Proverbs 1:8

1:8 Listen, ¹  my child, ²  to the instruction ³  from ⁴  your father,

and do not forsake the teaching ⁵  from ⁶  your mother.

Proverbs 4:10

4:10 Listen, my child, ⁷  and accept my words,

so that ⁸  the years of your life will be many. ⁹ 

Proverbs 13:1

13:1 A wise son accepts ¹⁰  his father’s discipline, ¹¹ 

but a scoffer ¹²  does not listen to rebuke.

Proverbs 13:8

13:8 The ransom ¹³  of a person’s ¹⁴  life is his wealth,

but the poor person hears no threat. ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 19:20

19:20 Listen to advice ¹⁶  and receive discipline,

that ¹⁷  you may become wise ¹⁸  by the end of your life. ¹⁹ 

Proverbs 23:19

23:19 Listen, my child, ²⁰  and be wise,

and guide your heart on the right way.

[1:8]  ¹ tn The imperative שְׁמַע (shÿma’, “Listen!”) forms an urgent exhortation which expects immediate compliance with parental instruction.

[1:8]  ² tn Heb “my son.” It is likely that collections of proverbs grew up in the royal courts and were designed for the training of the youthful prince. But once the collection was included in the canon, the term “son” would be expanded to mean a disciple, for all the people were to learn wisdom when young. It would not be limited to sons alone but would include daughters – as the expression “the children of (בְּנֵי, bÿne) Israel” (including males and females) clearly shows. Several passages in the Mishnah and Talmud record instructions to teach daughters the Mosaic law so that they will be righteous and avoid sin as well. The translation “my child,” although not entirely satisfactory, will be used here.

[1:8]  ³ tn Heb “training” or “discipline.” See note on 1:2.

[1:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “of.” The noun אָבִיךָ (’avikha, “of your father”) may be classified as a genitive of source.

[1:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “instruction.” In Proverbs the noun תּוֹרַה (torah) often means “instruction” or “moral direction” rather than “law” (BDB 435 s.v. 1.a). It is related to יָרָה (yarah, “to point [or, show] the way” in the Hiphil (BDB 435). Instruction attempts to point a person in the right direction (e.g., Gen 46:28).

[1:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “of.” The noun אִמֶּךָ (’immekha, “of your mother”) may be classified as a genitive of source.

[4:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “my son” (likewise in v. 20).

[4:10]  ⁸ tn The vav prefixed to the imperfect verb follows an imperative; this volitive sequence depicts purpose/result.

[4:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the years of life will be many for you.”

[13:1]  ¹³ tn The term “accepts” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and clarity.

[13:1]  ¹⁴ tc G. R. Driver suggested reading this word as מְיֻסַּר (mÿyussar, “allows himself to be disciplined”); see his “Hebrew Notes on Prophets and Proverbs,” JTS 41 (1940): 174. But this is not necessary at all; the MT makes good sense as it stands. Similarly, the LXX has “a wise son listens to his father.”

[13:1]  ¹⁵ sn The “scoffer” is the worst kind of fool. He has no respect for authority, reviles worship of God, and is unteachable because he thinks he knows it all. The change to a stronger word in the second colon – “rebuke” (גָּעַר, ga’ar) – shows that he does not respond to instruction on any level. Cf. NLT “a young mocker,” taking this to refer to the opposite of the “wise son” in the first colon.

[13:8]  ¹⁹ sn As the word “ransom” (כֹּפֶר, cofer) indicates, the rich are susceptible to kidnapping and robbery. But the poor man pays no attention to blackmail – he does not have money to buy off oppressors. So the rich person is exposed to legal attacks and threats of physical violence and must use his wealth as ransom.

[13:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the life of a man.”

[13:8]  ²¹ tn The term גְּעָרָה (gÿ’arah) may mean (1) “rebuke” (so KJV, NASB) or (2) “threat” (so NIV; cf. ASV, NRSV, NLT ). If “rebuke” is the sense here, it means that the burdens of society fall on the rich as well as the dangers. But the sense of “threat” better fits the context: The rich are threatened with extortion, but the poor are not (cf. CEV “the poor don’t have that problem”).

[19:20]  ²⁵ sn The advice refers in all probability to the teachings of the sages that will make one wise.

[19:20]  ²⁶ tn The proverb is one continuous thought, but the second half of the verse provides the purpose for the imperatives of the first half.

[19:20]  ²⁷ tn The imperfect tense has the nuance of a final imperfect in a purpose clause, and so is translated “that you may become wise” (cf. NAB, NRSV).

[19:20]  ²⁸ tn Heb “become wise in your latter end” (cf. KJV, ASV) which could obviously be misunderstood.

[23:19]  ³¹ tn Heb “my son,” but the immediate context does not limit this to male children.