Proverbs 15:23

15:23 A person has joy ¹  in giving an appropriate answer, ² 

and a word at the right time ³  – how good it is!

Proverbs 15:28

15:28 The heart of the righteous considers ⁴  how ⁵  to answer, ⁶ 

but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. ⁷ 

Proverbs 12:23

12:23 The shrewd person ⁸  conceals ⁹  knowledge,

but foolish people ¹⁰  publicize folly. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 13:16

13:16 Every shrewd ¹²  person acts with knowledge,

but a fool displays ¹³  his folly.

Proverbs 16:23

16:23 A wise person’s heart ¹⁴  makes his speech wise ¹⁵ 

and it adds persuasiveness ¹⁶  to his words. ¹⁷ 

Proverbs 25:11-12

25:11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver, ¹⁸ 

so is a word skillfully spoken. ¹⁹ 

25:12 Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold, ²⁰ 

so is a wise reprover to the ear of the one who listens. ²¹ 

Psalms 45:1

Psalm 45 ²² 

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” ²³  by the Korahites, a well-written poem, ²⁴  a love song.

45:1 My heart is stirred by a beautiful song. ²⁵ 

I say, “I have composed this special song ²⁶  for the king;

my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.” ²⁷ 

Ecclesiastes 10:12-13

Words and Works of Wise Men and Fools

10:12 The words of a wise person ²⁸  win him ²⁹  favor, ³⁰ 

but the words ³¹  of a fool are self-destructive. ³² 

10:13 At the beginning his words ³³  are foolish

and at the end ³⁴  his talk ³⁵  is wicked madness, ³⁶ 

Isaiah 50:4

The Servant Perseveres

50:4 The sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, ³⁷ 

so that I know how to help the weary. ³⁸ 

He wakes me up every morning;

he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do. ³⁹ 

[15:23]  ¹ tn Heb “joy to the man” or “the man has joy.”

[15:23]  ² tn Heb “in the answer of his mouth” (so ASV); NASB “in an apt answer.” The term “mouth” is a metonymy of cause for what he says. But because the parallelism is loosely synonymous, the answer given here must be equal to the good word spoken in season. So it is an answer that is proper or fitting.

[15:23]  ³ tn Heb “in its season.” To say the right thing at the right time is useful; to say the right thing at the wrong time is counterproductive.

[15:28]  ⁴ tn The verb יֶהְגֶּה (yehgeh) means “to muse; to meditate; to consider; to study.” It also involves planning, such as with the wicked “planning” a vain thing (Ps 2:1, which is contrasted with the righteous who “meditate” in the law [1:2]).

[15:28]  ⁵ tn The word “how” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:28]  ⁶ tc The LXX reads: “the hearts of the righteous meditate faithfulness.”

[15:28]  ⁷ sn The form is plural. What they say (the “mouth” is a metonymy of cause) is any range of harmful things.

[12:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “a shrewd man” (so NAB); KJV, NIV “a prudent man”; NRSV “One who is clever.”

[12:23]  ⁹ sn The term כֹּסֶה (koseh, “covers; hides”) does not mean that he never shares his knowledge, but discerns when it is and is not appropriate to speak.

[12:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the heart of fools.” The term לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= heart) for the whole (= person): “foolish people.” This type of fool despises correction and instruction. His intent is to proclaim all that he does – which is folly. W. McKane says that the more one speaks, the less likely he is able to speak effectively (Proverbs [OTL], 422). Cf. TEV “stupid people advertise their ignorance”; NLT “fools broadcast their folly.”

[12:23]  ¹¹ sn The noun אִוֶּלֶת (’ivvelet, “foolishness; folly”) is the antithesis of perception and understanding. It is related to the noun אֱוִּיל (’evvil, “fool”), one who is morally bad because he despises wisdom and discipline, mocks at guilt, is licentious and quarrelsome, and is almost impossible to rebuke.

[13:16]  ¹² sn The shrewd person knows the circumstances, dangers and pitfalls that lie ahead. So he deals with them wisely. This makes him cautious.

[13:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “spreads open” [his folly]. W. McKane suggests that this is a figure of a peddler displaying his wares (Proverbs [OTL], 456; cf. NAB “the fool peddles folly”). If given a chance, a fool will reveal his foolishness in public. But the wise study the facts and make decisions accordingly.

[16:23]  ¹⁴ tn Or “mind” (cf. NCV, NRSV, NLT).

[16:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “makes wise his mouth,” with “mouth” being a metonymy of cause for what is said: “speech.”

[16:23]  ¹⁶ sn Those who are wise say wise things. The proverb uses synthetic parallelism: The first line asserts that the wise heart ensures that what is said is wise, and the second line adds that such a person increases the reception of what is said.

