Discovery BoxProverbs 23:12--24:22
Context23:12 Apply 1 your heart to instruction
and your ears to the words of knowledge.
23:13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
even if you strike him with the rod, he will not die.
23:14 If you strike 2 him with the rod,
you will deliver him 3 from death. 4
23:15 My child, 5 if your heart is wise,
then my heart also will be glad;
when your lips speak what is right. 7
23:17 Do not let your heart envy 8 sinners,
but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord 9 all the time.
23:18 For surely there is a future, 10
and your hope will not be cut off. 11
23:19 Listen, my child, 12 and be wise,
and guide your heart on the right way.
23:20 Do not spend time 13 among drunkards, 14
among those who eat too much 15 meat,
23:21 because drunkards and gluttons become impoverished,
and drowsiness 16 clothes them with rags. 17
23:22 Listen to your father who begot you,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
23:23 Acquire 18 truth and do not sell it –
wisdom, and discipline, and understanding.
23:24 The father of a righteous person will rejoice greatly; 19
whoever fathers a wise child 20 will have joy in him.
23:25 May your father and your mother have joy;
may she who bore you rejoice. 21
23:26 Give me your heart, my son, 22
and let your eyes observe my ways;
23:27 for a prostitute is like 23 a deep pit;
a harlot 24 is like 25 a narrow well. 26
23:28 Indeed, she lies in wait like a robber, 27
and increases the unfaithful 28 among men. 29
23:29 Who has woe? 30 Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause? Who has dullness 31 of the eyes?
23:30 Those who linger over wine,
those who go looking for mixed wine. 32
23:31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,
when it sparkles 33 in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly. 34
23:32 Afterward 35 it bites like a snake,
and stings like a viper.
23:33 Your eyes will see strange things, 36
and your mind will speak perverse things.
23:34 And you will be like one who lies down in the midst 37 of the sea,
and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging. 38
23:35 You will say, 39 “They have struck me, but I am not harmed!
They beat me, but I did not know it! 40
When will I awake? I will look for another drink.” 41
24:1 Do not envy evil people, 42
do not desire 43 to be with them;
24:2 for their hearts contemplate violence,
and their lips speak harm. 44
24:3 By 45 wisdom a house is built, 46
and through understanding it is established;
24:4 by knowledge its rooms are filled
with all kinds of precious and pleasing treasures.
24:5 A wise warrior 47 is strong, 48
and a man of knowledge makes his strength stronger;
24:6 for with guidance you wage your war,
and with numerous advisers there is victory. 49
24:7 Wisdom is unattainable 50 for a fool;
in court 51 he does not open his mouth. 52
24:8 The one who plans to do evil
will be called a scheming person. 53
24:9 A foolish scheme 54 is sin,
and the scorner is an abomination to people. 55
24:10 If you faint 56 in the day of trouble, 57
your strength is small! 58
24:11 Deliver those being taken away to death,
and hold back those slipping to the slaughter. 59
24:12 If you say, “But we did not know about this,”
does not the one who evaluates 60 hearts consider?
Does not the one who guards your life know?
Will he not repay each person according to his deeds? 61
24:13 Eat honey, 62 my child, for it is good,
and honey from the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.
24:14 Likewise, know 63 that wisdom is sweet 64 to your soul;
if you find it, 65 you will have a future, 66
and your hope will not be cut off.
24:15 Do not lie in wait like the wicked 67 against the place where the righteous live;
do not assault 68 his home.
24:16 Although 69 a righteous person may fall seven times, he gets up again,
but the wicked will be brought down 70 by calamity.
24:17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, 71
and when he stumbles do not let your heart rejoice,
24:18 lest the Lord see it, and be displeased, 72
and turn his wrath away from him. 73
24:19 Do not fret because of evil people
or be envious of wicked people,
24:20 for the evil person has no future, 74
and the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished. 75
24:21 Fear the Lord, my child, 76 as well as the king,
and do not associate 77 with rebels, 78
24:22 for suddenly their destruction will overtake them, 79
and who knows the ruinous judgment both the Lord and the king can bring? 80
[23:12] 1 tn Heb “bring.” The Hiphil imperative “come; enter” means “to apply the heart,” to use the heart or mind in the process. The same would be true in the second half: “to bring the ears” would mean to listen very carefully. Cf. TEV “Pay attention.”
[23:14] 2 tn Or “punish” (NIV). The syntax of these two lines suggests a conditional clause (cf. NCV, NRSV).
