Proverbs 4:19

4:19 The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness; ¹ 

they do not know what causes them to stumble. ² 

Proverbs 4:1

Admonition to Follow Righteousness and Avoid Wickedness ³ 

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

and pay attention so that ⁶  you may gain ⁷  discernment.

Proverbs 2:8

2:8 to guard ⁸  the paths of the righteous ⁹ 

and to protect ¹⁰  the way of his pious ones. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 2:1

Benefits of Seeking Wisdom ¹² 

2:1 My child, ¹³  if ¹⁴  you receive my words,

and store up ¹⁵  my commands within you,

Proverbs 2:10-11

2:10 For wisdom will enter your heart, ¹⁶ 

and moral knowledge ¹⁷  will be attractive ¹⁸  to you. ¹⁹ 

2:11 Discretion ²⁰  will protect you, ²¹ 

understanding will guard you,

[4:19]  ¹ sn The simile describes ignorance or spiritual blindness, sinfulness, calamity, despair.

[4:19]  ² tn Heb “in what they stumble.”

[4:1]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “sons.”

[4:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “discipline.”

[4:1]  ⁶ tn The Qal infinitive construct with preposition ל (lamed) indicates the purpose/result of the preceding imperative.

[4:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “know” (so KJV, ASV).

[2:8]  ⁸ tn The infinitive construct לִנְצֹר (lintsor, “to guard”) designates the purpose of the Lord giving “effective counsel” and being a “shield” to the upright. The verb נָצַר (natsar, “to guard”) has a broad range of meanings: (1) to watch over, guard or protect a vineyard from theft (Prov 27:18); (2) to guard one’s lips or heart from evil (Prov 4:23; 13:3); (3) to protect a person from moral or physical danger (Prov 2:8, 11; 4:6; 13:6; 20:28; 22:12; 24:12) and (4) to guard with fidelity = to observe commands, law or covenant (Prov 3:1, 21; 4:13; 5:2; 6:20; 28:7; see BDB 665-66 s.v.). Here God guards the way of the just, that is, the course and conduct of life from the influence of evil.

[2:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “paths of righteousness.” The word “righteousness” is a possessive genitive, signifying the ways that the righteous take.

[2:8]  ¹⁰ tn The imperfect tense verb יִשְׁמֹר (yishmor, “to protect”) continues the syntactical nuance of the preceding infinitive construct of purpose.

[2:8]  ¹¹ tc The Kethib is the singular noun + 3rd person masculine singular suffix חֲסִידוֹ (khasido) “his pious one.” The Qere reads the plural noun + 3rd person masculine singular suffix חֲסִידָיו (khasidav) “his pious ones.” The LXX εὐλαβουμένων αὐτόν (eujlaboumenwn aujton) supports the Qere reading.

[2:1]  ¹² sn The chapter begins with an admonition to receive wisdom (1-4) and then traces the benefits: the knowledge of God and his protection (5-8), moral discernment for living (9-11), protection from evil men (12-15) and immoral women (16-19), and enablement for righteous living (20-22).

[2:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “my son.”

[2:1]  ¹⁴ sn Verses 1-11 form one long conditional sentence in the Hebrew text: (1) the protasis (“if…”) encompasses vv. 1-4 and (2) the apodosis (“then…”) consists of two parallel panels in vv. 5-8 and vv. 9-11 both of which are introduced by the particle אָז (’az, “then”).

[2:1]  ¹⁵ sn The verb “to store up” (צָפַן, tsafan; cf. NAB, NLT “treasure”) in the second colon qualifies the term “receive” (לָקַח, laqakh) in the first, just as “commands” intensifies “words.” This pattern of intensification through parallelism occurs throughout the next three verses. The verb “to store up; to treasure” is used in reference to things of value for future use, e.g., wealth, dowry for a bride. Since proverbs will be useful throughout life and not always immediately applicable, the idea of storing up the sayings is fitting. They will form the way people think which in turn will influence attitudes (W. G. Plaut, Proverbs, 43).

[2:10]  ¹⁶ tn The noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as a metonymy of association for “mind” and “thoughts” (BDB 524 s.v. 3). It represents the center of the inner life where the volition and emotions join to bring about actions. It is used here in parallelism with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”), for which see note.

[2:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “knowledge.” For the noun דַּעַת (da’at), see the note on 1:7.

[2:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “pleasant.” The verb יִנְעָם (yin’am, “to be pleasant”) describes what is attractive. It is used of being physically attracted to one’s lover (Song 7:7) or to a close friendship (2 Sam 1:26). Here wisdom becomes attractive to the righteous, that is, the righteous desires to acquire it.

[2:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “your soul.” The term נַפְשְׁךָ (nafshÿkha, “your soul”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= soul) for the whole person (= you); see BDB 660 s.v. 4.a.2. It also might function as a metonymy of association for emotions and passions (BDB 660 s.v. 6) or mental cognition (BDB 660 s.v. 7).

[2:11]  ²⁰ tn The word מְזִמָּה (mÿzimmah, “discretion”) is the ability to know the best course of action for achieving one’s goal. It is knowledge and understanding with a purpose. This kind of knowledge enables one to make the right choices that will protect him from blunders and their consequences (cf. NLT “wise planning”; CEV “sound judgment”).

[2:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “will watch over you.”