Discovery BoxProverbs 1:28
Context1:28 Then they will call to me, but I will not answer;
they will diligently seek 1 me, but they will not find me.
Proverbs 2:5
Context2:5 then you will understand 2 how to fear the Lord, 3
and you will discover 4 knowledge 5 about God. 6
Proverbs 2:9
Context2:9 Then you will understand 7 righteousness and justice
and equity – every 8 good 9 way. 10
Proverbs 3:23
Context3:23 Then you will walk on your way 11 with security,
and you 12 will not stumble. 13
Proverbs 20:14
Context20:14 “It’s worthless! It’s worthless!” 14 says the buyer, 15
but when he goes on his way, he boasts. 16
[1:28] 1 tn Heb “look to.” The verb שָׁחַר (shakhar, “to look”) is used figuratively of intensely looking (=seeking) for deliverance out of trouble (W. L. Holladay, Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon, 366); cf. NLT “anxiously search for.” It is used elsewhere in parallelism with בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek rescue”; Hos 5:15). It does not mean “to seek early” (cf. KJV) as is popularly taught due to etymological connections with the noun שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”; so BDB 1007 s.v. שָׁחַר).
[2:5] 2 tn The verb בִּין (bin, “to perceive; to understand; to discern”) refers to ability to grasp, discern or be sensitive to what it means to fear the
[2:5] 3 tn Heb “the fear of the
[2:5] 4 tn Heb “find” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[2:5] 5 tn The term דַּעַת (da’at, “knowledge”) goes beyond cognition; it is often used metonymically (cause) for obedience (effect); see, e.g., Prov 3:6, “in all your ways acknowledge him,” and BDB 395 s.v. This means that the disciple will follow God’s moral code; for to know God is to react ethically and spiritually to his will (e.g., J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 18).
[2:5] 6 tn Heb “knowledge of God.” The noun is an objective genitive.
[2:9] 3 tn Heb “discern.” See preceding note on בִּין (bin) in 2:5.
[2:9] 4 tn The phrase “every good way” functions appositionally to the preceding triad of righteous attributes, further explaining and defining them.
[2:9] 5 tn Heb “every way of good.” The term טוֹב (tov, “good”) functions as an attributive genitive: “good way.”
[2:9] 6 tn Heb “track”; KJV, NIV, NRSV “path.” The noun מַעְגַּל (ma’gal) is used (1) literally of “wagon-wheel track; firm path” and (2) figuratively (as a metaphor) to describe the course of life (Pss 17:5; 23:3; 140:6; Prov 2:9, 15, 18; 4:11, 26; 5:6, 21; Isa 26:7; 59:8; see BDB 722-23 s.v. 2; KBL 2:609). It is related to the feminine noun עֲגָלָה (’agalah, “cart”) and the verb עָגַל (’agal) “to be round” (Qal) and “to roll” (Niphal). As a wagon-wheel cuts a deep track in a much traversed dirt road, so a person falls into routines and habits that reveal his moral character. In Proverbs the “paths” of the righteous are characterized by uprightness and integrity.
[3:23] 4 tn The noun דַּרְכֶּךָ (darkekha, “your way”) functions as an adverbial accusative of location: “on your way.”
[3:23] 5 tn Heb “your foot.” The term רַגְלְךָ (raglÿkha, “your foot”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= foot) for the whole person (= you).
[3:23] 6 sn The verb נָגַף (ragaf, “to strike; to smite”) sometimes means “to stumble” against a stone (e.g., Ps 91:12). Here the object (“stone”) is implied (BDB 619 s.v.). This is a figure (hypocatastasis) comparing stumbling on a stone in the path to making serious mistakes in life that bring harm.
[20:14] 5 tn Heb “[It is] bad, [it is] bad.” Since “bad” can be understood in some modern contexts as a descriptive adjective meaning “good,” the translation uses “worthless” instead – the real point of the prospective buyer’s exclamation.
[20:14] 6 sn This proverb reflects standard procedure in the business world. When negotiating the transaction the buyer complains how bad the deal is for him, or how worthless the prospective purchase, but then later brags about what a good deal he got. The proverb will alert the inexperienced as to how things are done.
[20:14] 7 tn The Hitpael imperfect of הָלַל (halal) means “to praise” – to talk in glowing terms, excitedly. In this stem it means “to praise oneself; to boast.”
