12:4 A noble wife 1 is the crown 2 of her husband,
but the wife 3 who acts shamefully is like rottenness in his bones. 4
17:2 A servant who acts wisely 5 will rule
over 6 an heir 7 who behaves shamefully, 8
and will share the inheritance along with the relatives. 9
19:26 The one who robs 10 his father 11 and chases away his mother
is a son 12 who brings shame and disgrace.
1 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.
2 sn The metaphor of the “crown” emphasizes that such a wife is a symbol of honor and glory.
3 tn Heb “she”; the referent (the wife) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 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.
5 sn The setting is in the ancient world where a servant rarely advanced beyond his or her station in life. But there are notable exceptions (e.g., Gen 15:3 where the possibility is mentioned, 1 Chr 2:35 where it changed through marriage, and 2 Sam 16:1-4; 19:24-30, with the story of Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth). This proverb focuses on a servant who is wise, one who uses all his abilities effectively – a Joseph figure.
6 sn The parallelism indicates that “ruling over” and “sharing in the inheritance” means that the disgraceful son will be disinherited.
7 tn Heb “son.”
8 tn The form מֵבִישׁ (mevish) is a Hiphil participle, modifying בֵן (ben). This original heir would then be one who caused shame or disgrace to the family, probably by showing a complete lack of wisdom in the choices he made.
9 tn Heb “in the midst of the brothers”; NIV “as one of the brothers.”
10 tn The construction joins the Piel participle מְשַׁדֶּד (mÿshaded, “one who robs”) with the Hiphil imperfect יַבְרִיחַ (yavriakh, “causes to flee” = chases away). The imperfect given a progressive imperfect nuance matches the timeless description of the participle as a substantive.
11 sn “Father” and “mother” here represent a stereotypical word pair in the book of Proverbs, rather than describing separate crimes against each individual parent. Both crimes are against both parents.
12 tn The more generic “child” does not fit the activities described in this verse and so “son” is retained in the translation. In the ancient world a “son” was more likely than a daughter to behave as stated. Such behavior may reflect the son wanting to take over his father’s lands prematurely.