Deuteronomy 32:2

32:2 My teaching will drop like the rain,

my sayings will drip like the dew, ¹ 

as rain drops upon the grass,

and showers upon new growth.

Job 33:3

33:3 My words come from the uprightness of my heart, ² 

and my lips will utter knowledge sincerely. ³ 

Job 33:33

33:33 If not, you listen to me;

be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Proverbs 4:1-2

Admonition to Follow Righteousness and Avoid Wickedness ⁴ 

4:1 Listen, children, ⁵  to a father’s instruction, ⁶ 

and pay attention so that ⁷  you may gain ⁸  discernment.

4:2 Because I give ⁹  you good instruction, ¹⁰ 

do not forsake my teaching.

Proverbs 8:6-11

8:6 Listen, for I will speak excellent things, ¹¹ 

and my lips will utter ¹²  what is right.

8:7 For my mouth ¹³  speaks truth, ¹⁴ 

and my lips ¹⁵  hate wickedness. ¹⁶ 

8:8 All the words of my mouth are righteous; ¹⁷ 

there is nothing in them twisted ¹⁸  or crooked.

8:9 All of them are clear ¹⁹  to the discerning

and upright to those who find knowledge.

8:10 Receive my instruction ²⁰  rather than ²¹  silver,

and knowledge rather than choice gold.

8:11 For wisdom is better than rubies,

and desirable things cannot be compared ²²  to her.

Proverbs 22:17

The Sayings of the Wise ²³ 

22:17 Incline your ear ²⁴  and listen to the words of the wise,

and apply your heart to my instruction. ²⁵ 

Proverbs 22:20-21

22:20 Have I not written thirty sayings ²⁶  for you,

sayings ²⁷  of counsel and knowledge,

22:21 to show you true and reliable words, ²⁸ 

so that you may give accurate answers ²⁹  to those who sent you?

Proverbs 22:2

22:2 The rich and the poor meet together; ³⁰ 

the Lord is the creator of them both. ³¹ 

Proverbs 3:15-17

3:15 She is more precious than rubies,

and none of the things ³²  you desire ³³  can compare ³⁴  with her. ³⁵ 

3:16 Long life ³⁶  is in her right hand;

in her left hand are riches and honor.

3:17 Her ways are very pleasant, ³⁷ 

and all her paths are peaceful.

[32:2]  ¹ tn Or “mist,” “light drizzle.” In some contexts the term appears to refer to light rain, rather than dew.

[33:3]  ² tc This expression is unusual; R. Gordis (Job, 371) says it can be translated, “the purity of my heart [is reflected] in my words,” but that is far-fetched and awkward. So there have been suggestions for emending יֹשֶׁר (yosher, “uprightness”). Kissane’s makes the most sense if a change is desired: “shall reveal” (an Arabic sense of yasher), although Holscher interpreted “shall affirm” (yasher, with a Syriac sense). Dhorme has “my heart will repeat” (יָשׁוּר, yashur), but this is doubtful. If Kissane’s view is taken, it would say, “my heart will reveal my words.” Some commentators would join “and knowledge” to this colon, and read “words of knowledge” – but that requires even more emendations.

[33:3]  ³ tn More literally, “and the knowledge of my lips they will speak purely.”

[4:1]  ⁴ sn The chapter includes an exhortation to acquire wisdom (1-4a), a list of the benefits of wisdom (4b-9), a call to pursue a righteous lifestyle (10-13), a warning against a wicked lifestyle (14-19), and an exhortation to righteousness (20-27).

[4:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “sons.”

[4:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “discipline.”

[4:1]  ⁷ tn The Qal infinitive construct with preposition ל (lamed) indicates the purpose/result of the preceding imperative.

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “know” (so KJV, ASV).

[4:2]  ⁹ tn The perfect tense has the nuance of instantaneous perfect; the sage is now calling the disciples to listen. It could also be a perfect of resolve, indicating what he is determined to do.

[4:2]  ¹⁰ tn The word לֶקַח (leqakh, “instruction”) can be subjective (instruction acquired) or objective (the thing being taught). The latter fits best here.

[8:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “noble” or “princely.” Wisdom begins the first motivation by claiming to speak noble things, that is, excellent things.

[8:6]  ¹² tn Heb “opening of my lips” (so KJV, NASB). The noun “lips” is a metonymy of cause, with the organ of speech put for what is said.

[8:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “roof of the mouth.” This expression is a metonymy of cause for the activity of speaking.

