Proverbs 10:11

10:11 The teaching ¹  of the righteous is a fountain of life, ² 

but the speech ³  of the wicked conceals ⁴  violence. ⁵ 

Proverbs 13:14

13:14 Instruction ⁶  from the wise ⁷  is like ⁸  a life-giving fountain, ⁹ 

to turn ¹⁰  a person ¹¹  from deadly snares. ¹² 

Proverbs 14:27

14:27 The fear of the Lord ¹³  is like ¹⁴  a life-giving fountain, ¹⁵ 

to turn ¹⁶  people ¹⁷  from deadly snares. ¹⁸ 

Proverbs 18:4

18:4 The words of a person’s mouth are like ¹⁹  deep waters, ²⁰ 

and ²¹  the fountain of wisdom ²²  is like ²³  a flowing brook. ²⁴ 

John 5:24

5:24 “I tell you the solemn truth, ²⁵  the one who hears ²⁶  my message ²⁷  and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, ²⁸  but has crossed over from death to life.

John 6:63

6:63 The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature is of no help! ²⁹  The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. ³⁰ 

John 6:68

6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.

[10:11]  ¹ tn Heb “mouth.” The word “mouth” is metonymy of cause, representing what the righteous say and teach.

[10:11]  ² tn Heb “a fountain of life is the mouth of the righteous” (NAB similar). The subject (“a fountain of life”) and the predicate (“the mouth of the righteous”) in the Hebrew text are reversed in the present translation (as in most English versions) for the sake of clarity and smoothness. The idea of this metaphor, “the fountain of life,” may come from Ps 36:9 (e.g., also Prov 13:14; 14:27; 16:22). What the righteous say is beneficial to life or life-giving. Their words are life-giving but the words of the wicked are violent. See R. B. Y. Scott, “Wise and Foolish, Righteous and Wicked,” VT 29 (1972): 145-65.

[10:11]  ³ tn Heb “the mouth.” The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech.

[10:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “covers.” Behind the speech of the wicked is aggressive violence (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 422).

[10:11]  ⁵ tn The syntax of this line is ambiguous. The translation takes “the mouth of the wicked” as the nominative subject and “violence” as the accusative direct object; however, the subject might be “violence,” hence: “violence covers the mouth of the wicked.”

[13:14]  ⁶ tn The term תוֹרָה (torah) in legal literature means “law,” but in wisdom literature often means “instruction; teaching” (BDB 435 s.v.); cf. NAV, NIV, NRSV “teaching”; NLT “advice.”

[13:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “instruction of the wise.” The term חָכָם (khakham, “the wise”) is a genitive of source.

[13:14]  ⁸ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[13:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “fountain of life” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV). The genitive חַיִּים (khayyim) functions as a genitive of material, similar to the expression “fountain of water.” The metaphor means that the teaching of the wise is life-giving. The second colon is the consequence of the first, explaining this metaphor.

[13:14]  ¹⁰ tn The infinitive construct with preposition לְ (lamed) gives the result (or, purpose) of the first statement. It could also be taken epexegetically, “by turning.”

[13:14]  ¹¹ tn The term “person” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[13:14]  ¹² tn Heb “snares of death” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The genitive מָוֶת (mavet) functions as an attributive adjective. The term “snares” makes an implied comparison with hunting; death is like a hunter. W. McKane compares the idea to the Ugaritic god Mot, the god of death, carrying people off to the realm of the departed (Proverbs [OTL], 455). The expression could also mean that the snares lead to death.

[14:27]  ¹³ sn The verse is similar to Prov 13:14 except that “the fear of the Lord” has replaced “the teaching of the wise.”

[14:27]  ¹⁴ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[14:27]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “fountain of life.”

[14:27]  ¹⁶ tn The infinitive construct with prefixed ל (lamed) indicates the purpose/result of the first line; it could also function epexegetically, explaining how fear is a fountain: “by turning….”

[14:27]  ¹⁷ tn The term “people” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[14:27]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “snares of death” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); CEV “deadly traps.”

[18:4]  ¹⁹ 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.

[18:4]  ²⁰ sn The metaphor “deep waters” indicates either that the words have an inexhaustible supply or that they are profound.

[18:4]  ²¹ tn There is debate about the nature of the parallelism between lines 4a and 4b. The major options are: (1) synonymous parallelism, (2) antithetical parallelism (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV) or (3) formal parallelism. Normally a vav (ו) would begin an antithetical clause; the structure and the ideas suggest that the second colon continues the idea of the first half, but in a parallel way rather than as additional predicates. The metaphors used in the proverb elsewhere describe the wise.

[18:4]  ²² sn This is an implied comparison (hypocatastasis), the fountain of wisdom being the person who speaks. The Greek version has “fountain of life” instead of “wisdom,” probably influenced from 10:11.

[18:4]  ²³ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[18:4]  ²⁴ sn The point of this metaphor is that the wisdom is a continuous source of refreshing and beneficial ideas.

[5:24]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[5:24]  ²⁶ tn Or “obeys.”

[5:24]  ²⁷ tn Or “word.”

[5:24]  ²⁸ tn Grk “and does not come into judgment.”

[6:63]  ²⁹ tn Grk “the flesh counts for nothing.”

[6:63]  ³⁰ tn Or “are spirit-giving and life-producing.”