Proverbs 2:19

2:19 None who go in to her will return, ¹ 

nor will they reach the paths of life. ² 

Proverbs 5:13

5:13 For ³  I did not obey my teachers ⁴ 

and I did not heed ⁵  my instructors. ⁶ 

Proverbs 6:34

6:34 for jealousy kindles ⁷  a husband’s ⁸  rage,

and he will not show mercy ⁹  when he takes revenge.

Proverbs 9:18

9:18 But they do not realize ¹⁰  that the dead ¹¹  are there,

that her guests are in the depths of the grave. ¹² 

Proverbs 10:22

10:22 The blessing ¹³  from the Lord ¹⁴  makes a person rich, ¹⁵ 

and he adds no sorrow ¹⁶  to ¹⁷  it.

Proverbs 17:21

17:21 Whoever brings a fool ¹⁸  into the world ¹⁹  does so ²⁰  to his grief,

and the father of a fool has no joy. ²¹ 

Proverbs 21:26

21:26 All day long he craves greedily, ²² 

but the righteous gives and does not hold back. ²³ 

Proverbs 27:2

27:2 Let another ²⁴  praise you, and not your own mouth; ²⁵ 

someone else, ²⁶  and not your own lips.

Proverbs 30:2

30:2 Surely ²⁷  I am more brutish ²⁸  than any other human being, ²⁹ 

and I do not have human understanding; ³⁰ 

Proverbs 30:30

30:30 a lion, mightiest ³¹  of the beasts,

who does not retreat from anything;

Proverbs 31:12

31:12 She brings him ³²  good and not evil ³³ 

all the days of her life.

[2:19]  ¹ tn Heb “all who go in to her will not return.”

[2:19]  ² sn The phrase “reach the paths of life” is a figurative expression for experiencing joy and fullness of blessing (BDB 673 s.v. נָשַׂג 2.a).

[5:13]  ³ tn The vav that introduces this clause functions in an explanatory sense.

[5:13]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term מוֹרַי (moray) is the nominal form based on the Hiphil plural participle with a suffix, from the root יָרָה (yarah). The verb is “to teach,” the common noun is “instruction, law [torah],” and this participle form is teacher (“my teachers”).

[5:13]  ⁵ sn The idioms are vivid: This expression is “incline the ear”; earlier in the first line is “listen to the voice,” meaning “obey.” Such detailed description emphasizes the importance of the material.

[5:13]  ⁶ tn The form is the Piel plural participle of לָמַד (lamad) used substantivally.

[6:34]  ⁵ tn The word “kindles” was supplied in the translation; both “rage” and “jealousy” have meanings connected to heat.

[6:34]  ⁶ tn Heb “a man’s.”

[6:34]  ⁷ tn The verb חָמַל (khamal) means “to show mercy; to show compassion; to show pity,” usually with the outcome of sparing or delivering someone. The idea here is that the husband will not spare the guilty man any of the punishment (cf. NRSV “he shows no restraint”).

[9:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “he does not know.”

[9:18]  ⁸ sn The “dead” are the Rephaim, the “shades” or dead persons who lead a shadowy existence in Sheol (e.g., Prov 2:18-19; Job 3:13-19; Ps 88:5; Isa 14:9-11). This approximates an “as-if” motif of wisdom literature: The ones ensnared in folly are as good as in Hell. See also Ptah-hotep’s sayings (ANET 412-414).

[9:18]  ⁹ tc The LXX adds to the end of v. 18: “But turn away, linger not in the place, neither set your eye on her: for thus will you go through alien water; but abstain from alien water, drink not from an alien fountain, that you may live long, that years of life may be added to you.”

[10:22]  ⁹ tn The term בְּרָכָּה (bÿrakhah, “blessing”) refers to a gift, enrichment or endowment from the Lord.

[10:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “of the Lord.” The term יְהוָה (yÿhvah, “the Lord”) functions here as a genitive of source.

