Proverbs 3:2

3:2 for they will provide ¹  a long and full life, ² 

and they will add well-being ³  to you.

Proverbs 4:10

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

so that ⁵  the years of your life will be many. ⁶ 

Proverbs 6:6

6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; ⁷ 

observe its ways and be wise!

Proverbs 9:11-12

9:11 For because ⁸  of me your days will be many,

and years will be added ⁹  to your life.

9:12 If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage, ¹⁰ 

but if you are a mocker, ¹¹  you alone must ¹²  bear it. ¹³ 

Proverbs 14:7

14:7 Leave the presence of a foolish person, ¹⁴ 

or ¹⁵  you will not understand ¹⁶  wise counsel. ¹⁷ 

Proverbs 20:22

20:22 Do not say, ¹⁸  “I will pay back ¹⁹  evil!”

Wait ²⁰  for the Lord, so that he may vindicate you. ²¹ 

Proverbs 22:27

22:27 If you do not have enough to pay,

your bed ²²  will be taken ²³  right out from under you! ²⁴ 

Proverbs 24:6

24:6 for with guidance you wage your war,

and with numerous advisers there is victory. ²⁵ 

[3:2]  ¹ tn The phrase “they will provide” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[3:2]  ² tn Heb “length of days and years of life” (so NASB, NRSV). The idiom “length of days” refers to a prolonged life and “years of life” signifies a long time full of life, a life worth living (T. T. Perowne, Proverbs, 51). The term “life” refers to earthly felicity combined with spiritual blessedness (BDB 313 s.v. חַיִּים).

[3:2]  ³ tn The noun שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) here means “welfare, health, prosperity” (BDB 1022 s.v. 3). It can be used of physical health and personal well-being. It is the experience of positive blessing and freedom from negative harm and catastrophe.

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

[4:10]  ⁵ tn The vav prefixed to the imperfect verb follows an imperative; this volitive sequence depicts purpose/result.

[4:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the years of life will be many for you.”

[6:6]  ⁷ sn The sluggard (עָצֵל, ’atsel) is the lazy or sluggish person (cf. NCV “lazy person”; NRSV, NLT “lazybones”).

[9:11]  ¹⁰ tn The preposition בּ (bet) here may have the causal sense (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 45, §247), although it could also be means (Williams, 44, §243).

[9:11]  ¹¹ tn The verb וְיוֹסִיפוּ (vÿyosifu) is the Hiphil imperfect, third masculine plural; but because there is no expressed subject the verb may be taken as a passive.

[9:12]  ¹³ tn The text simply has the preposition לְ (lamed) with a suffix; but this will be the use of the preposition classified as “interest,” either for advantage or disadvantage (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 48-49, §271).

[9:12]  ¹⁴ tn The perfect tense is here in a conditional clause because of the conjunction following the first colon of the verse that begins with “if.” The perfect tense then lays down the antithetical condition – “if you mock,” or “if you are a mocker.”

[9:12]  ¹⁵ tn The use of the imperfect tense here could be the simple future tense (cf. NASB, NRSV “you…will bear it”), but the obligatory nuance is more appropriate – “you must bear it.” These words anticipate James’ warnings that the words we speak will haunt us through life (e.g., James 3:1-12).

[9:12]  ¹⁶ tc The LXX has an addition: “Forsake folly, that you may reign forever; and seek discretion and direct understanding in knowledge.”

[14:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a man, a stupid fellow.”

[14:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and.” The vav (ו) that introduces this clause may be understood as meaning “or….”

[14:7]  ¹⁸ tc The MT reads וּבַל־יָדַעְתָּ (uval-yada’ta, “you did not know [the lips of knowledge]).” It must mean that one should leave the fool because he did not receive knowledge from what fools said. Tg. Prov 14:7 freely interprets the verse: “for there is no knowledge on his lips.” The LXX reflects a Hebrew Vorlage of וּכְלֵי־דַעַת (ukhÿle-da’at, “[wise lips] are weapons of discretion”). The textual variant involves wrong word division and orthographic confusion between ב (bet) and כ (kaf). C. H. Toy emends the text: “for his lips do not utter knowledge” as in 15:7 (Proverbs [ICC], 285). The MT is workable and more difficult.

[14:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “lips of knowledge” (so KJV, ASV). “Lips” is the metonymy of cause, and “knowledge” is an objective genitive (speaking knowledge) or attributive genitive (knowledgeable speech): “wise counsel.”

[20:22]  ¹⁹ tn The verse is directly instructive; it begins with the negated jussive in the first colon, and follows with the imperative in the second. It warns that the righteous should not take vengeance on the wicked, for only God can do that.

[20:22]  ²⁰ tn The form is the Piel cohortative of resolve – “I am determined to pay back.” The verb שָׁלֵם (shalem) means “to be complete; to be sound.” In this stem, however, it can mean “to make complete; to make good; to requite; to recompense” (KJV, ASV). The idea is “getting even” by paying back someone for the evil done.

[20:22]  ²¹ sn To “wait” (קַוֵּה, qavveh) on the Lord requires faith in him, reliance on divine justice, and patience. It means that the wrongs done to a person will have to be endured for a time.

[20:22]  ²² tn After the imperative, the jussive is subordinated in a purpose or result clause: “wait for the Lord so that he may deliver you.” The verb יֹשַׁע (yosha’) means “to save (KJV, ASV, NASB); to deliver (NIV); to give victory”; in this context it means “deliver from the evil done to you,” and so “vindicate” is an appropriate connotation. Cf. NCV “he will make things right.”

[22:27]  ²² tn The “bed” may be a metonymy of adjunct, meaning the garment that covers the bed (e.g., Exod 22:26). At any rate, it represents the individual’s last possession (like the English expression “the shirt off his back”).

[22:27]  ²³ tn Heb “If you cannot pay, why should he take the bed from under you?” This rhetorical question is used to affirm the statement. The rhetorical interrogative לָמָּה (lamah, “why?”) appears in MT but not in the ancient versions; it may be in the Hebrew text by dittography.

[22:27]  ²⁴ sn The third saying deals with rash vows: If people foolishly pledge what they have, they could lose everything (e.g., 6:1-5; 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; there is no Egyptian parallel).

[24:6]  ²⁵ sn The point of the saying is that wise counsel is necessary in war. Victory, strategy, and counsel are more important than mere military strength – many great armies have been destroyed because of their unwise leaders. See on this theme 11:14; 20:18; and 21:22.