Proverbs 4:21

4:21 Do not let them depart ¹  from your sight,

guard ²  them within your heart; ³ 

Proverbs 5:14

5:14 I almost ⁴  came to complete ruin ⁵ 

in the midst of the whole congregation!” ⁶ 

Proverbs 8:16

8:16 by me princes rule,

as well as nobles and ⁷  all righteous judges. ⁸ 

Proverbs 8:18

8:18 Riches and honor are with me,

long-lasting wealth and righteousness.

Proverbs 8:21

8:21 that I may cause ⁹  those who love me to inherit wealth,

and that I may fill ¹⁰  their treasuries. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 8:23

8:23 From eternity I was appointed, ¹² 

from the beginning, from before the world existed. ¹³ 

Proverbs 8:25

8:25 before the mountains were set in place –

before the hills – I was born,

Proverbs 30:7

30:7 Two things ¹⁴  I ask from you; ¹⁵ 

do not refuse me before I die:

[4:21]  ¹ tn The Hiphil form יַלִּיזוּ (yallizu) follows the Aramaic with gemination. The verb means “to turn aside; to depart” (intransitive Hiphil or inner causative).

[4:21]  ² tn Or “keep” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV and many others).

[4:21]  ³ sn The words “eyes” and “heart” are metonymies of subject representing the faculties of each. Cf. CEV “think about it all.”

[5:14]  ⁴ tn The expression כִּמְעַט (kim’at) is “like a little.” It means “almost,” and is used of unrealized action (BDB 590 s.v. 2). Cf. NCV “I came close to”; NLT “I have come to the brink of.”

[5:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “I was in all evil” (cf. KJV, ASV).

[5:14]  ⁶ tn The text uses the two words “congregation and assembly” to form a hendiadys, meaning the entire assembly.

[8:16]  ⁷ tn The term “and” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and readability.

[8:16]  ⁸ tc Many of the MT mss read “sovereigns [princes], all the judges of the earth.” The LXX has “sovereigns…rule the earth.” But the MT manuscript in the text has “judges of righteousness.” C. H. Toy suggests that the Hebrew here has assimilated Psalm 148:11 in its construction (Proverbs [ICC], 167). The expression “judges of the earth” is what one would expect, but the more difficult and unexpected reading, the one scribes might change, would be “judges of righteousness.” If that reading stands, then it would probably be interpreted as using an attributive genitive.

[8:21]  ¹⁰ tn The infinitive construct expressing the purpose of the preceding “walk” in the way of righteousness. These verses say that wisdom is always on the way of righteousness for the purposes of bestowing the same to those who find her. If sin is involved, then wisdom has not been followed.

[8:21]  ¹¹ tn The Piel imperfect continues the verbal idea that the infinitive began in the parallel colon even though it does not have the vav on the form.

[8:21]  ¹² tc The LXX adds at the end of this verse: “If I declare to you the things of daily occurrence, I will remember to recount the things of old.”

[8:23]  ¹³ tn The first parallel verb is נִסַּכְתִּי (nissakhti), “I was appointed.” It is not a common word; it occurs here and in Ps 2:6 for the coronation of the king. It means “installed, set.”

[8:23]  ¹⁴ tn The verb “existed” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation in the light of the context.

[30:7]  ¹⁶ sn Wisdom literature often groups things in twos and fours, or in other numerical arrangements (e.g., Amos 1:3–2:6; Job 5:19; Prov 6:16-19).

[30:7]  ¹⁷ tn Assuming that the contents of vv. 7-9 are a prayer, several English versions have supplied a vocative phrase: “O Lord” (NIV); “O God” (NLT); others have supplied a similar phrase without the vocative “O”: NCV, CEV “Lord”; TEV “God.”