[23:14] 3 tn Heb “his soul.” The term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= soul) for the whole (= person); see BDB 660 s.v. 4.
[23:14] 4 tn The term שְׁאוֹל (shÿ’ol, “Sheol”) in this context probably means “death” (so NIV, NCV, NLT) and not the realm of the departed (wicked) spirits (cf. NAB “the nether world”). In the wisdom of other lands, Ahiqar 6:82 says, “If I strike you, my son, you will not die.” The idea is that discipline helps the child to a full life; if the child dies prematurely, it would be more than likely a consequence of not being trained by discipline. In the book of Proverbs the “death” mentioned here could be social as well as physical.
[23:15] 5 tn Heb “my son,” although the context does not limit this exhortation to male children.
[23:16] 6 tn Heb “my kidneys”; in biblical Hebrew the term was used for the innermost being, the soul, the central location of the passions. Cf. NASB, NIV “my inmost being.”
[23:16] 7 sn This twelfth saying simply observes that children bring joy to their parents when they demonstrate wisdom. The quatrain is arranged in a chiastic structure (AB:B'A'): The first line (A) speaks of wisdom in the child, and it is paired with the last line (A') which speaks of the child’s saying what is right. In between these brackets are two lines (B and B') concerning joy to the parent.
[23:17] 8 tn The verb in this line is אַל־יְקַנֵּא (’al-yÿqanne’), the Piel jussive negated. The verb means “to be jealous, to be zealous”; it describes passionate intensity for something. In English, if the object is illegitimate, it is called “envy”; if it is correct, it is called “zeal.” Here the warning is not to envy the sinners. The second colon could use the verb in the positive sense to mean “but rather let your passion burn for the fear of the
[23:17] 9 tn Heb “the fear of the
[23:18] 10 tn Heb “end” (so KJV); ASV “a reward.”
[23:18] 11 sn The saying is an understatement; far from being cut off, the “hope” will be realized in the end. So this saying, the thirteenth, advises people to be zealous for the fear of the
[23:19] 12 tn Heb “my son,” but the immediate context does not limit this to male children.
[23:20] 13 tn Heb “do not be among,” but in the sense of “associate with” (TEV); “join” (NIV); “consort…with” (NAB).
[23:20] 14 tn The verb סָבָא (sava’) means “to imbibe; to drink largely.” The participial construction here, סֹבְאֵי־יַיִן (sov’e-yayin), describes “drunkards” (cf. NLT) which is somewhat stronger than saying it refers to “people who drink too much” (cf. NIV, TEV).
[23:20] 15 tn The verb זָלַל (zalal) means “to be light; to be worthless; to make light of.” Making light of something came to mean “to be lavish with; to squander,” especially with regard to food. So it describes “gluttons” primarily; but in the expression there is also room for the person who wastes a lot of food as well.
[23:21] 16 tn Here “drowsiness” is a metonymy of effect or adjunct, put for the drunkenness and gluttony that causes it. So all of it, the drunkenness and the drowsiness that comes from it, brings on the ruin (cf. CEV “you will end up poor”). Likewise, “rags” is a metonymy of adjunct, associated with the poverty brought on by a dissolute lifestyle.
[23:21] 17 sn This is the fourteenth saying, warning about poor associations. Drunkenness and gluttony represent the epitome of the lack of discipline. In the Mishnah they are used to measure a stubborn and rebellious son (m. Sanhedrin 8). W. G. Plaut notes that excessive drinking and eating are usually symptoms of deeper problems; we usually focus more on the drinking because it is dangerous to others (Proverbs, 241-42).
[23:23] 18 tn Heb “buy” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT); CEV “Invest in truth.”
[23:24] 19 tc The Qere reading has the imperfect יָגִיל (yagil) with the cognate accusative גִּיל (gil) which intensifies the meaning and the specific future of this verb.
[23:24] 20 tn The term “child” is supplied for the masculine singular adjective here.
[23:25] 21 tn The form תָגֵל (tagel) is clearly a short form and therefore a jussive (“may she…rejoice”); if this second verb is a jussive, then the parallel יִשְׂמַח (yismakh) should be a jussive also (“may your father and your mother have joy”).
[23:26] 22 tn Heb “my son”; the reference to a “son” is retained in the translation here because in the following lines the advice is to avoid women who are prostitutes.
