28:18 Of coral and jasper no mention will be made;
the price 1 of wisdom is more than pearls. 2
3:13 Blessed 3 is the one 4 who finds 5 wisdom,
and the one who obtains 6 understanding.
3:14 For her 7 benefit 8 is more profitable 9 than silver,
and her 10 gain 11 is better 12 than gold.
3:15 She is more precious than rubies,
and none of the things 13 you desire 14 can compare 15 with her. 16
8:10 Receive my instruction 17 rather than 18 silver,
and knowledge rather than choice gold.
8:17 I love 19 those who love me,
and those who seek me find me.
8:19 My fruit is better than the purest gold, 20
and what I produce 21 is better than choice silver.
16:16 How much better it is to acquire 22 wisdom than gold;
to acquire understanding is more desirable 23 than silver.
1 tn The word מֶשֶׁךְ (meshekh) comes from a root meaning “to grasp; to seize; to hold,” and so the derived noun means “grasping; acquiring; taking possession,” and therefore, “price” (see the discussion in R. Gordis, Job, 309). Gray renders it “acquisition” (so A. Cohen, AJSL 40 [1923/24]: 175).
2 tn In Lam 4:7 these are described as red, and so have been identified as rubies (so NIV) or corals.
3 tn Although the word אַשְׁרֵי (’ashre, “blessed”) is frequently translated “happy” here (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT), such a translation can be somewhat misleading because the word means more than that – “happiness” depends on one’s circumstances. This word reflects that inner joy and heavenly bliss which comes to the person who is pleasing to God, whose way is right before God.
4 tn Heb “the man” (also again in the following line).
5 tn The perfect tense verb may be classified as a characteristic or gnomic perfect, as the parallel imperfect tense verb suggests (see note on v. 13b).
6 tn The imperfect tense verb may be classified as a progressive or habitual imperfect.
7 tn Heb “her profit.” The 3rd person feminine singular suffix on the noun is probably a genitive of source: “from her.”
8 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.
9 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.
10 tn Heb “her yield.” The 3rd person feminine singular suffix on the noun is probably a genitive of source: “from her.”
11 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).
12 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.
13 tn Heb “all of your desires cannot compare with her.”
14 tn Heb “your desires.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix on the noun probably functions as subjective genitive.
15 tn The imperfect tense verb יָסַד (yasad, “to establish be like; to resemble”) has a potential nuance here: “can be compared with.”
16 tn Heb “All of your desires do not compare with her.”
17 tn Heb “discipline.” The term refers to instruction that trains with discipline (e.g., Prov 1:2).
18 tn Heb “and not” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “in preference to.”
19 sn In contrast to the word for “hate” (שָׂנֵא, shaneh) the verb “love” (אָהֵב, ’ahev) includes within it the idea of choosing spontaneously. So in this line loving and seeking point up the means of finding wisdom.
20 tn The two synonyms, “than gold, than fine gold” probably form a hendiadys here to express “the very finest gold.”
21 sn The language of the text with “fruit” and “ingathering” is the language of the harvest – what the crops yield. So the figure is hypocatastasis, comparing what wisdom produces to such crops.
22 tn The form קְנֹה (qÿnoh) is an infinitive; the Greek version apparently took it as a participle, and the Latin as an imperative – both working with an unpointed קנה, the letter ה (he) being unexpected in the form if it is an infinitive construct (the parallel clause has קְנוֹת [qÿnot] for the infinitive, but the ancient versions also translate that as either a participle or an imperative).
23 tn The form is a Niphal participle, masculine singular. If it is modifying “understanding” it should be a feminine form. If it is to be translated, it would have to be rendered “and to acquire understanding is to be chosen more than silver” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). Many commentaries consider it superfluous. NIV and NCV simply have “to choose understanding rather than silver!”