Proverbs 14:10

14:10 The heart knows its own bitterness, ¹ 

and with its joy no one else ²  can share. ³ 

Proverbs 14:1

14:1 Every wise woman ⁴  builds ⁵  her household, ⁶ 

but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.

Colossians 2:14

2:14 He has destroyed ⁷  what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness ⁸  expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.

Revelation 2:17

2:17 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, ⁹  I will give him some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white ¹⁰  stone, ¹¹  and on that stone will be written a new name that no one can understand ¹²  except the one who receives it.’

[14:10]  ¹ tn Heb “bitterness of its soul.”

[14:10]  ² tn Heb “stranger” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[14:10]  ³ tn The verb is the Hitpael of II עָרַב (’arav), which means “to take in pledge; to give in pledge; to exchange.” Here it means “to share [in].” The proverb is saying that there are joys and sorrows that cannot be shared. No one can truly understand the deepest feelings of another.

[14:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “wise ones of women.” The construct phrase חַכְמוֹת נָשִׁים (khakhmot nashim) features a wholistic genitive: “wise women.” The plural functions in a distributive sense: “every wise woman.” The contrast is between wise and foolish women (e.g., Prov 7:10-23; 31:10-31).

[14:1]  ⁵ tn The perfect tense verb in the first colon functions in a gnomic sense, while the imperfect tense in the second colon is a habitual imperfect.

[14:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “house.” This term functions as a synecdoche of container (= house) for contents (= household, family).

[2:14]  ⁷ tn The participle ἐξαλείψας (exaleiyas) is a temporal adverbial participle of contemporaneous time related to the previous verb συνεζωοποίησεν (sunezwopoihsen), but has been translated as a finite verb because of the complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences. For the meaning “destroy” see BDAG 344-45 s.v. ἐξαλείφω 2.

[2:14]  ⁸ tn On the translation of χειρόγραφον (ceirografon), see BDAG 1083 s.v. which refers to it as “a certificate of indebtedness.”

[2:17]  ⁹ tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.” The pendent dative is allowed to stand in the English translation because it is characteristic of the author’s style in Revelation.

[2:17]  ¹⁰ tn Or “bright.” The Greek term λευκός (leukos) can refer either to the color white (traditional here) or to an object that is bright or shining, either from itself or from an outside source of illumination (L&N 14.50; 79.27).

[2:17]  ¹¹ tn On the interpretation of the stone, L&N 2.27 states, “A number of different suggestions have been made as to the reference of ψῆφος in this context. Some scholars believe that the white ψῆφος indicates a vote of acquittal in court. Others contend that it is simply a magical amulet; still others, a token of Roman hospitality; and finally, some have suggested that it may represent a ticket to the gladiatorial games, that is to say, to martyrdom. The context, however, suggests clearly that this is something to be prized and a type of reward for those who have ‘won the victory.’”

[2:17]  ¹² tn Or “know”; for the meaning “understand” see L&N 32.4.