Discovery BoxActs 17:11-12
Context17:11 These Jews 1 were more open-minded 2 than those in Thessalonica, 3 for they eagerly 4 received 5 the message, examining 6 the scriptures carefully every day 7 to see if these things were so. 17:12 Therefore many of them believed, along with quite a few 8 prominent 9 Greek women and men.
Proverbs 14:8
Context14:8 The wisdom of the shrewd person 10 is to discern 11 his way,
but the folly of fools is deception. 12
Proverbs 14:15
Context14:15 A naive person 13 believes everything,
but the shrewd person discerns his steps. 14
Proverbs 14:18
Context14:18 The naive inherit 15 folly,
but the shrewd 16 are crowned 17 with knowledge.
Proverbs 18:15
Context18:15 The discerning person 18 acquires knowledge,
and the wise person 19 seeks 20 knowledge.
Hosea 14:9
Context14:9 Who is wise?
Let him discern 21 these things!
Who is discerning?
Let him understand them!
For the ways of the Lord are right;
the godly walk in them,
but in them the rebellious stumble.
Hosea 14:1
Context14:1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for your sin has been your downfall! 22
Hosea 5:1
Context5:1 Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites! 23
For judgment is about to overtake you! 26
[17:11] 1 tn Grk “These”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue at Berea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:11] 2 tn Or “more willing to learn.” L&N 27.48 and BDAG 404 s.v. εὐγενής 2 both use the term “open-minded” here. The point is that they were more receptive to Paul’s message.
[17:11] 3 sn Thessalonica was a city in Macedonia (modern Salonica).
[17:11] 4 tn Or “willingly,” “readily”; Grk “with all eagerness.”
[17:11] 5 tn Grk “who received.” Here the relative pronoun (“who”) has been translated as a pronoun (“they”) preceded by a semicolon, which is less awkward in contemporary English than a relative clause at this point.
[17:11] 6 tn This verb (BDAG 66 s.v. ἀνακρίνω 1) refers to careful examination.
[17:11] 7 tn BDAG 437 s.v. ἡμέρα 2.c has “every day” for this phrase in this verse.
[17:12] 8 tn Grk “not a few”; this use of negation could be misleading to the modern English reader, however, and so has been translated as “quite a few” (which is the actual meaning of the expression).
[14:8] 10 tn Or “the prudent [person]” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV).
[14:8] 11 tn The Hiphil infinitive construct denotes purpose. Those who are shrewd will use it to give careful consideration to all their ways.
[14:8] 12 tn The word means “deception,” but some suggest “self-deception” here (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 466; and D. W. Thomas, “Textual and Philological Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 286); cf. NLT “fools deceive themselves.” The parallelism would favor this, but there is little support for it. The word usually means “craft practiced on others.” If the line is saying the fool is deceitful, there is only a loose antithesis between the cola.
[14:15] 13 sn The contrast is with the simpleton and the shrewd. The simpleton is the young person who is untrained morally or intellectually, and therefore gullible. The shrewd one is the prudent person, the one who has the ability to make critical discriminations.
[14:15] 14 tn Heb “his step”; cf. TEV “sensible people watch their step.”
[14:18] 15 tc G. R. Driver, however, proposed reading the verb as “are adorned” from הלה (“Problems in the Hebrew Text of Proverbs,” Bib 32 [1951]: 181). A similar reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT).
[14:18] 16 tn Or “prudent” (KJV, NASB, NIV); NRSV, TEV “clever.”
[14:18] 17 tn The meaning of יַכְתִּרוּ (yakhtiru, Hiphil imperfect of כָּתַר, katar) is elusive. It may not mean “to be crowned” or “to crown themselves,” but “to encircle” or “to embrace.” BDB 509 s.v. כָּתַר Hiph suggests “to throw out crowns” (throw out knowledge as a crown) or “to encompass knowledge,” i.e., possess it (parallel to inherit).
[18:15] 18 tn Heb “discerning heart.” The term “heart” is a synecdoche of part (= heart) for the whole (= person); cf. TEV, NLT “intelligent people.” By paralleling “heart” and “ear” the proverb stresses the full acquisition of knowledge. The “ear” listens to instruction, and the heart considers what is heard to acquire knowledge.
[18:15] 19 tn Heb “the ear of the wise.” The term “ear” is a synecdoche of part (= ear) for the whole (= person): “wise person.”
[18:15] 20 sn This line features a mixed metaphor: The “ear” is pictured “seeking.” The “ear of the wise” actually means the wise person’s capacity to hear, and so the wise are seeking as they hear.
[14:9] 21 tn The shortened form of the prefix-conjugation verb וְיָבֵן (vÿyaven) indicates that it is a jussive rather than an imperfect. When a jussive comes from a superior to an inferior, it may connote exhortation and instruction or advice and counsel. For the functions of the jussive, see IBHS 568-70 §34.3.
[14:1] 22 tn Heb “For you have stumbled in your iniquity”; NASB, NRSV “because of your iniquity.”
[5:1] 23 tn Heb “O house of Israel” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NLT “all of Israel’s leaders.”
[5:1] 24 tn Heb “Use the ear”; ASV “give ear.”
[5:1] 25 tn Heb “O house of the king” (so KJV); NIV “O royal house.”
[5:1] 26 tn Heb “for the judgment is to you”; or “For this accusation is against you.” Cf. NIV “This judgment is against you.”
[5:1] 27 sn The noun פַּח (pakh, “trap”) is used (1) literally of a bird-trap, used in similes and metaphors (Amos 3:5; Prov 7:23; Eccl 9:12), and (2) figuratively to refer to (a) calamities and plots (Job 18:9; 22:10; Pss 91:3; 119:110; 124:7; 140:6; 141:9; 142:4; Prov 22:5; Isa 24:17-18; Jer 18:22; 48:43-44; Hos 9:8) and (b) a source of calamity (Josh 23:13; Pss 11:6; 69:23; Isa 8:14; Hos 5:1; BDB 809 s.v. פַּח).
[5:1] 28 tn Heb “you were a trap to Mizpah.”
[5:1] 29 sn The noun רֶשֶׁת (reshet, “net”) is used (1) literally of a net used to catch birds (Prov 1:17) and (2) in figurative descriptions of the wicked plotting to ensnare their victims (Prov 29:5; Pss 9:16; 10:9; 25:15; 31:5; 35:7; 57:7; 140:6; Job 18:8; BDB 440 s.v. רֶשֶׁת).