[16:23]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to his lips.” The term “lips” functions as a metonymy of cause for what is said.

[25:11]  ¹⁸ sn The verse uses emblematic parallelism, stating the simile in the first part and the point in the second. The meaning of the simile is not entirely clear, but it does speak of beauty, value, and artistry. The “apples of gold” (possibly citrons, quinces, oranges, or apricots) may refer to carvings of fruit in gold on columns.

[25:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “on its wheels.” This expression means “aptly, fittingly.” The point is obviously about the immense value and memorable beauty of words used skillfully (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 148). Noting the meaning of the term and the dual form of the word, W. McKane suggests that the expression is metaphorical for the balancing halves of a Hebrew parallel wisdom saying: “The stichos is a wheel, and the sentence consisting of two wheels is a ‘well-turned’ expression” (Proverbs [OTL], 584). The line then would be describing a balanced, well-turned saying, a proverb; it is skillfully constructed, beautifully written, and of lasting value.

[25:12]  ²⁰ sn This saying is another example of emblematic parallelism; the first half is the simile, and the second half makes the point from it: A wise rebuke that is properly received is of lasting value. The rebuke in the ear of an obedient student is like ornaments of fine jewelry.

[25:12]  ²¹ tn The “ear of the listener” refers to the obedient disciple, the one who complies with the reproof he hears. Cf. KJV, ASV, NAB “an obedient ear.”

[45:1]  ²² sn Psalm 45. This is a romantic poem celebrating the Davidic king’s marriage to a lovely princess. The psalmist praises the king for his military prowess and commitment to justice, urges the bride to be loyal to the king, and anticipates that the marriage will be blessed with royal offspring.

[45:1]  ²³ tn Heb “according to lilies.” “Lilies” may be a tune title or musical style, suggestive of romantic love. The imagery of a “lily” appears frequently in the Song of Solomon in a variety of contexts (see 2:1-2, 16; 4:5; 5:13; 6:2-3; 7:2).

[45:1]  ²⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 42.

[45:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “[with] a good word.” The “good word” probably refers here to the song that follows.

[45:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “my works [are] for a king.” The plural “works” may here indicate degree, referring to the special musical composition that follows.

[45:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “my tongue [is] a stylus of a skillful scribe.” Words flow from the psalmist’s tongue just as they do from a scribe’s stylus.

[10:12]  ²⁸ tn Heb “of a wise man’s mouth.”

[10:12]  ²⁹ tn The phrase “win him” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:12]  ³⁰ tn Or “are gracious.” The antithetical parallelism suggests that חֵן (khen) does not denote “gracious character” but “[gain] favor” (e.g., Gen 39:21; Exod 3:21; 11:3; 12:36; Prov 3:4, 34; 13:15; 22:1; 28:23; Eccl 9:11); cf. HALOT 332 s.v. חֵן 2; BDB 336 s.v. חֵן 2. The LXX, on the other hand, rendered חֶן with χάρις (caris, “gracious”). The English versions are divided: “are gracious” (KJV, YLT, ASV, NASB, NIV) and “win him favor” (NEB, RSV, NRSV, NAB, MLB, NJPS, Moffatt).

[10:12]  ³¹ tn Heb “lips.”

[10:12]  ³² tn Heb “consume him”; or “engulf him.” The verb I בלע (“to swallow”) creates a striking wordplay on the homonymic root II בלע (“to speak eloquently”; HALOT 134-35 s.v בלע). Rather than speaking eloquently (II בלע, “to speak eloquently”), the fool utters words that are self-destructive (I בלע, “to swallow, engulf”).

[10:13]  ³³ tn Heb “the words of his mouth.”

[10:13]  ³⁴ sn The terms “beginning” and “end” form a merism, a figure of speech in which two opposites are contrasted to indicate totality (e.g., Deut 6:7; Ps 139:8; Eccl 3:2-8). The words of a fool are madness from “start to finish.”

[10:13]  ³⁵ tn Heb “his mouth.”

[10:13]  ³⁶ tn Heb “madness of evil.”

[50:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “has given to me a tongue of disciples.”

[50:4]  ³⁸ tc Heb “to know [?] the weary with a word.” Comparing it with Arabic and Aramaic cognates yields the meaning of “help, sustain.” Nevertheless, the meaning of עוּת (’ut) is uncertain. The word occurs only here in the OT (see BDB 736 s.v.). Various scholars have suggested an emendation to עָנוֹת (’anot) from עָנָה (’anah, “answer”): “so that I know how to respond kindly to the weary.” Since the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and the Vulgate support the MT reading, that reading is retained.

[50:4]  ³⁹ tn Heb “he arouses for me an ear, to hear like disciples.”