Proverbs 23:12

23:12 Apply ¹  your heart to instruction

and your ears to the words of knowledge.

Proverbs 23:26

23:26 Give me your heart, my son, ² 

and let your eyes observe my ways;

Proverbs 4:10-23

4:10 Listen, my child, ³  and accept my words,

so that ⁴  the years of your life will be many. ⁵ 

4:11 I will guide you ⁶  in the way of wisdom

and I will lead you in upright paths. ⁷ 

4:12 When you walk, your steps ⁸  will not be hampered, ⁹ 

and when you run, ¹⁰  you will not stumble.

4:13 Hold on to instruction, ¹¹  do not let it go;

protect it, ¹²  because it is your life.

4:14 Do not enter the path of the wicked

or walk ¹³  in the way of those who are evil.

4:15 Avoid it, do not go on it;

turn away from it, and go on. ¹⁴ 

4:16 For they cannot sleep unless they cause harm; ¹⁵ 

they are robbed of sleep ¹⁶  until they make someone stumble. ¹⁷ 

4:17 For they eat bread ¹⁸  gained from wickedness ¹⁹ 

and drink wine obtained from violence. ²⁰ 

4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light, ²¹ 

growing brighter and brighter ²²  until full day. ²³ 

4:19 The way of the wicked is like gloomy darkness; ²⁴ 

they do not know what causes them to stumble. ²⁵ 

4:20 My child, pay attention to my words;

listen attentively ²⁶  to my sayings.

4:21 Do not let them depart ²⁷  from your sight,

guard ²⁸  them within your heart; ²⁹ 

4:22 for they are life to those who find them

and healing to one’s entire body. ³⁰ 

4:23 Guard your heart with all vigilance, ³¹ 

for from it are the sources ³²  of life.

[23:12]  ¹ tn Heb “bring.” The Hiphil imperative “come; enter” means “to apply the heart,” to use the heart or mind in the process. The same would be true in the second half: “to bring the ears” would mean to listen very carefully. Cf. TEV “Pay attention.”

[23:26]  ² tn Heb “my son”; the reference to a “son” is retained in the translation here because in the following lines the advice is to avoid women who are prostitutes.

[4:10]  ³ tn Heb “my son” (likewise in v. 20).

[4:10]  ⁴ tn The vav prefixed to the imperfect verb follows an imperative; this volitive sequence depicts purpose/result.

[4:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the years of life will be many for you.”

[4:11]  ⁶ tn The form הֹרֵתִיךָ (horetikha) is the Hiphil perfect with a suffix from the root יָרָה (yarah, “to guide”). This and the parallel verb should be taken as instantaneous perfects, translated as an English present tense: The sage is now instructing or pointing the way.

[4:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the tracks of uprightness”; cf. NAB “on straightforward paths.” Both the verb and the object of the preposition make use of the idiom – the verb is the Hiphil perfect from דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, related to “road; way”) and the object is “wagon tracks, paths.”

[4:12]  ⁸ sn The noun צַעֲדֶךָ (tsa’adekha, “your steps”) and the temporal infinitive בְּלֶכְתְּךָ (belekhtÿkha, “when you walk”) use the idiom of walking to represent the course of life. On that course there will be no obstacles; the “path” will be straight – morally and practically.

[4:12]  ⁹ sn The verb צָרַר (tsarar, “to be narrow; to be constricted”) refers to that which is narrow or constricted, signifying distress, trouble, adversity; that which was wide-open or broad represents freedom and deliverance.

[4:12]  ¹⁰ sn The progression from walking to running is an idiom called “anabasis,” suggesting that as greater and swifter progress is made, there will be nothing to impede the progress (e.g., Isa 40:31).

[4:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “discipline.”

[4:13]  ¹² tn The form נִצְּרֶהָ (nitsÿreha, from נָצַר, natsar) has an anomalous doubled letter (see GKC 73 §20.h).

