that their technical precision ought not be overly stressed.

⁵ tn Heb “commanding.” For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation.

⁶ tn The phrase “they will provide” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

⁷ tn Heb “length of days and years of life” (so NASB, NRSV). The idiom “length of days” refers to a prolonged life and “years of life” signifies a long time full of life, a life worth living (T. T. Perowne, Proverbs, 51). The term “life” refers to earthly felicity combined with spiritual blessedness (BDB 313 s.v. חַיִּים).

⁸ tn The noun שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) here means “welfare, health, prosperity” (BDB 1022 s.v. 3). It can be used of physical health and personal well-being. It is the experience of positive blessing and freedom from negative harm and catastrophe.

⁹ tn Heb “length of days” (so KJV, ASV).

¹⁰ tn Heb “my son” (likewise in v. 20).

¹¹ tn The vav prefixed to the imperfect verb follows an imperative; this volitive sequence depicts purpose/result.

¹² tn Heb “and the years of life will be many for you.”

¹³ tn The preposition בּ (bet) here may have the causal sense (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 45, §247), although it could also be means (Williams, 44, §243).

¹⁴ tn The verb וְיוֹסִיפוּ (vÿyosifu) is the Hiphil imperfect, third masculine plural; but because there is no expressed subject the verb may be taken as a passive.