Genesis 43:4

43:4 If you send ¹  our brother with us, we’ll go down and buy food for you.

Genesis 43:20

43:20 They said, “My lord, we did indeed come down ²  the first time ³  to buy food.

Genesis 42:1-2

Joseph’s Brothers in Egypt

42:1 When Jacob heard ⁴  there was grain in Egypt, he ⁵  said to his sons, “Why are you looking at each other?” ⁶  42:2 He then said, “Look, I hear that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us ⁷  so that we may live ⁸  and not die.” ⁹ 

Proverbs 15:16

15:16 Better ¹⁰  is little with the fear of the Lord

than great wealth and turmoil ¹¹  with it. ¹² 

Proverbs 16:18

16:18 Pride ¹³  goes ¹⁴  before destruction,

and a haughty spirit before a fall. ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 31:16

31:16 She considers ¹⁶  a field and buys it;

from her own income ¹⁷  she plants a vineyard.

Proverbs 31:1

The Words of Lemuel

31:1 The words of King Lemuel, ¹⁸ 

an oracle ¹⁹  that his mother taught him:

Proverbs 5:8

5:8 Keep yourself ²⁰  far ²¹  from her,

and do not go near the door of her house,

Proverbs 6:6-8

6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; ²² 

observe its ways and be wise!

6:7 It has no commander,

overseer, or ²³  ruler,

6:8 yet it prepares its food in the summer;

it gathers at the harvest what it will eat. ²⁴ 

[43:4]  ¹ tn Heb “if there is you sending,” that is, “if you send.”

[43:20]  ² tn The infinitive absolute is used for emphasis before the finite verbal form.

[43:20]  ³ tn Heb “in the beginning” (see the note on the phrase “last time” in v. 18).

[42:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “saw.”

[42:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “Jacob.” Here the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:1]  ⁶ sn Why are you looking at each other? The point of Jacob’s question is that his sons should be going to get grain rather than sitting around doing nothing. Jacob, as the patriarch, still makes the decisions for the whole clan.

[42:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and buy for us from there.” The word “grain,” the direct object of “buy,” has been supplied for clarity, and the words “from there” have been omitted in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[42:2]  ⁸ tn Following the imperatives, the prefixed verbal form with prefixed vav expresses purpose of result.

[42:2]  ⁹ tn The imperfect tense continues the nuance of the verb before it.

[15:16]  ¹⁰ sn One of the frequent characteristics of wisdom literature is the “better” saying; it is a comparison of different but similar things to determine which is to be preferred. These two verses focus on spiritual things being better than troubled material things.

[15:16]  ¹¹ sn Turmoil refers to anxiety; the fear of the Lord alleviates anxiety, for it brings with it contentment and confidence.

[15:16]  ¹² sn Not all wealth has turmoil with it. But the proverb is focusing on the comparison of two things – fear of the Lord with little and wealth with turmoil. Between these two, the former is definitely better.

[16:18]  ¹³ sn The two lines of this proverb are synonymous parallelism, and so there are parasynonyms. “Pride” is paired with “haughty spirit” (“spirit” being a genitive of specification); and “destruction” is matched with “a tottering, falling.”

[16:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[is] before destruction.”

[16:18]  ¹⁵ sn Many proverbs have been written in a similar way to warn against the inevitable disintegration and downfall of pride. W. McKane records an Arabic proverb: “The nose is in the heavens, the seat is in the mire” (Proverbs [OTL], 490).

[31:16]  ¹⁶ tn The first word of the seventh line begins with ז (zayin), the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:16]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “from the fruit of her hands.” The expression employs two figures. “Hands” is a metonymy of cause, indicating the work she does. “Fruit” is a hypocatastasis, an implied comparison meaning what she produces, the income she earns. She is able to plant a vineyard from her income.

[31:1]  ¹⁸ sn Nothing else is known about King Lemuel aside from this mention in the book of Proverbs. Jewish legend identifies him as Solomon, making this advice from his mother Bathsheba; but there is no evidence for that. The passage is the only direct address to a king in the book of Proverbs – something that was the norm in wisdom literature of the ancient world (Leah L. Brunner, “King and Commoner in Proverbs and Near Eastern Sources,” Dor le Dor 10 [1982]: 210-19; Brunner argues that the advice is religious and not secular).

[31:1]  ¹⁹ tn Some English versions take the Hebrew noun translated “oracle” here as a place name specifying the kingdom of King Lemuel; cf. NAB “king of Massa”; CEV “King Lemuel of Massa.”

[5:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “your way.”

[5:8]  ²¹ sn There is a contrast made between “keep far away” (הַרְחֵק, harkheq) and “do not draw near” (וְאַל־תִּקְרַב, vÿ’al-tiqrav).

[6:6]  ²² sn The sluggard (עָצֵל, ’atsel) is the lazy or sluggish person (cf. NCV “lazy person”; NRSV, NLT “lazybones”).

[6:7]  ²³ tn The conjunction vav (ו) here has the classification of alternative, “or” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 71, §433).

[6:8]  ²⁴ tc The LXX adds a lengthy section at the end of the verse on the lesson from the bee: “Or, go to the bee and learn how diligent she is and how seriously she does her work – her products kings and private persons use for health – she is desired and respected by all – though feeble in body, by honoring wisdom she obtains distinction.” The Greek translator thought the other insect should be mentioned (see C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 124).