Proverbs 14:10

14:10 The heart knows its own bitterness, ¹ 

and with its joy no one else ²  can share. ³ 

Proverbs 17:2

17:2 A servant who acts wisely ⁴  will rule

over ⁵  an heir ⁶  who behaves shamefully, ⁷ 

and will share the inheritance along with the relatives. ⁸ 

Proverbs 21:9

21:9 It is better to live on a corner of the housetop ⁹ 

than in a house in company ¹⁰  with a quarrelsome wife. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 25:24

25:24 It is better to live on a corner of the housetop

than in a house in company with a quarrelsome wife. ¹² 

Proverbs 5:17

5:17 Let them be for yourself ¹³  alone,

and not for strangers with you. ¹⁴ 

Proverbs 1:14

1:14 Join with us! ¹⁵ 

We will all share ¹⁶  equally in what we steal.” ¹⁷ 

Proverbs 16:19

16:19 It is better to be lowly in spirit ¹⁸  with the afflicted

than to share the spoils ¹⁹  with the proud.

Proverbs 22:9

22:9 A generous person ²⁰  will be blessed, ²¹ 

for he gives some of his food ²²  to the poor.

Proverbs 5:15

5:15 Drink water from your own cistern

and running water from your own well. ²³ 

Proverbs 17:17

17:17 A friend ²⁴  loves at all times,

and a relative ²⁵  is born to help in adversity. ²⁶ 

Proverbs 7:15

7:15 That is why I came out to meet you,

to look for you, ²⁷  and I found you!

Proverbs 29:24

29:24 Whoever shares with a thief ²⁸  is his own enemy; ²⁹ 

he hears the oath to testify, ³⁰  but does not talk.

Proverbs 31:31

31:31 Give ³¹  her credit for what she has accomplished, ³² 

and let her works praise her ³³  in the city gates. ³⁴ 

[14:10]  ¹ tn Heb “bitterness of its soul.”

[14:10]  ² tn Heb “stranger” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[14:10]  ³ tn The verb is the Hitpael of II עָרַב (’arav), which means “to take in pledge; to give in pledge; to exchange.” Here it means “to share [in].” The proverb is saying that there are joys and sorrows that cannot be shared. No one can truly understand the deepest feelings of another.

[17:2]  ⁴ sn The setting is in the ancient world where a servant rarely advanced beyond his or her station in life. But there are notable exceptions (e.g., Gen 15:3 where the possibility is mentioned, 1 Chr 2:35 where it changed through marriage, and 2 Sam 16:1-4; 19:24-30, with the story of Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth). This proverb focuses on a servant who is wise, one who uses all his abilities effectively – a Joseph figure.

[17:2]  ⁵ sn The parallelism indicates that “ruling over” and “sharing in the inheritance” means that the disgraceful son will be disinherited.

[17:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “son.”

[17:2]  ⁷ tn The form מֵבִישׁ (mevish) is a Hiphil participle, modifying בֵן (ben). This original heir would then be one who caused shame or disgrace to the family, probably by showing a complete lack of wisdom in the choices he made.

[17:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the midst of the brothers”; NIV “as one of the brothers.”

[21:9]  ⁷ tn English versions which translate the Hebrew term as “roof” here sometimes produce amusing images for modern readers: TEV “Better to live on the roof”; CEV “It’s better to stay outside on the roof of your house.”

[21:9]  ⁸ tn The “house of company” has received numerous interpretations. The word “company” or “companionship” would qualify “house” as a place to be shared. The BHS editors propose “spacious house,” which would call for a transposition of letters (cf. NAB “a roomy house”; NLT “a lovely home”). Such an emendation makes good sense, but has no external support.

[21:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “a wife of contentions”; KJV “a brawling woman”; TEV, CEV “a nagging wife.” The Greek version has no reference to a quarrelsome wife, but instead mentions justice in a common house.

[25:24]  ¹⁰ tn This proverb is identical with 21:9; see the notes there.

[5:17]  ¹³ tn The ל (lamed) preposition denotes possession: “for you” = “yours.” The term לְבַדֶּךָ (lÿvadekha) is appositional, underscoring the possession as exclusive.

[5:17]  ¹⁴ sn The point is that what is private is not to be shared with strangers; it belongs in the home and in the marriage. The water from that cistern is not to be channeled to strangers or to the public.

[1:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Throw in your lot with us.” This is a figurative expression (hypocatastasis) urging the naive to join their life of crime and divide their loot equally. The noun גּוֹרָל (goral, “lot”) can refer to (1) lot thrown for decision-making processes, e.g., choosing the scapegoat (Lev 16:8), discovering a guilty party (Jonah 1:7) or allocating property (Josh 18:6); (2) allotted portion (Josh 15:1) and (3) allotted fate or future destiny (Prov 1:14; Dan 12:13; see BDB 174 s.v.). Here the criminals urged the lad to share their life. The verb תַּפִּיל (tappil) is an imperfect of injunction: “Throw in…!” but might also be an imperfect of permission: “you may throw.” It functions metonymically as an invitation to join their life of crime: “share with us” (BDB 658 s.v. 3).

[1:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “there will be to all of us.”

