Proverbs 3:21

3:21 My child, do not let them ¹  escape from your sight;

safeguard sound wisdom and discretion. ² 

Proverbs 4:23

4:23 Guard your heart with all vigilance, ³ 

for from it are the sources ⁴  of life.

Proverbs 6:20

6:20 My child, guard the commands of your father

and do not forsake the instruction of your mother.

Proverbs 13:3

13:3 The one who guards his words ⁵  guards his life,

but ⁶  whoever is talkative ⁷  will come to ruin. ⁸ 

Proverbs 16:17

16:17 The highway ⁹  of the upright is to turn ¹⁰  away from evil;

the one who guards ¹¹  his way safeguards his life. ¹² 

Proverbs 27:18

27:18 The one who tends a fig tree ¹³  will eat its fruit, ¹⁴ 

and whoever takes care of ¹⁵  his master will be honored.

[3:21]  ¹ tn The object of the verb “escape” is either (1) wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in vv. 13-20 or (2) “wisdom and discretion” in the second colon of this verse. Several English versions transpose the terms “wisdom and discretion” from the second colon into the first colon for the sake of clarity and smoothness (e.g., RSV, NRSV, NIV, TEV, CEV).
NIV takes the subject from the second colon and reverses the clauses to clarify that.

[3:21]  ² tn Or: “purpose,” “power of devising.”

[4:23]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[13:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “mouth” (so KJV, NAB). The term פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) functions as a metonymy of cause for speech.

[13:3]  ⁶ tn The term “but” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[13:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “opens wide his lips.” This is an idiom meaning “to be talkative” (BDB 832 s.v. פָּשַׂק Qal). Cf. NIV “speaks rashly”; TEV “a careless talker”; CEV “talk too much.”

[13:3]  ⁸ sn Tight control over what one says prevents trouble (e.g., Prov 10:10; 17:28; Jas 3:1-12; Sir 28:25). Amenemope advises to “sleep a night before speaking” (5:15; ANET 422, n. 10). The old Arab proverb is appropriate: “Take heed that your tongue does not cut your throat” (O. Zockler, Proverbs, 134).

[16:17]  ⁷ sn The point of righteous living is made with the image of a highway, a raised and well-graded road (a hypocatastasis, implying a comparison between a highway and the right way of living).

[16:17]  ⁸ tn The form סוּר (sur) is a Qal infinitive; it indicates that a purpose of the righteous life is to turn away from evil. “Evil” here has the sense of sinful living. So the first line asserts that the well-cared-for life avoids sin.

[16:17]  ⁹ sn The second half of the verse uses two different words for “guard”; this one is נֹצֵר (notser) “the one who guards his way,” and the first is שֹׁמֵר (shomer) “the one who guards his life” (the order of the words is reversed in the translation). The second colon then explains further the first (synthetic parallelism), because to guard one’s way preserves life.

[16:17]  ¹⁰ tc The LXX adds three lines after 17a and one after 17b: “The paths of life turn aside from evils, and the ways of righteousness are length of life; he who receives instruction will be prosperous, and he who regards reproofs will be made wise; he who guards his ways preserves his soul, and he who loves his life will spare his mouth.”

[27:18]  ⁹ sn Tending fig trees requires closer attention than other plants; so the point here would be the diligent care that is required.

[27:18]  ¹⁰ sn The principle is established in the first line with the emblem: Those who faithfully serve will be rewarded in kind. The second half of the proverb makes the point from this illustration.

[27:18]  ¹¹ sn The Hebrew participle translated “takes care of” (שֹׁמֵר, shomer) describes a careful watching over or looking after, a meticulous service, anticipating the needs and safeguarding the charge. Such a servant need not worry about his efforts going unrecognized and unrewarded (e.g., Prov 22:29; 2 Tim 2:6, 15).