Proverbs 1:9

1:9 For they will be like ¹  an elegant ²  garland ³  on ⁴  your head,

and like ⁵  pendants ⁶  around ⁷  your neck.

Proverbs 4:22

4:22 for they are life to those who find them

and healing to one’s entire body. ⁸ 

Proverbs 30:24

30:24 There are four things on earth that are small, ⁹ 

but they are exceedingly wise: ¹⁰ 

[1:9]  ¹ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:9]  ² tn Heb “a garland of grace.” The word חֵן (khen, “grace”) refers to qualities that make a person pleasant and agreeable, e.g., a gracious and charming person (BDB 336 s.v.). The metaphor compares the teachings that produce these qualities to an attractive wreath.

[1:9]  ³ tn The noun לִוְיַה (livyah, “wreath; garland”) refers to a headdress and appears only twice in the OT (Prov 1:9; 4:9; BDB 531 s.v.; HALOT 524 s.v.).

[1:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “for.”

[1:9]  ⁵ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:9]  ⁶ tn Cf. KJV, ASV “chains”; NIV “a chain”; but this English term could suggest a prisoner’s chain to the modern reader rather than adornment.

[1:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “for.”

[4:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “to all of his flesh.”

[30:24]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Four are the small things of the earth.” TEV has “four animals,” though in the list of four that follows, two are insects and one is a reptile.

[30:24]  ¹⁶ tn The construction uses the Pual participle with the plural adjective as an intensive; these four creatures are the very embodiment of wisdom (BDB 314 s.v. חָכַם Pu).