[1:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “one purse” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV). The term כִּיס (kis, “purse; bag”) is a synecdoche of container (= purse) for contents (= stolen goods). The adjective אֶחָד (’ekhad, “one”) indicates that the thieves promised to share equally in what they had stolen.

[16:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “low of spirit”; KJV “of an humble spirit.” This expression describes the person who is humble and submissive before the Lord and therefore inoffensive. It is always necessary to have a humble spirit, whether there is wealth or not.

[16:19]  ²⁰ tn Heb “than to divide plunder.” The word “plunder” implies that the wealth taken by the proud was taken violently and wrongfully – spoils are usually taken in warfare. R. N. Whybray translates it with “loot” (Proverbs [CBC], 95). The proud are in rebellion against God, overbearing and oppressive. One should never share the “loot” with them.

[22:9]  ²² tn Heb “good of eye.” This expression is an attributed genitive meaning “bountiful of eye” (cf. KJV, ASV “He that hath a bountiful eye”). This is the opposite of the “evil eye” which is covetous and wicked. The “eye” is a metonymy representing looking well to people’s needs. So this refers to the generous person (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[22:9]  ²³ tn The form יְבֹרָךְ (yÿvorakh) is a Pual imperfect (here in pause) from בָּרַךְ (barakh); the word means “blessed” in the sense of “enriched,” implying there is a practical reward for being generous to the poor.

[22:9]  ²⁴ sn It is from his own food that he gives to the poor. Of the many observations that could be made, it is worth noting that in blessing this kind of person God is in fact providing for the poor, because out of his blessing he will surely continue to share more.

[5:15]  ²⁵ sn Paul Kruger develops this section as an allegory consisting of a series of metaphors. He suggests that what is at issue is private versus common property. The images of the cistern, well, or fountain are used of a wife (e.g., Song 4:15) because she, like water, satisfies desires. Streams of water in the street would then mean sexual contact with a lewd woman. According to 7:12 she never stays home but is in the streets and is the property of many (P. Kruger, “Promiscuity and Marriage Fidelity? A Note on Prov 5:15-18,” JNSL 13 [1987]: 61-68).

[17:17]  ²⁸ sn The verse uses synonymous parallelism, so “friend” and “relative” are equated. Others, however, will take the verse with antithetical parallelism: W. G. Plaut argues that friendship is a spiritual relationship whereas a brother’s ties are based on a blood relationship – often adversity is the only thing that brings brothers together (Proverbs, 189).

[17:17]  ²⁹ tn Heb “a brother.”

[17:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “is born for adversity.” This is not referring to sibling rivalry but to the loyalty a brother shows during times of calamity. This is not to say that a brother only shows loyalty when there is trouble, nor that he always does in these times (e.g., 18:19, 24; 19:7; 27:10). The true friend is the same as a brotherly relation – in times of greatest need the loyal love is displayed.

[7:15]  ³¹ tn Heb “to look diligently for your face.”

[29:24]  ³⁴ sn The expression shares with a thief describes someone who is an “accomplice” (cf. NAB, NIV) because he is willing to share in the loot without taking part in the crime.

[29:24]  ³⁵ tn Heb “hates his soul.” The accomplice is working against himself, for he will be punished along with the thief if he is caught.

[29:24]  ³⁶ tn Heb “oath” or “imprecation”; ASV “adjuration.” This amounted to an “oath” or “curse” (cf. NAB “he hears himself put under a curse”; NRSV “one hears the victim’s curse”) either by or on behalf of the victim, that any witness to the crime must testify (cf. Lev 5:1). However, in this legal setting referring to “a victim’s curse” could be misleading (cf. also KJV “he heareth cursing”), since it could be understood to refer to profanity directed against those guilty of the crime rather than an imprecation called down on a witness who refused to testify (as in the present proverb). The present translation specifies this as an “oath to testify.”

[31:31]  ³⁷ tn The first word of the twenty-second line begins with ת (tav), the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:31]  ³⁸ tn Heb “Give her from the fruit of her hands.” The expression “the fruit of her hands” employs two figures. The word “fruit” is a figure known as hypocatastasis, an implied comparison, meaning “what she produces.” The word “hand” is a metonymy of cause, meaning her efforts to produce things. So the line is saying essentially “give her her due.” This would either mean give her credit for what she has done (the option followed by the present translation; cf. TEV) or reward her for what she has done (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT).

[31:31]  ³⁹ sn Psalm 111 began with the imperative יָה הָלְלוּ (halÿlu yah, “praise the Lord”), and this poem ends with the jussive וִיהָלְלוּהָּ (vihalÿluha, “and let [her works] praise her”). Psalm 111:2 speaks of God’s works, and this verse of the woman’s (or wisdom’s) works that deserve praise.

[31:31]  ⁴⁰ tn “Gates” is a metonymy of subject. It refers to the people and the activity that occurs in the gates – business dealings, legal transactions, and social meetings. The term “city” is supplied in the translation for clarity. One is reminded of the acclaim given to Ruth by Boaz: “for all the gate of my people knows that you are a noble woman [אֵשֶׁת חַיִל, ’eshet khayil]” (Ruth 3:11).