Proverbs 18:20

18:20 From the fruit of a person’s mouth ¹  his stomach is satisfied, ² 

with the product of his lips is he satisfied.

Proverbs 27:20

27:20 As ³  Death and Destruction are never satisfied, ⁴ 

so the eyes of a person ⁵  are never satisfied. ⁶ 

Proverbs 28:19

28:19 The one who works his land will be satisfied with food, ⁷ 

but whoever chases daydreams ⁸  will have his fill ⁹  of poverty.

Proverbs 1:31

1:31 Therefore ¹⁰  they will eat from the fruit ¹¹  of their way, ¹² 

and they will be stuffed full ¹³  of their own counsel.

Proverbs 5:10

5:10 lest strangers devour ¹⁴  your strength, ¹⁵ 

and your labor ¹⁶  benefit ¹⁷  another man’s house.

Proverbs 12:11

12:11 The one who works ¹⁸  his field will have plenty ¹⁹  of food,

but whoever chases daydreams ²⁰  lacks wisdom. ²¹ 

Proverbs 14:14

14:14 The backslider ²²  will be paid back ²³  from his own ways,

but a good person will be rewarded ²⁴  for his.

Proverbs 25:16-17

25:16 When you find ²⁵  honey, eat only what is sufficient for you,

lest you become stuffed ²⁶  with it and vomit it up. ²⁷ 

25:17 Don’t set foot too frequently ²⁸  in your neighbor’s house,

lest he become weary ²⁹  of you and hate you.

Proverbs 30:22

30:22 under a servant ³⁰  who becomes king,

under a fool who is stuffed with food, ³¹ 

Proverbs 12:14

12:14 A person will be satisfied with good from the fruit of his words, ³² 

and the work of his hands ³³  will be rendered to ³⁴  him.

Proverbs 20:13

20:13 Do not love sleep, ³⁵  lest you become impoverished;

open your eyes so that ³⁶  you might be satisfied with food. ³⁷ 

Proverbs 30:9

30:9 lest I become satisfied and act deceptively ³⁸ 

and say, “Who is the Lord?”

Or lest I become poor and steal

and demean ³⁹  the name of my God.

Proverbs 30:16

30:16 the grave, ⁴⁰  the barren womb, ⁴¹ 

land that is not satisfied with water,

and fire that never says, “Enough!” ⁴² 

Proverbs 30:15

30:15 The leech ⁴³  has two daughters: ⁴⁴ 

“Give! Give!” ⁴⁵ 

There are three things that are never satisfied,

four ⁴⁶  that never say, “Enough” ⁴⁷  –

[18:20]  ¹ sn Two images are used in this proverb: the fruit of the mouth and the harvest of the lips. They are synonymous; the first is applied to the orchard and the second to the field. The “mouth” and the “lips” are metonymies of cause, and so both lines are speaking about speech that is productive.

[18:20]  ² tn Heb “his midst.” This is rendered “his stomach” because of the use of שָׂבַע (sava’, “to be satisfied; to be sated; to be filled”), which is usually used with food (cf. KJV, ASV “belly”).

[27:20]  ³ tn The term “as” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation in light of the analogy.

[27:20]  ⁴ sn Countless generations of people have gone into the world below; yet “death” is never satisfied – it always takes more. The line personifies Death and Destruction. It forms the emblem in the parallelism.

[27:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “eyes of a man.” This expression refers to the desires – what the individual looks longingly on. Ecclesiastes Rabbah 1:34 (one of the rabbinic Midrashim) says, “No man dies and has one-half of what he wanted.”

[27:20]  ⁶ tc The LXX contains a scribal addition: “He who fixes his eye is an abomination to the Lord, and the uninstructed do not restrain their tongues.” This is unlikely to be original.

[28:19]  ⁵ tn Or “will have plenty of food” (Heb “bread”); so NAB, NASB, NCV.

[28:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “empty things” or “vain things”; NRSV “follows worthless pursuits.”

[28:19]  ⁷ tn The repetition of the verb strengthens the contrast. Both halves of the verse use the verb יִשְׂבַּע (yisba’, “will be satisfied; will be filled with; will have enough”). It is positive in the first colon, but negative in the second – with an ironic twist to say one is “satisfied” with poverty.

[1:31]  ⁷ tn The vav (ו) prefixed to the verb וְיֹאכְלוּ (vÿyo’khÿlu) functions in a consecutive logical sense: “therefore.”

