Proverbs 3:22

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

and grace to adorn ⁴  your neck. ⁵ 

Proverbs 22:25

22:25 lest you learn ⁶  his ways

and entangle yourself in a snare. ⁷ 

Proverbs 29:17

29:17 Discipline your child, and he will give you rest; ⁸ 

he will bring you ⁹  happiness. ¹⁰ 

Proverbs 2:10

2:10 For wisdom will enter your heart, ¹¹ 

and moral knowledge ¹²  will be attractive ¹³  to you. ¹⁴ 

Proverbs 24:14

24:14 Likewise, know ¹⁵  that wisdom is sweet ¹⁶  to your soul;

if you find it, ¹⁷  you will have a future, ¹⁸ 

and your hope will not be cut off.

[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.

[22:25]  ⁶ tn The verb פֶּן־תֶּאֱלַף (pen-te’elaf) is translated “lest you learn.” The idea is more precisely “become familiar with his ways.” The construction indicates that if one associates with such people he will become like them (cf. TEV “you might learn their habits”).

[22:25]  ⁷ sn The warning in this proverb is to avoid associating with a hothead because his influence could be fatal (a similar idea is found in the Instruction of Amenemope, chap. 9, 11:13-14 [ANET 423]).

[29:17]  ¹¹ tn The verb, a Hiphil imperfect with a suffix, could be subordinated to the preceding imperative to form a purpose clause (indirect volitive classification): “that he may give you rest.” The same then could apply to the second part of the verse.

[29:17]  ¹² tn Heb “your soul.” The noun נַפְשֶׁךָ (nafshekha, “your soul”) is a synecdoche of part (= inner soul) for the whole person (= you); see, e.g., Isa 43:4; 51:23; BDB 600 s.v. 4.a.2.

[29:17]  ¹³ sn The parallelism of this verse is synthetic; the second half adds the idea of “delight/pleasure” to that of “rest.” So a disciplined child will both relieve anxiety (“give…rest”) and bring happiness to the parents.

[2:10]  ¹⁶ tn The noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as a metonymy of association for “mind” and “thoughts” (BDB 524 s.v. 3). It represents the center of the inner life where the volition and emotions join to bring about actions. It is used here in parallelism with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”), for which see note.

[2:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “knowledge.” For the noun דַּעַת (da’at), see the note on 1:7.

[2:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “pleasant.” The verb יִנְעָם (yin’am, “to be pleasant”) describes what is attractive. It is used of being physically attracted to one’s lover (Song 7:7) or to a close friendship (2 Sam 1:26). Here wisdom becomes attractive to the righteous, that is, the righteous desires to acquire it.

[2:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “your soul.” The term נַפְשְׁךָ (nafshÿkha, “your soul”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= soul) for the whole person (= you); see BDB 660 s.v. 4.a.2. It also might function as a metonymy of association for emotions and passions (BDB 660 s.v. 6) or mental cognition (BDB 660 s.v. 7).

[24:14]  ²¹ tn D. W. Thomas argues for a meaning of “seek” in place of “know” (“Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 38 [1937]: 400-403).

[24:14]  ²² tn The phrase “is sweet” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[24:14]  ²³ tn The term “it” is supplied in the translation.

[24:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “there will be an end.” The word is אַחֲרִית (’akhrit, “after-part, end”). BDB 31 s.v. b says in a passage like this it means “a future,” i.e., a happy close of life, sometimes suggesting the idea of posterity promised to the righteous, often parallel to “hope.”