Proverbs 10:21

10:21 The teaching ¹  of the righteous feeds ²  many,

but fools die ³  for lack of wisdom. ⁴ 

Ecclesiastes 12:9

Concluding Epilogue: Qoheleth’s Advice is Wise

12:9 Not only was the Teacher wise, ⁵ 

but he also taught knowledge to the people;

he carefully evaluated ⁶  and arranged ⁷  many proverbs.

Isaiah 27:11

27:11 When its branches get brittle, ⁸  they break;

women come and use them for kindling. ⁹ 

For these people lack understanding, ¹⁰ 

therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;

the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

Hosea 4:6

4:6 You have destroyed ¹¹  my people

by failing to acknowledge me!

Because you refuse to acknowledge me, ¹² 

I will reject you as my priests.

Because you reject ¹³  the law of your God,

I will reject ¹⁴  your descendants.

John 16:3

16:3 They ¹⁵  will do these things because they have not known the Father or me. ¹⁶ 

Romans 10:2

10:2 For I can testify that they are zealous for God, ¹⁷  but their zeal is not in line with the truth. ¹⁸ 

Philippians 1:9

1:9 And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight

[10:21]  ¹ tn Heb “lips.” The term “lips” functions as a metonymy of cause for what is said (or in this case taught).

[10:21]  ² tn The verb רָעָה (ra’ah) means “to feed” or “to shepherd” (e.g., Gen 48:15). What they say will meet the needs of many.

[10:21]  ³ tn In what sense the fool “dies” is unclear. Fools ruin their lives and the lives of others by their lack of discipline and knowledge. The contrast is between enhancing life and ruining life.

[10:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “heart.” The term לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as a metonymy of association for wisdom and knowledge (BDB 524 s.v. 3.a).

[12:9]  ⁵ sn Eccl 12:9-12 fits the pattern of a concluding colophon that draws from a conventional stock of ancient Near Eastern scribal practices and vocabulary. See M. A. Fishbane, Biblical Interpretation, 29–31.

[12:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “he weighed and studied.” The verbs וְאִזֵּן וְחִקֵּר (vÿ’izzen vekhiqqer, “he weighed and he explored”) form a hendiadys (a figurative expression in which two separate terms used in combination to convey a single idea): “he studiously weighed” or “carefully evaluated.” The verb וְאִזֵּן (conjunction + Piel perfect 3rd person masculine singular from II אָזַן (’azan) “to weigh; to balance”) is related to the noun מֹאזֵן (mo’zen) “balances; scales” used for weighing money or commercial items (e.g., Jer 32:10; Ezek 5:1). This is the only use of the verb in the OT. In this context, it means “to weigh” = “to test; to prove” (BDB 24 s.v. מאזן) or “to balance” (HALOT 27 II אָזַן). Cohen suggests, “He made an examination of the large number of proverbial sayings which had been composed, testing their truth and worth, to select those which he considered deserving of circulation” (A. Cohen, The Five Megilloth [SoBB], 189).

[12:9]  ⁷ tn The verb תָּקַן (taqan, “to make straight”) connotes “to put straight” or “to arrange in order” (HALOT 1784 s.v. תקן; BDB 1075 s.v. תָּקַן).This may refer to Qoheleth’s activity in compiling a collection of wisdom sayings in an orderly manner, or writing the wisdom sayings in a straightforward, direct manner.

[27:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[27:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried up branches that is only good for firewood.

[27:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”

[4:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they have destroyed” or “my people are destroyed” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[4:6]  ¹² tn Heb “Because you reject knowledge”; NLT “because they don’t know me.”

[4:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “have forgotten”; NAB, NIV “have ignored.”

[4:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “forget” (so KJV, NRSV); NLT “forget to bless.”

[16:3]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[16:3]  ¹⁶ sn Ignorance of Jesus and ignorance of the Father are also linked in 8:19; to know Jesus would be to know the Father also, but since the world does not know Jesus, neither does it know his Father. The world’s ignorance of the Father is also mentioned in 8:55, 15:21, and 17:25.

[10:2]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “they have a zeal for God.”

[10:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “in accord with knowledge.”