Proverbs 1:28

1:28 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

2:5 then you will understand ²  how to fear the Lord, ³ 

and you will discover ⁴  knowledge ⁵  about God. ⁶ 

Proverbs 2:9

2:9 Then you will understand ⁷  righteousness and justice

and equity – every ⁸  good ⁹  way. ¹⁰ 

Proverbs 3:23

3:23 Then you will walk on your way ¹¹  with security,

and you ¹²  will not stumble. ¹³ 

Proverbs 8:22

8:22 The Lord created ¹⁴  me as the beginning ¹⁵  of his works, ¹⁶ 

before his deeds of long ago.

Proverbs 20:14

20:14 “It’s worthless! It’s worthless!” ¹⁷  says the buyer, ¹⁸ 

but when he goes on his way, he boasts. ¹⁹ 

[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 Lord.

[2:5]  ³ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” The noun is an objective genitive; the Lord is to be the object of fear and reverence.

[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.

[8:22]  ⁵ tn There are two roots קָנָה (qanah) in Hebrew, one meaning “to possess,” and the other meaning “to create.” The earlier English versions did not know of the second root, but suspected in certain places that a meaning like that was necessary (e.g., Gen 4:1; 14:19; Deut 32:6). Ugaritic confirmed that it was indeed another root. The older versions have the translation “possess” because otherwise it sounds like God lacked wisdom and therefore created it at the beginning. They wanted to avoid saying that wisdom was not eternal. Arius liked the idea of Christ as the wisdom of God and so chose the translation “create.” Athanasius translated it, “constituted me as the head of creation.” The verb occurs twelve times in Proverbs with the meaning of “to acquire”; but the Greek and the Syriac versions have the meaning “create.” Although the idea is that wisdom existed before creation, the parallel ideas in these verses (“appointed,” “given birth”) argue for the translation of “create” or “establish” (R. N. Whybray, “Proverbs 8:22-31 and Its Supposed Prototypes,” VT 15 [1965]: 504-14; and W. A. Irwin, “Where Will Wisdom Be Found?” JBL 80 [1961]: 133-42).

[8:22]  ⁶ tn Verbs of creation often involve double accusatives; here the double accusative involves the person (i.e., wisdom) and an abstract noun in construct (IBHS 174-75 §10.2.3c).

[8:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “his way” (so KJV, NASB). The word “way” is an idiom (implied comparison) for the actions of God.

[20:14]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.”