12:1 The one who loves discipline loves knowledge, 1
but the one who hates reproof is stupid. 2
12:2 A good person obtains favor from the Lord,
but the Lord 3 condemns a person with wicked schemes. 4
12:3 No one 5 can be established 6 through wickedness,
but a righteous root 7 cannot be moved.
12:4 A noble wife 8 is the crown 9 of her husband,
but the wife 10 who acts shamefully is like rottenness in his bones. 11
1 sn Those who wish to improve themselves must learn to accept correction; the fool hates/rejects any correction.
2 sn The word בָּעַר (ba’ar, “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).
3 tn Heb “but he condemns”; the referent (the
4 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.”
5 tn Heb “a man cannot be.”
6 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.
7 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).
8 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.
9 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.