Proverbs 4:26

4:26 Make the path for your feet ¹  level, ² 

so that ³  all your ways may be established. ⁴ 

Proverbs 6:8

6:8 yet it prepares its food in the summer;

it gathers at the harvest what it will eat. ⁵ 

Proverbs 16:3

16:3 Commit ⁶  your works ⁷  to the Lord,

and your plans will be established. ⁸ 

Proverbs 19:29

19:29 Judgments ⁹  are prepared for scorners,

and floggings for the backs of fools.

Proverbs 20:18

20:18 Plans ¹⁰  are established by counsel,

so ¹¹  make war ¹²  with guidance.

Proverbs 21:31

21:31 A horse is prepared for the day of battle,

but the victory is from the Lord. ¹³ 

Proverbs 24:3

24:3 By ¹⁴  wisdom a house is built, ¹⁵ 

and through understanding it is established;

[4:26]  ¹ tn Heb “path of your foot.”

[4:26]  ² sn The verb is a denominative Piel from the word פֶּלֶס (peles), “balance; scale.” In addition to telling the disciple to keep focused on a righteous life, the sage tells him to keep his path level, which is figurative for living the righteous life.

[4:26]  ³ tn The vav prefixed to the beginning of this dependent clause denotes purpose/result following the preceding imperative.

[4:26]  ⁴ tn The Niphal jussive from כּוּן (cun, “to be fixed; to be established; to be steadfast”) continues the idiom of walking and ways for the moral sense in life.

[6:8]  ⁵ tc The LXX adds a lengthy section at the end of the verse on the lesson from the bee: “Or, go to the bee and learn how diligent she is and how seriously she does her work – her products kings and private persons use for health – she is desired and respected by all – though feeble in body, by honoring wisdom she obtains distinction.” The Greek translator thought the other insect should be mentioned (see C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 124).

[16:3]  ⁹ tc The MT reads גֹּל (gol, “commit”) from the root גָּלַל (galal, “to roll”). The LXX and Tg. Prov 16:3 have “reveal” as if the root were גָּלָה (galah, “to reveal”).

[16:3]  ¹⁰ tn The suffix on the plural noun would be a subjective genitive: “the works you are doing,” or here, “the works that you want to do.”

[16:3]  ¹¹ tn The syntax of the second clause shows that there is subordination: The vav on וְיִכֹּנוּ (vÿyikonu) coming after the imperative of the first clause expresses that this clause is the purpose or result. People should commit their works in order that the Lord may establish them. J. H. Greenstone says, “True faith relieves much anxiety and smoothens many perplexities” (Proverbs, 172).

[19:29]  ¹³ tc Some (cf. NAB) suggest emending the MT’s “judgments” (from שָׁפַט, shafat) to “rods” (from שָׁבַט, shavat); however, this is not necessary if the term in the MT is interpreted figuratively. The LXX “scourges” might reflect a different Vorlage, but it also could have been an interpretive translation from the same text. “Judgments” is a metonymy of cause and refers to the punishment that the scoffer is to receive.

[20:18]  ¹⁷ tn The noun form is plural, but the verb is singular, suggesting either an abstract plural or a collective plural is being used here.

[20:18]  ¹⁸ tn The clause begins with vav (ו) on “with guidance.” But the clause has an imperative for its main verb. One could take the imperfect tense in the first colon as an imperfect of injunction, and then this clause would be also instructional. But the imperfect tense is a Niphal, and so it is better to take the first colon as the foundational clause and the second colon as the consequence (cf. NAB): If that is true, then you should do this.

[20:18]  ¹⁹ sn There have been attempts by various commentators to take “war” figuratively to mean life’s struggles, litigation, or evil inclinations. But there is no need and little justification for such interpretations. The proverb simply describes the necessity of taking counsel before going to war.

[21:31]  ²¹ tn Heb “of the Lord.” The victory being “of the Lord” means that it is accomplished by him. Ultimate success comes from the Lord and not from human efforts. The faithful have acknowledged this down through the ages, even though they have been responsible and have prepared for the wars. Without this belief there would have been no prayer on the eve of battle (e.g., Ps 20:7 and 33:17).

[24:3]  ²⁵ tn The preposition בְּ (bet, “by; through”) in these two lines indicates means.

[24:3]  ²⁶ sn The twentieth saying, vv. 3-4, concerns the use of wisdom for domestic enterprises. In Prov 9:1 wisdom was personified as a woman who builds a house; but here the emphasis is primarily on the building – it is a sign of security and prosperity (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 442). One could still make a secondary application from this line for a household or “family” (cf. NCV, which sees this as a reference to the family).