Proverbs 2:17

2:17 who leaves ¹  the husband ²  from her younger days, ³ 

and forgets her marriage covenant ⁴  made before God. ⁵ 

Proverbs 7:9

7:9 in the twilight, the evening, ⁶ 

in the dark of the night. ⁷ 

Proverbs 8:23

8:23 From eternity I was appointed, ⁸ 

from the beginning, from before the world existed. ⁹ 

Proverbs 24:2

24:2 for their hearts contemplate violence,

and their lips speak harm. ¹⁰ 

[2:17]  ¹ tn The construction is the active participle of עָזַב (’azav) with the article, serving as an attributive adjective. The verb means “to forsake; to leave; to abandon.”

[2:17]  ² tn Heb “companion” (so NAB, NASB); NIV “partner.” The term אַלּוּף (’alluf, “companion”) is from the root אָלַף (’alaf, “to be familiar with; to cleave to”) and refers to a woman’s husband (Prov 2:17; Jer 3:4; see BDB 48 s.v. אַלּוּף 2). This noun follows the passive adjectival formation and so signifies one who is well-known.

[2:17]  ³ tn Heb “of her youth.” The noun נְעוּרֶיהָ (nÿ’ureha, “her youth”) functions as a temporal genitive. The plural form is characteristic of nouns that refer to long periods of duration in the various stages of life. The time of “youth” encompasses the entire formative period within marriage.

[2:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “the covenant.” This could refer to the Mosaic covenant that prohibits adultery, or more likely, as in the present translation, the marriage covenant (cf. also TEV, CEV). The lexicons list this use of “covenant” (בְּרִית, bÿrit) among other referents to marriage (Prov 2:17; Ezek 16:8; Mal 2:14; BDB 136 s.v. 1.5; HALOT 157 s.v. A.9).

[2:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “covenant of God.” The genitive-construct could mean “covenant made before God.” The woman and her husband had made a marriage-covenant in which God was invoked as witness. Her sin is against her solemn pledge to her husband, as well as against God.

[7:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “in the evening of the day.”

[7:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the middle of the night, and dark”; KJV “in the black and dark night”; NRSV “at the time of night and darkness.”

[8:23]  ¹¹ tn The first parallel verb is נִסַּכְתִּי (nissakhti), “I was appointed.” It is not a common word; it occurs here and in Ps 2:6 for the coronation of the king. It means “installed, set.”

[8:23]  ¹² tn The verb “existed” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation in the light of the context.

[24:2]  ¹⁶ sn This nineteenth saying warns against evil associations. Evil people are obsessed with destruction and trouble. See on this theme 1:10-19; 3:31 and 23:17. D. Kidner observes that a close view of sinners is often a good antidote to envying them (Proverbs [TOTC], 153).