Proverbs 10:1

The First Collection of Solomonic Proverbs ¹ 

10:1 The Proverbs of Solomon:

A wise child ²  makes a father rejoice, ³ 

but a foolish child ⁴  is a grief to his mother. ⁵ 

Proverbs 25:1

Proverbs of Solomon Collected by Hezekiah

25:1 These also are proverbs of Solomon,

which the men of King Hezekiah of Judah copied: ⁶ 

[10:1]  ¹ sn Beginning with ch. 10 there is a difference in the form of the material contained in the book of Proverbs. No longer are there long admonitions, but the actual proverbs, short aphorisms dealing with right or wrong choices. Other than a few similar themes grouped together here and there, there is no arrangement to the material as a whole. It is a long collection of approximately 400 proverbs.

[10:1]  ² tn Heb “son.”

[10:1]  ³ tn The imperfect tense describes progressive or habitual action, translated here with an English present tense. These fit the nature of proverbs which are general maxims, and not necessarily absolutes or universal truths. One may normally expect to find what the proverb notes, and one should live according to its instructions in the light of those expectations; but one should not be surprised if from time to time there is an exception. The fact that there may be an exception does not diminish the need to live by the sayings.

[10:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “son.”

[10:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “grief of his mother.” The noun “grief” is in construct, and “mother” is an objective genitive. The saying declares that the consequences of wisdom or folly affects the parents.

[25:1]  ⁶ sn This section of the book of Proverbs contains proverbs attributed to Solomon but copied by Hezekiah’s sages (between 715 b.c. and 687 b.c.). Some scholars conclude that this has no historical value other than to report the later disposition that people thought they came from Solomon’s time, but if that were the only consideration, then that in itself would have to be considered as a piece of historical information. But if the reference is an earlier note in the collection, then it becomes more valuable for consideration. The proverbs in these lines differ from the earlier ones in that these are multiple line sayings using more similes; chapters 28-29 are similar to 10-16, but chapters 25-27 differ in having few references to God.