[1:31]  ⁸ sn The expression “eat the fruit of” is a figurative expression (hypocatastasis) that compares the consequences of sin to agricultural growth that culminates in produce. They will suffer the consequences of their sinful actions, that is, they will “reap” what they “sow.”

[1:31]  ⁹ sn The words “way” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) and “counsel” (מוֹעֵצָה, mo’etsah) stand in strong contrast to the instruction of wisdom which gave counsel and rebuke to encourage a better way. They will bear the consequences of the course they follow and the advice they take (for that wrong advice, e.g., Ps 1:1).

[1:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to eat to one’s fill.” The verb שָׂבֵעַ (savea’) means (1) positive: “to eat one’s fill” so that one’s appetite is satisfied and (2) negative: “to eat in excess” as a glutton to the point of sickness and revulsion (BDB 959 s.v.). Fools will not only “eat” the fruit of their own way (v. 31a), they will be force-fed this revolting “menu” which will make them want to vomit (v. 31b) and eventually kill them (v. 32).

[5:10]  ⁹ tn Or “are sated, satisfied.”

[5:10]  ¹⁰ tn The word כֹּחַ (coakh, “strength”) refers to what laborious toil would produce (so a metonymy of cause). Everything that this person worked for could become the property for others to enjoy.

[5:10]  ¹¹ tn “labor, painful toil.”

[5:10]  ¹² tn The term “benefit” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[12:11]  ¹¹ sn In the biblical period agriculture was the most common occupation for the people; so “working a field” describes a substantial occupation, but also represents working in general. Diligent work, not get-rich-quick schemes, is the key to ensuring income.

[12:11]  ¹² tn Heb “will have his fill of” or “will be satisfied with.”

[12:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “empty things” or “vain things.” The term רֵיקִים (reqim) refers to worthless pursuits in an effort to make money. The fact that the participle used is “chase after” shows how elusive these are. Cf. NIV “fantasies”; NCV “empty dreams”; TEV “useless projects.”

[12:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “heart.” The term לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as a metonymy of association for wisdom (BDB 524 s.v. 3).

[14:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “a turning away of heart.” The genitive לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as an attributive adjective: “a backslidden heart.” The term סוּג (sug) means “to move away; to move backwards; to depart; to backslide” (BDB 690 s.v. I סוּג). This individual is the one who backslides, that is, who departs from the path of righteousness.

[14:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “will be filled”; cf. KJV, ASV. The verb (“to be filled, to be satisfied”) here means “to be repaid,” that is, to partake in his own evil ways. His faithlessness will come back to haunt him.

[14:14]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase “will be rewarded” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[25:16]  ¹⁵ tn The verse simply begins “you have found honey.” Some turn this into an interrogative clause for the condition laid down (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NLT); most make the form in some way subordinate to the following instruction: “when you find…eat.”

[25:16]  ¹⁶ tn The verb means “to be satisfied; to be sated; to be filled.” Here it means more than satisfied, since it describes one who overindulges and becomes sick. The English verb “stuffed” conveys this idea well.

[25:16]  ¹⁷ sn The proverb warns that anything overindulged in can become sickening. The verse uses formal parallelism to express first the condition and then its consequences. It teaches that moderation is wise in the pleasures of life.

[25:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “make your foot rare.” The verb is הֹקַר (hoqar), the Hiphil imperative of יָקַר (yaqar, “to be rare; to be precious”). To “make one’s foot rare” would mean to keep the visits to a minimum as well as making them valuable – things increase in value, according to the nuances of this word, when they are rare.

[25:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “gets full.” This verb means “to be sated; to be satisfied; to be filled.” It is often used with reference to food, but here it refers to frequent visits that wear out one’s welcome (cf. NLT).

[30:22]  ¹⁹ sn A servant coming to power could become a tyrant if he is unaccustomed to the use of such power, or he might retain the attitude of a servant and be useless as a leader.

[30:22]  ²⁰ tn Heb “filled with food” (so ASV); NASB “satisfied with food”; NAB, NRSV “glutted with food”; CEV “who eats too much”; NLT “who prospers.”

[12:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “fruit of the lips.” The term “fruit” is the implied comparison, meaning what is produced; and “lips” is the metonymy of cause, referring to speech. Proper speech will result in good things.