[23:27] 23 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
[23:27] 24 tn Heb “foreign woman” (so ASV). The term נָכְרִיָּה (nokhriyyah, “foreign woman”) often refers to a prostitute (e.g., Prov 2:6; 5:20; 6:24; 7:5). While not all foreign women in Israel were prostitutes, their prospects for economic survival were meager and many turned to prostitution to earn a living. Some English versions see this term referring to an adulteress as opposed to a prostitute (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
[23:27] 25 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
[23:27] 26 sn In either case, whether a prostitute or an adulteress wife is involved, the danger is the same. The metaphors of a “deep pit” and a “narrow well” describe this sin as one that is a trap from which there is no escape. The “pit” is a gateway to Sheol, and those who enter are as good as dead, whether socially or through punishment physically.
[23:28] 27 tn The noun חֶתֶף (khetef) is defined by BDB 369 s.v. as “prey,” but this is the only occurrence of the word. The related verb BDB 368-69 s.v. חָתַף defines as “to seize; to snatch away” (with an Aramaic cognate meaning “to break in pieces” [Pa], and an Arabic word “death”). But the only occurrence of that word is in Job 9:12, where it is defined as “seizes.” So in this passage the noun could have either a passive sense (what is seized = prey), or an active sense (the one who seizes = a robber, bandit). The traditional rendering is “prey” (KJV); most modern English versions have the active sense (“robber” or similar; cf. NIV “like a bandit”). Since the prepositional phrase (the simile) is modifying the woman, the active sense works better in the translation.
[23:28] 28 tn The participle means “unfaithful [men]” (masculine plural); it could also be interpreted as “unfaithfulness” in the abstract sense. M. Dahood interprets it to mean “garments” (which would have to be repointed), saying that she collects garments in pledge for her service (M. Dahood, “To Pawn One’s Cloak,” Bib 42 [1961]: 359-66). But that is far-fetched; it might have happened on occasion, but as a common custom it is unlikely. Besides that, the text in the MT makes perfectly good sense without such a change.
[23:28] 29 sn Verses 26-28 comprise the seventeenth saying; it warns the young person to follow the instructions about temptations because there are plenty of temptresses lurking about.
[23:29] 30 sn The eighteenth saying is about excessive drinking. The style changes here as the sage breaks into a vivid use of the imagination. It begins with a riddle describing the effects of drunkenness (v. 29) and gives the answer in v. 30; instructions follow in v. 31, with the consequences described in v. 32; the direct address continues in vv. 33 and 34; and the whole subject is concluded with the drunkard’s own words in v. 35 (M. E. Andrews, “Variety of Expression in Proverbs 23:29-35,” VT 28 [1978]: 102-3).
[23:29] 31 sn The Hebrew word translated “dullness” describes darkness or dullness of the eyes due to intoxication, perhaps “redness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV, NCV, NLT “bloodshot eyes.” NAB understands the situation differently: “black eyes.”
[23:30] 32 sn The answer to the question posed in v. 29 is obviously one who drinks too much, which this verse uses metonymies to point out. Lingering over wine is an adjunct of drinking more wine; and seeking mixed wine obviously means with the effect or the purpose of drinking it.
[23:31] 33 tn Heb “its eye gives.” With CEV’s “bubbling up in the glass” one might think champagne was in view.
[23:31] 34 tn The expression is difficult, and is suspected of having been added from Song 7:10, although the parallel is not exact. The verb is the Hitpael imperfect of הָלַךְ (halakh); and the prepositional phrase uses the word “upright; equity; pleasing,” from יָשָׁר (yashar). KJV has “when it moveth itself aright”; much more helpful is ASV: “when it goeth down smoothly.” Most recent English versions are similar to ASV. The phrase obviously refers to the pleasing nature of wine.
[23:32] 35 tn Heb “its end”; NASB “At the last”; TEV (interpretively) “The next morning.”
[23:33] 36 tn The feminine plural of זָר (zar, “strange things”) refers to the trouble one has in seeing and speaking when drunk.
[23:34] 37 tn Heb “heart.” The idiom here means “middle”; KJV “in the midst.”
[23:34] 38 sn The point of these similes is to compare being drunk with being seasick. One who tries to sleep when at sea, or even worse, when up on the ropes of the mast, will be tossed back and forth.
[23:35] 39 tn The phrase “You will say” is supplied in the translation to make it clear that the drunkard is now speaking.
[23:35] 40 sn The line describes how one who is intoxicated does not feel the pain, even though beaten by others. He does not even remember it.
[23:35] 41 tn The last line has only “I will add I will seek it again.” The use of אוֹסִיף (’osif) signals a verbal hendiadys with the next verb: “I will again seek it.” In this context the suffix on the verb refers to the wine – the drunkard wants to go and get another drink.
