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 7:15

7:15 That is why I came out to meet you,

to look for you, ²  and I found you!

Proverbs 11:27

11:27 The one who diligently seeks ³  good seeks favor,

but the one who searches ⁴  for evil – it will come to him. ⁵ 

Proverbs 13:24

13:24 The one who spares his rod ⁶  hates ⁷  his child, ⁸ 

but the one who loves his child ⁹  is diligent ¹⁰  in disciplining ¹¹  him.

[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).

[7:15]  ² tn Heb “to look diligently for your face.”

[11:27]  ³ tn Two separate words are used here for “seek.” The first is שָׁחַר (shakhar, “to seek diligently”) and the second is בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek after; to look for”). Whoever is seeking good is in effect seeking favor – from either God or man (e.g., Ps 5:12; Isa 49:8).

[11:27]  ⁴ tn The participle דֹּרֵשׁ (doresh) means “to seek; to inquire; to investigate.” A person generally receives the consequences of the kind of life he seeks.

[11:27]  ⁵ tn The verb is the imperfect tense, third feminine singular, referring to “evil,” the object of the participle.

[13:24]  ⁴ sn R. N. Whybray cites an Egyptian proverb that says that “boys have their ears on their backsides; they listen when they are beaten” (Proverbs [CBC], 80). Cf. Prov 4:3-4, 10-11; Eph 6:4; Heb 12:5-11.

[13:24]  ⁵ sn The importance of parental disciplining is stressed by the verbs “hate” and “love.” “Hating” a child in this sense means in essence abandoning or rejecting him; “loving” a child means embracing and caring for him. Failure to discipline a child is tantamount to hating him – not caring about his character.

[13:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “his son.”

[13:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (his child) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “seeks him.” The verb שָׁחַר (shahar, “to be diligent; to do something early”; BDB 1007 s.v.) could mean “to be diligent to discipline,” or “to be early or prompt in disciplining.” See G. R. Driver, “Hebrew Notes on Prophets and Proverbs,” JTS 41 (1940): 170.

[13:24]  ⁹ tn The noun מוּסָר (musar, “discipline”) functions as an adverbial accusative of reference: “he is diligent in reference to discipline.”