Proverbs 3:1

Exhortations to Seek Wisdom and Walk with the Lord ¹ 

3:1 My child, ²  do not forget my teaching,

but let your heart keep ³  my commandments,

Proverbs 4:23

4:23 Guard your heart with all vigilance, ⁴ 

for from it are the sources ⁵  of life.

Proverbs 6:21

6:21 Bind them ⁶  on your heart continually;

fasten them around your neck.

Proverbs 7:3

7:3 Bind them on your forearm; ⁷ 

write them on the tablet of your heart. ⁸ 

Proverbs 7:25

7:25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways –

do not wander into her pathways;

Proverbs 23:15

23:15 My child, ⁹  if your heart is wise,

then my heart also will be glad;

Proverbs 23:19

23:19 Listen, my child, ¹⁰  and be wise,

and guide your heart on the right way.

Proverbs 23:26

23:26 Give me your heart, my son, ¹¹ 

and let your eyes observe my ways;

Proverbs 24:17

24:17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, ¹² 

and when he stumbles do not let your heart rejoice,

Proverbs 27:23

27:23 Pay careful attention to ¹³  the condition of your flocks, ¹⁴ 

give careful attention ¹⁵  to your herds,

[3:1]  ¹ sn The chapter begins with an introductory exhortation (1-4), followed by an admonition to be faithful to the Lord (5-12). Wisdom is commended as the most valuable possession (13-18), essential to creation (19-20), and the way to a long and safe life (21-26). There then follows a warning to avoid unneighborliness (27-30) and emulating the wicked (31-35).

[3:1]  ² tn Heb “my son” (likewise in vv. 11, 21).

[3:1]  ³ tn The verb יִצֹּר (yitsor) is a Qal jussive and the noun לִבֶּךָ (libbekha, “your heart”) functions as the subject: “let your heart keep my commandments.”

[4:23]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.

[6:21]  ⁷ sn The figures used here are hypocatastases (implied comparisons). There may also be an allusion to Deut 6 where the people were told to bind the law on their foreheads and arms. The point here is that the disciple will never be without these instructions. See further, P. W. Skehan, Studies in Israelite Poetry and Wisdom (CBQMS), 1-8.

[7:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “fingers” (so KJV and many other English versions). In light of Deut 6:8, “fingers” appears to be a metonymy for the lower part of the arm.

[7:3]  ¹¹ sn This is an allusion to Deut 6:8. Binding the teachings on the fingers and writing them on the tablets here are implied comparisons for preserving the teaching in memory so that it can be recalled and used with ease.

[23:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “my son,” although the context does not limit this exhortation to male children.

[23:19]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “my son,” but the immediate context does not limit this to male children.

[23:26]  ¹⁹ 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.

[24:17]  ²² sn The saying (vv. 17, 18) warns against gloating over the misfortune of one’s enemies. The prohibition is formed with two negated jussives “do not rejoice” and “let not be glad,” the second qualified by “your heart” as the subject, signifying the inner satisfaction of such a defeat.

[27:23]  ²⁵ tn The sentence uses the infinitive absolute and the imperfect from יָדַע (yada’, “to know”). The imperfect here has been given the obligatory nuance, “you must know,” and that has to be intensified with the infinitive.

[27:23]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the faces of your flock.”

[27:23]  ²⁷ tn The idiom is “place [it on] your heart” or “take to heart.” Cf. NLT “put your heart into.”