Proverbs 12:1-4

12:1 The one who loves discipline loves knowledge,

but the one who hates reproof is stupid.

12:2 A good person obtains favor from the Lord,

but the Lord condemns a person with wicked schemes.

12:3 No one can be established through wickedness,

but a righteous root cannot be moved.

12:4 A noble wife is the crown of her husband,

but the wife 10  who acts shamefully is like rottenness in his bones. 11 


sn Those who wish to improve themselves must learn to accept correction; the fool hates/rejects any correction.

sn The word בָּעַר (baar, “brutish; stupid”) normally describes dumb animals that lack intellectual sense. Here, it describes the moral fool who is not willing to learn from correction. He is like a dumb animal (so the term here functions as a hypocatastasis: implied comparison).

tn Heb “but he condemns”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tn Heb “a man of wicked plans.” The noun מְזִמּוֹת (mÿzimmot, “evil plans”) functions as an attributive genitive: “an evil-scheming man.” Cf. NASB “a man who devises evil”; NAB “the schemer.”

tn Heb “a man cannot be.”

tn The Niphal imperfect of כּוּן (cun, “to be established”) refers to finding permanent “security” (so NRSV, TEV, CEV) before God. Only righteousness can do that.

tn Heb “a root of righteousness.” The genitive צַדִּיקִים (tsadiqim, “righteousness”) functions as an attributive adjective. The figure “root” (שֹׁרֶשׁ, shoresh) stresses the security of the righteous; they are firmly planted and cannot be uprooted (cf. NLT “the godly have deep roots”). The righteous are often compared to a tree (e.g., 11:30; Ps 1:3; 92:13).

tn Heb “a wife of virtue”; NAB, NLT “a worthy wife.” This noble woman (אֵשֶׁת־חַיִל, ’shet-khayil) is the subject of Prov 31. She is a “virtuous woman” (cf. KJV), a capable woman of noble character. She is contrasted with the woman who is disgraceful (מְבִישָׁה, mÿvishah; “one who causes shame”) or who lowers his standing in the community.

sn The metaphor of the “crown” emphasizes that such a wife is a symbol of honor and glory.

10 tn Heb “she”; the referent (the wife) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

11 sn The simile means that the shameful acts of such a woman will eat away her husband’s strength and influence and destroy his happiness.