Proverbs 1:20

Warning Against Disregarding Wisdom

1:20 Wisdom ¹  calls out ²  in the street,

she shouts loudly ³  in the plazas; ⁴ 

Proverbs 5:16

5:16 Should your springs be dispersed ⁵  outside,

your streams of water in the wide plazas?

Proverbs 7:12

7:12 at one time outside, at another ⁶  in the wide plazas,

and by every corner she lies in wait.)

Proverbs 22:13

22:13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion ⁷  outside!

I will be killed in the middle of the streets!” ⁸ 

Proverbs 26:13

26:13 The sluggard ⁹  says, “There is a lion in the road!

A lion in the streets!” ¹⁰ 

[1:20]  ¹ tn The noun חָכְמָה (khokhmah, “wisdom”) is the abstract feminine plural form. It probably functions as a plural of intensity, stressing the all-embracing, elevated wisdom (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 272). As in 8:1-9:11, Wisdom is personified as a righteous woman in 1:20-33.

[1:20]  ² sn The verb רָנַן (ranan, “to cry out, give a ringing cry”) always expresses excitement, whether of joyful praise or lamentable sorrow (BDB 943 s.v.). Here it is an excited summons.

[1:20]  ³ tn Heb “she gives her voice.” The expression means to shout loudly (BDB 679 s.v. נָתַן Qal.x).

[1:20]  ⁴ sn The word רְחֹבוֹת (rÿkhovot, “plazas”) refers to the wide plazas or broad open spaces near the gate where all the people assembled. The personification of wisdom as a woman crying out in this place would be a vivid picture of the public appeal to all who pass by.

[5:16]  ⁵ tn The verb means “to be scattered; to be dispersed”; here the imperfect takes a deliberative nuance in a rhetorical question.

[7:12]  ⁹ tn The repetition of the noun “time, step,” usually translated “now, this time,” signifies here “at one time…at another time” (BDB 822 s.v. פַּעַם 3.e).

[22:13]  ¹³ sn The proverb humorously describes the sluggard as making ridiculous excuses for not working – he might be eaten by a lion (e.g., 26:13). It is possible that “lion” is figurative, intended to represent someone who is like a lion, but this detracts from the humor of the exaggeration.

[22:13]  ¹⁴ tc The LXX changes the phrase to read “murderers in the street” to form a better parallelism, possibly because the verb רָצַח (ratsakh) is used only of humans, not wild animals. The NIV attempts to solve the problem by making the second line a separate claim by the sluggard: “or, ‘I will be murdered in the streets!’”

[26:13]  ¹⁷ sn The Book of Fools covered vv. 1-12. This marks the beginning of what may be called the Book of Sluggards (vv. 13-16).

[26:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in the broad plazas”; NAB, NASB “in the square.” This proverb makes the same point as 22:13, namely, that the sluggard uses absurd excuses to get out of work. D. Kidner notes that in this situation the sluggard has probably convinced himself that he is a realist and not a lazy person (Proverbs [TOTC], 163).