Proverbs 3:22

3:22 So ¹  they will give ²  life to you, ³ 

and grace to adorn ⁴  your neck. ⁵ 

Proverbs 1:9

1:9 For they will be like ⁶  an elegant ⁷  garland ⁸  on ⁹  your head,

and like ¹⁰  pendants ¹¹  around ¹²  your neck.

Proverbs 6:21

6:21 Bind them ¹³  on your heart continually;

fasten them around your neck.

Proverbs 3:3

3:3 Do not let truth and mercy ¹⁴  leave you;

bind them around your neck,

write them on the tablet of your heart. ¹⁵ 

[3:22]  ¹ tn Heb “and.” The vav probably denotes purpose/result.

[3:22]  ² tn Heb “they will be.”

[3:22]  ³ tn Heb “your soul.” The noun נַפְשֶׁךָ (nafshekha, “your soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= inner soul) for the whole person (= you); see BDB 600 s.v. 4.a.2.

[3:22]  ⁴ tn The phrase “to adorn” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[3:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “grace for your neck.” See note on 1:9.

[1:9]  ⁶ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “a garland of grace.” The word חֵן (khen, “grace”) refers to qualities that make a person pleasant and agreeable, e.g., a gracious and charming person (BDB 336 s.v.). The metaphor compares the teachings that produce these qualities to an attractive wreath.

[1:9]  ⁸ tn The noun לִוְיַה (livyah, “wreath; garland”) refers to a headdress and appears only twice in the OT (Prov 1:9; 4:9; BDB 531 s.v.; HALOT 524 s.v.).

[1:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “for.”

[1:9]  ¹⁰ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:9]  ¹¹ tn Cf. KJV, ASV “chains”; NIV “a chain”; but this English term could suggest a prisoner’s chain to the modern reader rather than adornment.

[1:9]  ¹² tn Heb “for.”

[6:21]  ¹¹ 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.

[3:3]  ¹⁶ tn The two words חֶסֶד וֶאֶמֶת (khesed ve’emet, “mercy and truth”) form a nominal hendiadys, the second word becoming an adjective: “faithful covenant love” or “loyal [covenant] love and faithfulness.”

[3:3]  ¹⁷ sn This involves two implied comparisons (hypocatastasis). One is a comparison of living out the duties and responsibilities taught with binding a chain around the neck, and the other is a comparison of the inward appropriation of the teachings with writing them on a tablet. So the teachings are not only to become the lifestyle of the disciple but his very nature.