6:6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, 6:7 and you must teach 1 them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, 2 as you lie down, and as you get up.
11:1 You must love the Lord your God and do what he requires; keep his statutes, ordinances, and commandments 5 at all times.
3:1 My child, 9 do not forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep 10 my commandments,
3:2 for they will provide 11 a long and full life, 12
and they will add well-being 13 to you.
3:3 Do not let truth and mercy 14 leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart. 15
3:4 Then you will find 16 favor and good understanding, 17
in the sight of God and people. 18
2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
1 tn Heb “repeat” (so NLT). If from the root I שָׁנַן (shanan), the verb means essentially to “engrave,” that is, “to teach incisively” (Piel); note NAB “Drill them into your children.” Cf. BDB 1041-42 s.v.
2 tn Or “as you are away on a journey” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT); NAB “at home and abroad.”
3 tn Heb “heart and soul” or “heart and being.” See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.
4 tn On the Hebrew term טוֹטָפֹת (totafot, “reminders”), cf. Deut 6:4-9.
5 tn This collocation of technical terms for elements of the covenant text lends support to its importance and also signals a new section of paraenesis in which Moses will exhort Israel to covenant obedience. The Hebrew term מִשְׁמָרוֹת (mishmarot, “obligations”) sums up the three terms that follow – חֻקֹּת (khuqot), מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishppatim), and מִצְוֹת (mitsot).
6 tn Heb “for he”; the referent (the man who made the accusation) has been specified in the translation to avoid confusion with the young woman’s father, the last-mentioned male.
7 tn Heb “brought forth a bad name.”
8 sn The chapter begins with an introductory exhortation (1-4), followed by an admonition to be faithful to the
9 tn Heb “my son” (likewise in vv. 11, 21).
10 tn The verb יִצֹּר (yitsor) is a Qal jussive and the noun לִבֶּךָ (libbekha, “your heart”) functions as the subject: “let your heart keep my commandments.”
11 tn The phrase “they will provide” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.
12 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).
13 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.
14 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.”
15 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.
16 tn The form וּמְצָא (umÿtsa’, “find”) is the imperative but it functions as a purpose/result statement. Following a string of imperatives (v. 3), the imperative with a prefixed vav introduces a volitive sequence expressing purpose or result (v. 4).
17 tn The noun שֵׂכֶל (sekhel, “understanding”) does not seem to parallel חֵן (khen, “favor”). The LXX attaches the first two words to v. 3 and renders v. 4: “and devise excellent things in the sight of the
18 tn Heb “man.”
19 tn Heb “look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and set your mind on.”
20 tn Heb “in order to show (it) to you.”
21 tn Grk “Place these words into your ears,” an idiom. The meaning is either “do not forget these words” (L&N 29.5) or “Listen carefully to these words” (L&N 24.64). See also Exod 17:14. For a variation of this expression, see Luke 8:8.
22 tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is considered by some to be used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NRSV, “into human hands”; TEV, “to the power of human beings”). However, because this can be taken as a specific reference to the group responsible for Jesus’ arrest, where it is unlikely women were present (cf. Matt 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-12), the word “men” has been retained in the translation. There may also be a slight wordplay with “the Son of Man” earlier in the verse.