[8:7]  ¹⁴ tn The word “truth” (אֱמֶת, ’emet) is derived from the verbal root אָמַן (’aman) which means “to support.” There are a number of derived nouns that have the sense of reliability: “pillars,” “master craftsman,” “nurse,” “guardian.” Modifiers related to this group of words includes things like “faithful,” “surely,” “truly” (amen). In the derived stems the verb develops various nuances: The Niphal has the meanings of “reliable, faithful, sure, steadfast,” and the Hiphil has the meaning “believe” (i.e., consider something dependable). The noun “truth” means what is reliable or dependable, firm or sure.

[8:7]  ¹⁵ sn Wise lips detest wickedness; wisdom hates speaking wicked things. In fact, speaking truth results in part from detesting wickedness.

[8:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “wickedness is an abomination to my lips” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[8:8]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase could be rendered with an understood ellipsis: “all the words of my mouth [are said] in righteousness”; or the preposition could be interpreted as a beth essentiae: “all the words of my mouth are righteousness.”

[8:8]  ¹⁸ sn The verb פָּתַל (patal) means “to twist.” In the Niphal it means “to wrestle” (to twist oneself). It was used in Gen 30:8 for the naming of Naphtali, with the motivation for the name from this verb: “with great struggling.” Here it describes speech that is twisted. It is a synonym for the next word, which means “twisted; crooked; perverse.”

[8:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “front of.” Describing the sayings as “right in front” means they are open, obvious, and clear, as opposed to words that might be twisted or perverse. The parallel word “upright” means “straight, smooth, right.” Wisdom’s teachings are in plain view and intelligible for those who find knowledge.

[8:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “discipline.” The term refers to instruction that trains with discipline (e.g., Prov 1:2).

[8:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “and not” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “in preference to.”

[8:11]  ²² tn The verb יִשְׁווּ (yishvu, from שָׁוָה, shavah) can be rendered “are not comparable” or in a potential nuance “cannot be compared” with her.

[22:17]  ²³ sn A new collection of sayings begins here, forming the fourth section of the book of Proverbs. This collection is not like that of 1:1–9:18; here the introductory material is more personal than 1:1-7, and the style differs, showing great similarity to the Instruction of Amenemope in Egypt (especially the thirty precepts of the sages in 22:17–24:22). Verses 17-21 form the introduction, and then the sayings begin in v. 22. After the thirty sayings are given, there are further sayings in 24:23-34. There is much literature on this material: see W. K. Simpson, ed., Literature of Ancient Egypt; ANET 412-425; and A. Cody, “Notes on Proverbs 22:21 and 22:23b,” Bib 61 (1980): 418-26.

[22:17]  ²⁴ sn To “incline the ear” means to “listen carefully” (cf. NCV); the expression is metonymical in that the ear is the instrument for hearing. It is like telling someone to lean over to hear better.

[22:17]  ²⁵ tn Heb “knowledge” (so KJV, NASB); in this context it refers to the knowledge that is spoken by the wise, hence “instruction.”

[22:20]  ²⁶ tn Older English versions and a few more recent ones render this phrase as either “excellent things” following the Qere (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NKJV), “officers,” or “heretofore” [day before yesterday], following the Kethib. However (as in most recent English versions) the Qere should be rendered “thirty,” referring to the number in the collection (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[22:20]  ²⁷ tn The term “sayings” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[22:21]  ²⁸ tn Heb “to cause you to know the truth of words of truth” (NASB similar).

[22:21]  ²⁹ tn Heb “to return true words”; NAB “a dependable report”; NIV “sound answers.”

[22:2]  ³⁰ tn The form of the verb is the Niphal perfect of פָּגַשׁ (pagash); it means “to meet together [or, each other]” (cf. KJV, ASV). The point is that rich and poor live side by side in this life, but they are both part of God’s creation (cf. NAB, NASB “have a common bond”). Some commentators have taken this to mean that they should live together because they are part of God’s creation; but the verb form will not sustain that meaning.

[22:2]  ³¹ tn Heb “all.” The Lord is sovereign over both groups, that is, he has had the final say whether a person is rich or poor. People would do well to treat all people with respect, for God can as easily reduce the rich to poverty as raise up the poor to wealth.

[3:15]  ³² tn Heb “all of your desires cannot compare with her.”

[3:15]  ³³ tn Heb “your desires.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix on the noun probably functions as subjective genitive.

[3:15]  ³⁴ tn The imperfect tense verb יָסַד (yasad, “to establish be like; to resemble”) has a potential nuance here: “can be compared with.”

[3:15]  ³⁵ tn Heb “All of your desires do not compare with her.”

[3:16]  ³⁶ tn Heb “length of days” (so KJV, ASV).

[3:17]  ³⁷ tn Heb “her ways are ways of pleasantness” (so KJV, NRSV). The present translation contracts this expression for the sake of smoothness. The plural of דֶרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) is repeated for emphasis. The noun נֹעַם (no’am, “pleasantness”) functions as an attributive genitive: “pleasant ways.”