[10:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “makes rich” (so NASB); NAB “brings wealth.” The direct object “a person” does not appear in the Hebrew but is implied by the Hiphil verb; it is supplied in the translation.

[10:22]  ¹² tn Heb “toil.” The noun עֶצֶב (’etsev) has a basic two-fold range of meanings: (1) “toil; labor” which produces pain and sorrow, and (2) “pain; sorrow” which is the result of toil and labor (BDB 780 s.v.). This is the word used of the curse of “toil” in man’s labor (Gen 3:17) and the “pain” in the woman’s child-bearing (Gen 3:16). God’s blessing is pure and untarnished – it does not bring physical pain or emotional sorrow.

[10:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “with.”

[17:21]  ¹¹ sn Here the Hebrew terms כְּסִיל (kÿsil) and נָבָל (naval) are paired. The first one, which occurs about fifty times in the book, refers to a dullard, whether it be in spiritual, intellectual, or moral matters. The second word, rare in the book, primarily focuses on religious folly – it refers to the practical atheist, the one who lives as if there is no God.

[17:21]  ¹² tn The form simply means “bears” or “gives birth to,” but since it is masculine it could be rendered “fathers” (cf. NASB “he who begets a fool”; NIV “To have a fool for a son”). The form for “fool” is masculine, but the proverb is not limited only to male children (cf. NCV “It is sad to have a foolish child”).

[17:21]  ¹³ tn The phrase “does so” is supplied for the sake of clarification.

[17:21]  ¹⁴ sn Parents of fools, who had hoped for children who would be a credit to the family, find only bitter disappointment (cf. TEV “nothing but sadness and sorrow”).

[21:26]  ¹³ tn The construction uses the Hitpael perfect tense הִתְאַוָּה (hit’avvah) followed by the cognate accusative תַאֲוָה (ta’avah). It describes one who is consumed with craving for more. The verse has been placed with the preceding because of the literary connection with “desire/craving.”

[21:26]  ¹⁴ sn The additional clause, “and does not hold back,” emphasizes that when the righteous gives he gives freely, without fearing that his generosity will bring him to poverty. This is the contrast with the one who is self-indulgent and craves for more.

[27:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a stranger.” This does not necessarily refer to a non-Israelite, as has been demonstrated before in the book of Proverbs, but these are people outside the familiar and accepted circles. The point is that such a person would be objective in speaking about your abilities and accomplishments.

[27:2]  ¹⁶ sn “Mouth” and “lips” are metonymies of cause; they mean “what is said.” People should try to avoid praising themselves. Self praise can easily become a form of pride, even if it begins with trivial things. It does not establish a reputation; reputation comes from what others think about you.

[27:2]  ¹⁷ tn “a foreigner”; KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV “a stranger.”

[30:2]  ¹⁷ tn The particle כִּי (ki) functions in an asseverative sense, “surely; indeed; truly” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §449).

[30:2]  ¹⁸ tn The noun בַּעַר (ba’ar) means “brutishness”; here it functions as a predicate adjective. It is followed by מֵאִישׁ (me’ish) expressing comparative degree: “more than a man” or “more than any man,” with “man” used in a generic sense. He is saying that he has fallen beneath the level of mankind. Cf. NRSV “I am too stupid to be human.”

[30:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “than man.” The verse is using hyperbole; this individual feels as if he has no intelligence at all, that he is more brutish than any other human. Of course this is not true, or he would not be able to speculate on the God of the universe at all.

[30:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the understanding of a man,” with “man” used attributively here.

[30:30]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “mighty among the beasts,” but referring to a superlative degree (“mightiest”).

[31:12]  ²¹ tn The first word of the third line begins with ג (gimel), the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:12]  ²² sn The joining of these two words, “good” and “evil,” is frequent in the Bible; they contrast the prosperity and well-being of her contribution with what would be devastating and painful. The way of wisdom is always characterized by “good”; the way of folly is associated with “evil.”