Psalms 63:5

63:5 As if with choice meat ¹  you satisfy my soul. ² 

My mouth joyfully praises you, ³ 

Psalms 119:103

119:103 Your words are sweeter

in my mouth than honey! ⁴ 

Job 23:12

23:12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my allotted portion. ⁵ 

Proverbs 24:13

24:13 Eat honey, ⁶  my child, for it is good,

and honey from the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.

¹ tn Heb “like fat and fatness.”

² tn Or “me.”

³ tn Heb “and [with] lips of joy my mouth praises.”

⁴ tn Heb “How smooth they are to my palate, your word, more than honey to my mouth.” A few medieval Hebrew mss, as well as several other ancient witnesses, read the plural “your words,” which can then be understood as the subject of the plural verb “they are smooth.”

⁷ tc The form in the MT (מֵחֻקִּי, mekhuqqi) means “more than my portion” or “more than my law.” An expanded meaning results in “more than my necessary food” (see Ps 119:11; cf. KJV, NASB, ESV). HALOT 346 s.v. חֹק 1 indicates that חֹק (khoq) has the meaning of “portion” and is here a reference to “what is appointed for me.” The LXX and the Latin versions, along with many commentators, have בְּחֵקִי (bÿkheqi, “in my bosom”).

¹⁰ sn The twenty-sixth saying teaches that one should develop wisdom because it has a profitable future. The saying draws on the image of honey; its health-giving properties make a good analogy to wisdom.