Proverbs 3:28

3:28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go! Return tomorrow

and I will give it,” when ¹  you have it with you at the time. ² 

Proverbs 4:6

4:6 Do not forsake wisdom, ³  and she will protect you;

love her, and she will guard you.

Proverbs 9:8

9:8 Do not reprove ⁴  a mocker or ⁵  he will hate you;

reprove a wise person and he will love you.

Proverbs 19:19

19:19 A person with great anger bears the penalty, ⁶ 

but if you deliver him from it once, you will have to do it again. ⁷ 

Proverbs 20:13

20:13 Do not love sleep, ⁸  lest you become impoverished;

open your eyes so that ⁹  you might be satisfied with food. ¹⁰ 

Proverbs 22:19

22:19 So that ¹¹  your confidence may be in the Lord,

I am making them known to you today ¹²  – even you.

Proverbs 22:27

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

your bed ¹³  will be taken ¹⁴  right out from under you! ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 23:8

23:8 you will vomit up ¹⁶  the little bit you have eaten,

and will have wasted your pleasant words. ¹⁷ 

Proverbs 25:8

25:8 Do not go out hastily to litigation, ¹⁸ 

or ¹⁹  what will you do afterward

when your neighbor puts you to shame?

Proverbs 25:22

25:22 for you will heap coals of fire on his head, ²⁰ 

and the Lord will reward you. ²¹ 

[3:28]  ¹ tn Heb “and it is with you.” The prefixed vav introduces a circumstantial clause: “when …”

[3:28]  ² tn The words “at the time” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[4:6]  ³ tn Heb “her”; the 3rd person feminine singular referent is personified “wisdom,” which has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:8]  ⁵ tn In view of the expected response for reproof, the text now uses a negated jussive to advise against the attempt. This is paralleled antithetically by the imperative in the second colon. This imperative is in an understood conditional clause: “if you reprove a wise person.”

[9:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “lest he hate you.” The particle פֶּן (pen, “lest”) expresses fear or precaution (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 79, §476). The antonyms “love” and “hate” suggest that the latter means “reject” and the former means “choosing and embracing.”

[19:19]  ⁷ sn The Hebrew word means “indemnity, fine”; this suggests that the trouble could be legal, and the angry person has to pay for it.

[19:19]  ⁸ tn The second colon of the verse is very difficult, and there have been many proposals as to its meaning: (1) “If you save [your enemy], you will add [good to yourself]”; (2) “If you save [your son by chastening], you may continue [chastisement and so educate him]”; (3) “If you deliver [him by paying the fine for him once], you will have to do it again”; (4) “If you save [him this time], you will have to increase [the punishment later on].” All interpretations have to supply a considerable amount of material (indicated by brackets). Many English versions are similar to (3).

[20:13]  ⁹ sn The proverb uses antithetical parallelism to teach that diligence leads to prosperity. It contrasts loving sleep with opening the eyes, and poverty with satisfaction. Just as “sleep” can be used for slothfulness or laziness, so opening the eyes can represent vigorous, active conduct. The idioms have caught on in modern usage as well – things like “open your eyes” or “asleep on the job.”

[20:13]  ¹⁰ tn The second line uses two imperatives in a sequence (without the vav [ו]): “open your eyes” and then (or, in order that) you will “be satisfied.”

[20:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “bread” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV), although the term often serves in a generic sense for food in general.

[22:19]  ¹¹ tn The form לִהְיוֹת (lihyot, “to be”) is the infinitive construct indicating the purpose (or result) of the teaching (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[22:19]  ¹² tn Heb “I cause you to know.” The term “today” indicates that the verb should have the instantaneous nuance, and so an English present tense is used in the translation (“am making…known”).

[22:27]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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).

[23:8]  ¹⁵ sn Eating and drinking with a selfish miser would be irritating and disgusting. The line is hyperbolic; the whole experience turns the stomach.

[23:8]  ¹⁶ tn Or “your compliments” (so NASB, NIV); cf. TEV “your flattery.”

[25:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “do not go out hastily to strive”; the verb “to strive” means dispute in the legal context. The last clause of v. 7, “what your eyes have seen,” does fit very well with the initial clause of v. 8. It would then say: What you see, do not take hastily to court, but if the case was not valid, he would end up in disgrace.

[25:8]  ¹⁸ tn The clause begins with פֶּן (pen, “lest”) which seems a bit out of place in this line. C. H. Toy suggests changing it to כִּי (ki, “for”) to make a better connection, instead of supplying an ellipsis: “lest it be said what…” (Proverbs [ICC], 461).

[25:22]  ¹⁹ sn The imagery of the “burning coals” represents pangs of conscience, more readily effected by kindness than by violence. These coals produce the sharp pain of contrition through regret (e.g., 18:19; 20:22; 24:17; Gen 42-45; 1 Sam 24:18-20; Rom 12:20). The coals then would be an implied comparison with a searing conscience.

[25:22]  ²⁰ sn The second consequence of treating enemies with kindness is that the Lord will reward the act. The fact that this is promised shows that the instruction here belongs to the religious traditions of Israel.