[4:14]  ¹³ tn The verb אָשַׁר (’ashar, “to walk”) is not to be confused with the identically spelled homonym אָשַׁר “to pronounce happy” as in BDB 80 s.v. אָשַׁר.

[4:15]  ¹⁴ sn The verb עָבַר (’avar, “to cross over; to travel through”) ends both cola. In the first it warns against going on wrong paths; in the second it means “to go your own way,” but may hint that the way will cross over the wrong way. The rapid sequence of commands stresses the urgency of the matter.

[4:16]  ¹⁵ sn The verb is רָעַע (ra’a’), which means “to do evil; to harm.” The verse is using the figure of hyperbole to stress the preoccupation of some people with causing trouble. R. L. Alden says, “How sick to find peace only at the price of another man’s misfortune” (Proverbs, 47).

[4:16]  ¹⁶ sn Heb “their sleep is robbed/seized”; these expressions are metonymical for their restlessness in plotting evil.

[4:16]  ¹⁷ sn The Hiphil imperfect (Kethib) means “cause to stumble.” This idiom (from hypocatastasis) means “bring injury/ruin to someone” (BDB 505-6 s.v. כָּשַׁל Hiph.1).

[4:17]  ¹⁸ tn The noun is a cognate accusative stressing that they consume wickedness.

[4:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the bread of wickedness” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV). There are two ways to take the genitives: (1) genitives of apposition: wickedness and violence are their food and drink (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT), or (2) genitives of source: they derive their livelihood from the evil they do (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 93).

[4:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the wine of violence” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV). This is a genitive of source, meaning that the wine they drink was plundered from their violent crime. The Hebrew is structured in an AB:BA chiasm: “For they eat the bread of wickedness, and the wine of violence they drink.” The word order in the translation is reversed for the sake of smoothness and readability.

[4:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “like light of brightness.” This construction is an attributive genitive: “bright light.” The word “light” (אוֹר, ’or) refers to the early morning light or the dawn (BDB 21 s.v.). The point of the simile is that the course of life that the righteous follow is like the clear, bright morning light. It is illumined, clear, easy to follow, and healthy and safe – the opposite of what darkness represents.

[4:18]  ²² tn The construction uses the Qal active participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) in a metaphorical sense to add the idea of continuance or continually to the participle הוֹלֵךְ (holekh). Here the path was growing light, but the added participle signifies continually.

[4:18]  ²³ tn Heb “until the day is established.” This expression refers to the coming of the full day or the time of high noon.

[4:19]  ²⁴ sn The simile describes ignorance or spiritual blindness, sinfulness, calamity, despair.

[4:19]  ²⁵ tn Heb “in what they stumble.”

[4:20]  ²⁶ tn Heb “incline your ear.” The verb הַט (hat) is the Hiphil imperative from נָטָה (natah, Hiphil: “to turn to; to incline”). The idiom “to incline the ear” gives the picture of “lean over and listen closely.”

[4:21]  ²⁷ tn The Hiphil form יַלִּיזוּ (yallizu) follows the Aramaic with gemination. The verb means “to turn aside; to depart” (intransitive Hiphil or inner causative).

[4:21]  ²⁸ tn Or “keep” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV and many others).

[4:21]  ²⁹ sn The words “eyes” and “heart” are metonymies of subject representing the faculties of each. Cf. CEV “think about it all.”

[4:22]  ³⁰ tn Heb “to all of his flesh.”

[4:23]  ³¹ tn Heb “more than all guarding.” This idiom means “with all vigilance.” The construction uses the preposition מִן (min) to express “above; beyond,” the word “all” and the noun “prison; guard; act of guarding.” The latter is the use here (BDB 1038 s.v. מִשְׁמָר).

[4:23]  ³² sn The word תּוֹצְאוֹת (tots’ot, from יָצָא, yatsa’) means “outgoings; extremities; sources.” It is used here for starting points, like a fountainhead, and so the translation “sources” works well.