Proverbs 18:1-2

18:1 One who has isolated himself ¹  seeks his own desires; ² 

he rejects ³  all sound judgment.

18:2 A fool takes no pleasure ⁴  in understanding

but only in disclosing ⁵  what is on his mind. ⁶ 

Proverbs 24:13-14

24:13 Eat honey, ⁷  my child, for it is good,

and honey from the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.

24:14 Likewise, know ⁸  that wisdom is sweet ⁹  to your soul;

if you find it, ¹⁰  you will have a future, ¹¹ 

and your hope will not be cut off.

Job 23:12

23:12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my allotted portion. ¹² 

Psalms 19:10

19:10 They are of greater value ¹³  than gold,

than even a great amount of pure gold;

they bring greater delight ¹⁴  than honey,

than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.

Psalms 104:34

104:34 May my thoughts ¹⁵  be pleasing to him!

I will rejoice in the Lord.

Psalms 119:97

מ (Mem)

119:97 O how I love your law!

All day long I meditate on it.

Psalms 119:103

119:103 Your words are sweeter

in my mouth than honey! ¹⁶ 

Psalms 119:111

119:111 I claim your rules as my permanent possession,

for they give me joy. ¹⁷ 

Psalms 119:162

119:162 I rejoice in your instructions,

like one who finds much plunder. ¹⁸ 

Jeremiah 15:16

15:16 As your words came to me I drank them in, ¹⁹ 

and they filled my heart with joy and happiness

because I belong to you. ²⁰ 

Colossians 3:16

3:16 Let the word of Christ ²¹  dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace ²²  in your hearts to God.

[18:1]  ¹ tn The Niphal participle functions substantively and has a reflexive nuance: “one who has separated himself” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). He is not merely anti-social; he is a problem for society since he will defy sound judgment. The Mishnah uses the verse to teach the necessity of being part of a community because people have social responsibilities and need each other (m. Avot 2:4).

[18:1]  ² tc The MT has “seeks [his own] desire[s].” The translation in the LXX represents a Hebrew Vorlage of לְתֹאֲנָה (lÿto’anah) instead of לְתַאֲוָה (lÿta’avah); this could be translated “seeks his own occasion,” that is, “his own pretext” (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 354; cf. NAB). The MT makes sense as it stands and the emendation is not really necessary.

[18:1]  ³ tn Heb “breaks out”; NRSV “showing contempt for”; NLT “snarling at.” This individual breaks out in contention against sound judgment. He is in opposition to society (e.g., Prov 17:14; 20:3).

[18:2]  ⁴ sn This expression forms an understatement (tapeinosis); the opposite is the point – he detests understanding or discernment.

[18:2]  ⁵ tn The Hitpael infinitive construct בְּהִתְגַּלּוֹת (bÿhitgalot) functions nominally as the object of the preposition. The term means “reveal, uncover, betray.” So the fool takes pleasure “in uncovering” his heart.

[18:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “his heart.” This is a metonymy meaning “what is on his mind” (cf. NAB “displaying what he thinks”; NRSV “expressing personal opinion”). This kind of person is in love with his own ideas and enjoys spewing them out (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 515). It is the kind of person who would ask a question, not to learn, but to show everyone how clever he is (cf. TEV).

[24:13]  ⁷ sn The twenty-sixth saying teaches that one should develop wisdom because it has a profitable future. The saying draws on the image of honey; its health-giving properties make a good analogy to wisdom.

[24:14]  ⁸ tn D. W. Thomas argues for a meaning of “seek” in place of “know” (“Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 38 [1937]: 400-403).

[24:14]  ⁹ tn The phrase “is sweet” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[24:14]  ¹⁰ tn The term “it” is supplied in the translation.

[24:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “there will be an end.” The word is אַחֲרִית (’akhrit, “after-part, end”). BDB 31 s.v. b says in a passage like this it means “a future,” i.e., a happy close of life, sometimes suggesting the idea of posterity promised to the righteous, often parallel to “hope.”

[23:12]  ¹² tc The form in the MT (מֵחֻקִּי, mekhuqqi) means “more than my portion” or “more than my law.” An expanded meaning results in “more than my necessary food” (see Ps 119:11; cf. KJV, NASB, ESV). HALOT 346 s.v. חֹק 1 indicates that חֹק (khoq) has the meaning of “portion” and is here a reference to “what is appointed for me.” The LXX and the Latin versions, along with many commentators, have בְּחֵקִי (bÿkheqi, “in my bosom”).

[19:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “more desirable.”

[19:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “are sweeter.” God’s law is “sweet’ in the sense that, when obeyed, it brings a great reward (see v. 11b).

[104:34]  ¹⁵ tn That is, the psalmist’s thoughts as expressed in his songs of praise.

[119:103]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “How smooth they are to my palate, your word, more than honey to my mouth.” A few medieval Hebrew mss, as well as several other ancient witnesses, read the plural “your words,” which can then be understood as the subject of the plural verb “they are smooth.”

[119:111]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “for the joy of my heart [are] they.”

[119:162]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “like one who finds great plunder.” See Judg 5:30. The image is that of a victorious warrior who finds a large amount of plunder on the field of battle.

[15:16]  ¹⁹ sn Heb “Your words were found and I ate them.” This along with Ezek 2:8–3:3 is a poetic picture of inspiration. The prophet accepted them, assimilated them, and made them such a part of himself that he spoke with complete assurance what he knew were God’s words.

[15:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Your name is called upon me.”

[3:16]  ²¹ tc Since “the word of Christ” occurs nowhere else in the NT, two predictable variants arose: “word of God” and “word of the Lord.” Even though some of the witnesses for these variants are impressive (κυρίου [kuriou, “of the Lord”] in א* I 1175 pc bo; θεοῦ [qeou, “of God”] in A C* 33 104 323 945 al), the reading Χριστοῦ (Cristou, “of Christ”) is read by an excellent cross-section of witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א² B C² D F G Ψ 075 1739 1881 Ï lat sa). On both internal and external grounds, Χριστοῦ is strongly preferred.

[3:16]  ²² tn Grk “with grace”; “all” is supplied as it is implicitly related to all the previous instructions in the verse.