Proverbs 1:3

1:3 To receive ¹  moral instruction ²  in skillful living, ³ 

in ⁴  righteousness, ⁵  justice, ⁶  and equity. ⁷ 

Proverbs 4:1

Admonition to Follow Righteousness and Avoid Wickedness ⁸ 

4:1 Listen, children, ⁹  to a father’s instruction, ¹⁰ 

and pay attention so that ¹¹  you may gain ¹²  discernment.

Proverbs 7:1

Admonition to Avoid the Wiles of the Adulteress ¹³ 

7:1 My child, ¹⁴  keep my words

and treasure up my commands in your own keeping. ¹⁵ 

John 12:47-48

12:47 If anyone ¹⁶  hears my words and does not obey them, ¹⁷  I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. ¹⁸  12:48 The one who rejects me and does not accept ¹⁹  my words has a judge; ²⁰  the word ²¹  I have spoken will judge him at the last day.

John 12:1

Jesus’ Anointing

12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he ²²  had raised from the dead.

John 1:15

1:15 John ²³  testified ²⁴  about him and shouted out, ²⁵  “This one was the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than I am, ²⁶  because he existed before me.’”

[1:3]  ¹ tn The infinitive construct + ל (lamed) here designates a further purpose of the book: This focuses on the purpose of the book from the perspective of the student/disciple. The verb לָקַח (laqakh, “receive”) means to acquire something worth having. It is parallel to the verb “treasure up” in 2:1.

[1:3]  ² tn Heb “instruction.” See note on the same term in 1:2.

[1:3]  ³ tc MT reads the genitive-construct phrase מוּסַר הַשְׂכֵּל (musar haskel, “discipline of prudence”). Syriac adds vav (ו) and reads מוּסַר וְהַשְׂכֵּל (musar wÿhaskel, “discipline and prudence”). MT is the more difficult reading in terms of syntax, so is preferred as the original reading.

[1:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “righteousness and justice and equity.” The three nouns that follow “self-discipline of prudence” are adverbial accusatives of manner, describing the ways in which the disciplined prudent activity will be manifested: “in righteousness, justice, and equity.” The term “in” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the syntax; it is inserted in the translation for clarity.

[1:3]  ⁵ sn The word “righteousness” (צֶדֶק, tsedeq) describes conduct that conforms to a standard. Elsewhere it is used in a concrete sense to refer to commercial weights and measures that conform to a standard (Deut 25:15). In the moral realm it refers to “righteous” conduct that conforms to God’s law.

[1:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “and justice.” The conjunction “and” appears in the Hebrew text, but is omitted in the translation for the sake of English style and smoothness.

[1:3]  ⁷ sn The Hebrew noun translated “equity” comes from the root יָשָׁר (yashar) which has the basic idea of “upright, straight, right.” It refers to activity that is morally upright and straight, that is, on the proper moral path. Elsewhere it is used in a concrete sense to describe cows walking straight down a path without turning right or left (1 Sam 6:12). Wisdom literature often uses the motif of the straight path to describe a morally “straight” life.

[4:1]  ⁸ sn The chapter includes an exhortation to acquire wisdom (1-4a), a list of the benefits of wisdom (4b-9), a call to pursue a righteous lifestyle (10-13), a warning against a wicked lifestyle (14-19), and an exhortation to righteousness (20-27).

[4:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “sons.”

[4:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “discipline.”

[4:1]  ¹¹ tn The Qal infinitive construct with preposition ל (lamed) indicates the purpose/result of the preceding imperative.

[4:1]  ¹² tn Heb “know” (so KJV, ASV).

[7:1]  ¹³ sn The chapter begins with the important teaching of the father (1-5), then it focuses on the seduction: first of the victim (6-9), then the temptress (10-12), then the seduction (13-20), and the capitulation (21-23); the chapter concludes with the deadly results of consorting (24-27).

[7:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my son.”

[7:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “within you” (so NASB, NIV); KJV, ASV, NRSV “with you.” BDB 860 s.v. צָפַן Qal.1 suggests that “within you” means “in your own keeping.”

[12:47]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And if anyone”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.

[12:47]  ¹⁷ tn Or “guard them,” “keep them.”

[12:47]  ¹⁸ sn Cf. John 3:17.

[12:48]  ¹⁹ tn Or “does not receive.”

[12:48]  ²⁰ tn Grk “has one who judges him.”

[12:48]  ²¹ tn Or “message.”

[12:1]  ²² tn Grk “whom Jesus,” but a repetition of the proper name (Jesus) here would be redundant in the English clause structure, so the pronoun (“he”) is substituted in the translation.

[1:15]  ²³ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

[1:15]  ²⁴ tn Or “bore witness.”

[1:15]  ²⁵ tn Grk “and shouted out saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant is English and has not been translated.

[1:15]  ²⁶ tn Or “has a higher rank than I.”