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 4:5

4:5 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding;

do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak. ⁷ 

Proverbs 31:5

31:5 lest they drink and forget what is decreed,

and remove ⁸  from all the poor ⁹  their legal rights. ¹⁰ 

Deuteronomy 4:23

4:23 Be on guard so that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he has made with you, and that you do not make an image of any kind, just as he ¹¹  has forbidden ¹²  you.

Psalms 119:93

119:93 I will never forget your precepts,

for by them you have revived me.

Psalms 119:153

ר (Resh)

119:153 See my pain and rescue me!

For I do not forget your law.

Psalms 119:176

119:176 I have wandered off like a lost sheep. ¹³ 

Come looking for your servant,

for I do not forget your commands.

Hosea 4:6

4:6 You have destroyed ¹⁴  my people

by failing to acknowledge me!

Because you refuse to acknowledge me, ¹⁵ 

I will reject you as my priests.

Because you reject ¹⁶  the law of your God,

I will reject ¹⁷  your descendants.

[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.

[4:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “from the words of my mouth” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); TEV, CEV “what I say.”

[31:5]  ⁸ tn The verb means “change,” perhaps expressed in reversing decisions or removing rights.

[31:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “all the children of poverty.” This expression refers to the poor by nature. Cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “the afflicted”; NIV “oppressed.”

[31:5]  ¹⁰ sn The word is דִּין (din, “judgment”; so KJV). In this passage it refers to the cause or the plea for justice, i.e., the “legal rights.”

[4:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 4:3.

[4:23]  ¹² tn Heb “commanded.”

[119:176]  ¹³ tn Heb “I stray like a lost sheep.” It is possible that the point of the metaphor is vulnerability: The psalmist, who is threatened by his enemies, feels as vulnerable as a straying, lost sheep. This would not suggest, however, that he has wandered from God’s path (see the second half of the verse, as well as v. 110).

[4:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “they have destroyed” or “my people are destroyed” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[4:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Because you reject knowledge”; NLT “because they don’t know me.”

[4:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “have forgotten”; NAB, NIV “have ignored.”

[4:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “forget” (so KJV, NRSV); NLT “forget to bless.”