Proverbs 4:4-5

4:4 he taught me, and he said to me:

“Let your heart lay hold of my words;

keep my commands so that ¹  you will live.

4:5 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding;

do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak. ² 

Proverbs 22:17

The Sayings of the Wise ³ 

22:17 Incline your ear ⁴  and listen to the words of the wise,

and apply your heart to my instruction. ⁵ 

Proverbs 26:22

26:22 The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels;

they go down into a person’s innermost being. ⁶ 

Proverbs 30:6

30:6 Do not add to his words,

lest he reprove you, and prove you to be a liar. ⁷ 

[4:4]  ¹ tn The imperative with the vav expresses volitional sequence after the preceding imperative: “keep and then you will live,” meaning “keep so that you may live.”

[4:5]  ² tn Heb “from the words of my mouth” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); TEV, CEV “what I say.”

[22:17]  ³ sn A new collection of sayings begins here, forming the fourth section of the book of Proverbs. This collection is not like that of 1:1–9:18; here the introductory material is more personal than 1:1-7, and the style differs, showing great similarity to the Instruction of Amenemope in Egypt (especially the thirty precepts of the sages in 22:17–24:22). Verses 17-21 form the introduction, and then the sayings begin in v. 22. After the thirty sayings are given, there are further sayings in 24:23-34. There is much literature on this material: see W. K. Simpson, ed., Literature of Ancient Egypt; ANET 412-425; and A. Cody, “Notes on Proverbs 22:21 and 22:23b,” Bib 61 (1980): 418-26.

[22:17]  ⁴ sn To “incline the ear” means to “listen carefully” (cf. NCV); the expression is metonymical in that the ear is the instrument for hearing. It is like telling someone to lean over to hear better.

[22:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “knowledge” (so KJV, NASB); in this context it refers to the knowledge that is spoken by the wise, hence “instruction.”

[26:22]  ⁴ tn The proverb is essentially the same as 18:8; it observes how appealing gossip is.

[30:6]  ⁵ tn The form of the verb is a Niphal perfect tense with a vav consecutive from the root כָּזַב (kazav, “to lie”). In this stem it has the ideas of “been made deceptive,” or “shown to be false” or “proved to be a liar.” One who adds to or changes the word of the Lord will be seen as a liar.