[24:1] 42 tn Heb “evil men,” although the context indicates a generic sense.
[24:1] 43 tn The Hitpael jussive is from the verb that means “to crave; to desire.” This is more of a coveting, an intense desire.
[24:2] 44 sn This nineteenth saying warns against evil associations. Evil people are obsessed with destruction and trouble. See on this theme 1:10-19; 3:31 and 23:17. D. Kidner observes that a close view of sinners is often a good antidote to envying them (Proverbs [TOTC], 153).
[24:3] 45 tn The preposition בְּ (bet, “by; through”) in these two lines indicates means.
[24:3] 46 sn The twentieth saying, vv. 3-4, concerns the use of wisdom for domestic enterprises. In Prov 9:1 wisdom was personified as a woman who builds a house; but here the emphasis is primarily on the building – it is a sign of security and prosperity (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 442). One could still make a secondary application from this line for a household or “family” (cf. NCV, which sees this as a reference to the family).
[24:5] 47 sn The twenty-first saying seems to be concerned with the need for wisdom in warfare. In line with that, the word used here is גֶּבֶר (gever), “mighty man; hero; warrior.”
[24:5] 48 tn The expression בַּעוֹז (ba’oz) employs a beth essentiae, meaning he “is strong,” not “in strength.”
[24:6] 49 sn The point of the saying is that wise counsel is necessary in war. Victory, strategy, and counsel are more important than mere military strength – many great armies have been destroyed because of their unwise leaders. See on this theme 11:14; 20:18; and 21:22.
[24:7] 50 tc The MT reads רָאמוֹת (ra’mot, “corals”) – wisdom to the fool is corals, i.e., an unattainable treasure. With a slight change in the text, removing the א (alef), the reading is רָמוֹת (ramot, “high”), i.e., wisdom is too high – unattainable – for a fool. The internal evidence favors the emendation, which is followed by most English versions including KJV.
[24:7] 51 tn Heb “[city] gate,” a metonymy of subject, meaning what goes on in the gate – court cases and business transactions. So it is in these assemblies that the fool keeps quiet. The term “court” has been used in the translation for clarity. Some English versions do not emphasize the forensic connotation here: NCV “in a discussion”; NLT “When the leaders gather.”
[24:7] 52 sn The verse portrays a fool out of his element: In a serious moment in the gathering of the community, he does not even open his mouth (a metonymy of cause, meaning “speak”). Wisdom is too high for the fool – it is beyond his ability.
[24:8] 53 tn Heb “possessor of schemes”; NAB “an intriguer.” The picture of the wicked person is graphic: He devises plans to do evil and is known as a schemer. Elsewhere the “schemes” are outrageous and lewd (e.g., Lev 18:7; Judg 20:6). Here the description portrays him as a cold, calculating, active person: “the fool is capable of intense mental activity but it adds up to sin” (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 399).
[24:9] 54 tn Heb “the scheme of folly” (NIV similar). The genitive functions as an attributive genitive, meaning “foolish scheme.” But it could also be interpreted as a genitive of source, the scheme that comes from folly (or from the fool if “folly” were metonymical).
[24:9] 55 tn Heb “to a man”; cf. CEV “Everyone hates senseless fools.”
[24:10] 56 tn Heb “show yourself slack” (NASB similar). The verb רָפָה (rafah) means “to sink; to relax.” In the causative stems it means “to let slacken; to let go; to refrain; to fail; to do nothing.” In the Hitpael stem BDB 952 s.v. defines it as “to show yourself slack.” It has also been rendered as “give up” (NCV, CEV); “fail” (NLT); “falter” (NIV). The colon implies a condition, for which the second part of the verse is the apodosis.
[24:10] 57 tn The verse employs a paronomasia to underscore the point: “trouble” is צָרָה (tsarah), literally “a bind; a strait [or, narrow] place”; “small” is צַר (tsar), with the same idea of “narrow” or “close.”
[24:10] 58 sn The test of strength is adversity, for it reveals how strong a person is. Of course a weak person can always plead adverse conditions in order to quit. This is the twenty-fourth saying.
[24:11] 59 tn The idea of “slipping” (participle from מוֹט, mot) has troubled some commentators. G. R. Driver emends it to read “at the point of” (“Problems in Proverbs,” ZAW 50 [1932]: 146). But the MT as it stands makes good sense. The reference would be general, viz., to help any who are in mortal danger or who might be tottering on the edge of such disaster – whether through sin, or through disease, war, or danger. Several English versions (e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV) render this term as “staggering.”