[12:14]  ²² tn Heb “the work of the hands of a man.”

[12:14]  ²³ tc The Kethib has the Qal imperfect, “will return” to him (cf. NASB); the Qere preserves a Hiphil imperfect, “he/one will restore/render” to him (cf. KJV, ASV). The Qere seems to suggest that someone (God or people) will reward him in kind. Since there is no expressed subject, it may be translated as a passive voice.

[20:13]  ²³ sn The proverb uses antithetical parallelism to teach that diligence leads to prosperity. It contrasts loving sleep with opening the eyes, and poverty with satisfaction. Just as “sleep” can be used for slothfulness or laziness, so opening the eyes can represent vigorous, active conduct. The idioms have caught on in modern usage as well – things like “open your eyes” or “asleep on the job.”

[20:13]  ²⁴ tn The second line uses two imperatives in a sequence (without the vav [ו]): “open your eyes” and then (or, in order that) you will “be satisfied.”

[20:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “bread” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV), although the term often serves in a generic sense for food in general.

[30:9]  ²⁵ tn The verb כָּחַשׁ (kakhash) means “to be disappointing; to deceive; to fail; to grow lean.” In the Piel stem it means “to deceive; to act deceptively; to cringe; to disappoint.” The idea of acting deceptively is illustrated in Hos 9:2 where it has the connotation of “disowning” or “refusing to acknowledge” (a meaning very close to its meaning here).

[30:9]  ²⁶ tn The Hebrew verb literally means “to take hold of; to seize”; this produces the idea of doing violence to the reputation of God.

[30:16]  ²⁷ tn The term שְׁאוֹל (she’ol, “Sheol”) refers here to the realm of the dead: “the grave” (so KJV, NIV, NLT); cf. TEV, CEV “the world of the dead”; NAB “the nether world.”

[30:16]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the closing of the womb,” a situation especially troubling for one who is consumed with a desire for children (e.g., Gen 16:2; 30:1).

[30:16]  ²⁹ sn There is no clear lesson made from these observations. But one point that could be made is that greed, symbolized by the leech, is as insatiable as all these other things. If that is the case, the proverb would constitute a warning against the insatiable nature of greed.

[30:15]  ²⁹ sn The next two verses describe insatiable things, things that are problematic to normal life. The meaning of v. 15a and its relationship to 15b is debated. But the “leech” seems to have been selected to begin the section because it was symbolic of greed – it sucks blood through its two suckers. This may be what the reference to two daughters calling “Give! Give!” might signify (if so, this is an implied comparison, a figure known as hypocatastasis).

[30:15]  ³⁰ sn As one might expect, there have been various attempts to identify the “two daughters.” In the Rabbinic literature some identified Alukah (the “leech”) with Sheol, and the two daughters with paradise and hell, one claiming the righteous and the other the unrighteous; others identified Alukah with Gehenna, and the two daughters with heresy and government, neither of which is ever satisfied (Midrash Tehillim quoted by Rashi, a Jewish scholar who lived a.d. 1040-1105, and in the Talmud, b. Avodah Zarah 17a). J. J. Glueck suggests that what is in view is erotic passion (and not a leech) with its two maidens of burning desire crying for more (“Proverbs 30:15a,” VT 14 [1964]: 367-70). F. S. North rightly criticizes this view as gratuitous; he argues for the view of a leech with two suckers (“The Four Insatiables,” VT 15 [1965]: 281-82).

[30:15]  ³¹ tn The two imperatives הַב הַב (hav hav, “give, give,” from יָהַב, yahav) correspond to the two daughters, and form their appeal. This would then be a personification – it is as if the leech is crying out, “Give! Give!”

[30:15]  ³² sn There is a noticeable rhetorical sequence here: two daughters, three things, four (see W. M. Roth, “The Numerical Sequence x / x +1 in the Old Testament,” VT 12 [1962]: 300-311, and “Numerical Sayings in the Old Testament,” VT 13 [1965]: 86). W. McKane thinks the series builds to a climax with the four, and in the four the barren woman is the focal point, the other three being metaphors for her sexual desire (Proverbs [OTL], 656). This interpretation is a minority view, however, and has not won widespread support.

[30:15]  ³³ tn Throughout the book of Proverbs הוֹן (hon) means “wealth”; but here it has the nuance of “sufficiency” (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT “satisfied”) or “enough” (BDB 223 s.v.).