9:9 Give instruction 1 to a wise person, 2 and he will become wiser still;
teach 3 a righteous person and he will add to his 4 learning.
25:12 Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold, 5
so is a wise reprover to the ear of the one who listens. 6
141:5 May the godly strike me in love and correct me!
May my head not refuse 7 choice oil! 8
Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds. 9
1 tn The noun “instruction” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation.
2 sn The parallelism shows what Proverbs will repeatedly stress, that the wise person is the righteous person.
3 tn The Hiphil verb normally means “to cause to know, make known”; but here the context suggests “to teach” (so many English versions).
4 tn The term “his” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for the sake of smoothness and clarity.
5 sn This saying is another example of emblematic parallelism; the first half is the simile, and the second half makes the point from it: A wise rebuke that is properly received is of lasting value. The rebuke in the ear of an obedient student is like ornaments of fine jewelry.
6 tn The “ear of the listener” refers to the obedient disciple, the one who complies with the reproof he hears. Cf. KJV, ASV, NAB “an obedient ear.”
7 tn The form יָנִי (yaniy) appears to be derived from the verbal root נוּא (nu’). Another option is to emend the form to יְנָא (yÿna’), a Piel from נָאָה (na’ah), and translate “may choice oil not adorn my head” (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 271). In this case, choice oil, like delicacies in v. 4, symbolize the pleasures of sin.
8 sn May my head not refuse choice oil. The psalmist compares the constructive criticism of the godly (see the previous line) to having refreshing olive oil poured over one’s head.
9 tc Heb “for still, and my prayer [is] against their evil deeds.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is difficult; the sequence -כִּי־עוֹד וּ (kiy-’od u-, “for still and”) occurs only here. The translation assumes an emendation to כִּי עֵד תְפלָּתִי (“indeed a witness [is] my prayer”). The psalmist’s lament about the evil actions of sinful men (see v. 4) testifies against the wicked in the divine court.