[24:12] 60 tn Heb “weighs” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV) meaning “tests” or “evaluates.”
[24:12] 61 sn The verse completes the saying by affirming that people will be judged responsible for helping those in mortal danger. The verse uses a series of rhetorical questions to affirm that God knows our hearts and we cannot plead ignorance.
[24:13] 62 sn The twenty-sixth saying teaches that one should develop wisdom because it has a profitable future. The saying draws on the image of honey; its health-giving properties make a good analogy to wisdom.
[24:14] 63 tn D. W. Thomas argues for a meaning of “seek” in place of “know” (“Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 38 [1937]: 400-403).
[24:14] 64 tn The phrase “is sweet” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.
[24:14] 65 tn The term “it” is supplied in the translation.
[24:14] 66 tn Heb “there will be an end.” The word is אַחֲרִית (’akhrit, “after-part, end”). BDB 31 s.v. b says in a passage like this it means “a future,” i.e., a happy close of life, sometimes suggesting the idea of posterity promised to the righteous, often parallel to “hope.”
[24:15] 67 tn The word “wicked” could be taken as a vocative (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, “O wicked man”); but since the next line refers to the wicked this is unlikely. It serves better as an adverbial accusative (“like the wicked”).
[24:15] 68 sn The saying warns that it is futile and self-defeating to mistreat God’s people, for they survive – the wicked do not. The warning is against a deliberate, planned assault on their places of dwelling.
[24:16] 69 tn The clause beginning with כִּי (ki) could be interpreted as causal or conditional; but in view of the significance of the next clause it seems better to take it as a concessive clause (“although”). Its verb then receives a modal nuance of possibility. The apodosis is then “and he rises up,” which could be a participle or a perfect tense; although he may fall, he gets up (or, will get up).
[24:16] 70 tn The verb could be translated with an English present tense (“are brought down,” so NIV) to express what happens to the wicked in this life; but since the saying warns against being like the wicked, their destruction is more likely directed to the future.
[24:17] 71 sn The saying (vv. 17, 18) warns against gloating over the misfortune of one’s enemies. The prohibition is formed with two negated jussives “do not rejoice” and “let not be glad,” the second qualified by “your heart” as the subject, signifying the inner satisfaction of such a defeat.
[24:18] 72 tn Heb “and [it is] evil in his eyes.”
[24:18] 73 sn The judgment of God should strike a note of fear in the heart of people (e.g., Lev 19:17-18). His judgment is not to be taken lightly, or personalized as a victory. If that were to happen, then the
[24:20] 74 tn Heb “there is no end [i.e., future] for the evil.”
[24:20] 75 sn The saying warns against envying the wicked; v. 19 provides the instruction, and v. 20 the motivation. The motivation is that there is no future hope for them – nothing to envy, or as C. H. Toy explains, there will be no good outcome for their lives (Proverbs [ICC], 449). They will die suddenly, as the implied comparison with the lamp being snuffed out signifies.
[24:21] 76 tn Heb “my son,” but there is no indication in the immediate context that this should be limited only to male children.
[24:21] 77 tn Heb “do not get mixed up with”; cf. TEV “Have nothing to do with”; NIV “do not join with.” The verb עָרַב (’arav) is used elsewhere meaning “to exchange; to take on pledge.” In the Hitpael stem it means “to have fellowship; to share; to associate with.” Some English versions (e.g., KJV) interpret as “to meddle” in this context, because “to have fellowship” is certainly not what is meant.
[24:21] 78 tn The form rendered “rebellious” is difficult; it appears to be the Qal active participle, plural, from שָׁנָה (shanah), “to change” – “those who change.” The RV might have thought of the idea of “change” when they rendered it “political agitators.” The Syriac and Tg. Prov 24:21 have “fools,” the Latin has “detractors,” and the LXX reads, “do not disobey either of them,” referring to God and the king in the first line. Accordingly the ruin predicted in the next line would be the ruin that God and the king can inflict. If the idea of “changers” is retained, it would have to mean people who at one time feared God and the king but no longer do.
[24:22] 79 tn Heb “will rise” (so NASB).
[24:22] 80 tn Heb “the ruin of the two of them.” Judgment is sent on the rebels both by God and the king. The term פִּיד (pid, “ruin; disaster”) is a metonymy of effect, the cause being the sentence of judgment (= “ruinous judgment” in the translation; cf. NLT “punishment”). The word “two of them” is a subjective genitive – they two bring the disaster on the rebels. The referents (the
