2:2 by making 10 your ear 11 attentive to wisdom,
and 12 by turning 13 your heart 14 to understanding,
2:3 indeed, if 15 you call out for 16 discernment 17 –
raise your voice 18 for understanding –
2:4 if 19 you seek 20 it like silver, 21
and search for it 22 like hidden treasure,
2:5 then you will understand 23 how to fear the Lord, 24
and you will discover 25 knowledge 26 about God. 27
2:6 For 28 the Lord gives 29 wisdom,
and from his mouth 30 comes 31 knowledge and understanding.
1 tn Grk “And I give.”
2 tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”
3 tn Or “no one will seize.”
4 tn That is, will come to life.
5 tn Grk “will never die forever.”
6 tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”
7 tn Or “I am the way, even the truth and the life.”
8 tn Or “all people”; Grk “all flesh.”
9 tn Grk “so that to everyone whom you have given to him, he may give to them eternal life.”
10 tn The Hiphil infinitive construct לְהַקְשִׁיב (lÿhaqshiv, “by making attentive”) functions as an epexegetical explanation of how one will receive the instruction.
11 sn The word “ear” is a metonymy of cause; the word is used as the instrument of hearing. But in parallelism with “heart” it indicates one aspect of the mental process of hearing and understanding. A “hearing ear” describes an obedient or responsive person (BDB 24 s.v. אֹזֶן 2).
12 tn The conjunction “and” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.
13 tn The Hiphil imperfect (“by turning”) continues the nuance introduced by the infinitive construct in the first colon (GKC 352 §114.r). The verb נָטָה (natah) normally means “to stretch out” and only occasionally “to turn” or “to incline” one’s heart to something, as is the case here.
14 tn Or “mind” (the center of the will, the choice).
15 tn Both particles retain their individual meanings, otherwise the verse would begin with a strong adversative and be a contrast to what has been said.
16 tn Heb “summon.”
17 sn The noun recalls the second purpose of the book (1:2). It is also cognate to the last word of 2:2, forming a transition. The two objects of the prepositions in this verse are actually personifications, as if they could be summoned.
18 tn Heb “give your voice”; the expression is idiomatic for raising or lifting the voice to make a sound that carries further (e.g., Jer 2:15). This deliberate expression indicates that something significant is being uttered. J. H. Greenstone says, “If it [understanding] does not come at your first call, raise your voice to a higher pitch, put forth greater efforts” (Proverbs, 17).
19 tn The conditional particle now reiterates the initial conditional clause of this introductory section (1-4); the apodosis will follow in v. 5.
20 tn The verb בָּקַשׁ (baqash) means “to search for; to seek; to investigate” (BDB 134 s.v.). This calls for the same diligence one would have in looking for silver.
21 sn The two similes affirm that the value placed on the object will influence the eagerness and diligence in the pursuit and development of wisdom (e.g., Job 28:9-11). The point is not only that the object sought is valuable, but that the effort will be demanding but rewarding.
22 sn The verb חָפַשׂ (khafas) means “to dig; to search” (BDB 344 s.v.; cf. NCV “hunt for it”). The Arabic cognate means “to dig for water.” It is used literally of Joseph searching his brothers’ sacks (Gen 44:12) and figuratively for searching the soul (Ps 64:7). This is a more emphatic word than the one used in the first colon and again emphasizes that acquiring wisdom will be demanding.
23 tn The verb בִּין (bin, “to perceive; to understand; to discern”) refers to ability to grasp, discern or be sensitive to what it means to fear the
24 tn Heb “the fear of the
25 tn Heb “find” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
26 tn The term דַּעַת (da’at, “knowledge”) goes beyond cognition; it is often used metonymically (cause) for obedience (effect); see, e.g., Prov 3:6, “in all your ways acknowledge him,” and BDB 395 s.v. This means that the disciple will follow God’s moral code; for to know God is to react ethically and spiritually to his will (e.g., J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 18).
27 tn Heb “knowledge of God.” The noun is an objective genitive.
28 tn This is a causal clause. The reason one must fear and know the
29 tn The verb is an imperfect tense which probably functions as a habitual imperfect describing a universal truth in the past, present and future.
30 sn This expression is an anthropomorphism; it indicates that the
31 tn The verb “comes” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.
32 tn A figurative extension of ὀψώνιον (oywnion), which refers to a soldier’s pay or wages. Here it refers to the end result of an activity, seen as something one receives back in return. In this case the activity is sin, and the translation “payoff” captures this thought. See also L&N 89.42.