Proverbs 4:7

4:7 Wisdom is supreme ¹  – so ²  acquire wisdom,

and whatever you acquire, ³  acquire understanding! ⁴ 

Proverbs 4:5

4:5 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding;

do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak. ⁵ 

Proverbs 19:8

19:8 The one who acquires wisdom ⁶  loves himself; ⁷ 

the one who preserves understanding will prosper. ⁸ 

Proverbs 23:23

23:23 Acquire ⁹  truth and do not sell it –

wisdom, and discipline, and understanding.

Proverbs 27:8

27:8 Like a bird that wanders ¹⁰  from its nest,

so is a person who wanders from his home. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 16:16

16:16 How much better it is to acquire ¹²  wisdom than gold;

to acquire understanding is more desirable ¹³  than silver.

[4:7]  ¹ tn The absolute and construct state of רֵאשִׁית (re’shit) are identical (BDB 912 s.v.). Some treat רֵאשִׁית חָכְמָה (re’shit khokhmah) as a genitive-construct phrase: “the beginning of wisdom” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV). Others take רֵאשִׁית as an absolute functioning as predicate and חָכְמָה as the subject: “wisdom is the first/chief thing” (cf. KJV, ASV). The context here suggests the predicate.

[4:7]  ² tn The term “so” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and style.

[4:7]  ³ tn The noun קִנְיָן (qinyan) means “thing got or acquired; acquisition” (BDB 889 s.v.). With the preposition that denotes price, it means “with (or at the price of) all that you have acquired.” The point is that no price is too high for wisdom – give everything for it (K&D 16:108).

[4:7]  ⁴ tc The verse is not in the LXX; some textual critics delete the verse as an impossible gloss that interrupts vv. 6 and 8 (e.g., C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 88).

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

[19:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “heart.” Most English versions translate as “wisdom,” but cf. NAB “intelligence.” This refers to a mind that works (e.g., Prov 7:7; 9:4).

[19:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “his own soul.” The expression “loves his soul” means that he is paying attention to his needs or taking care of his life (cf. NAB “is his own best friend”). This expression works with its parallel to provide the whole idea: “loving the soul” is the metonymy of the cause for prospering, and “prospering” is the metonymy of the effect (of loving).

[19:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “finds good” (similar KJV, NASB); NCV “will succeed.” The MT reads לִמְצֹא (limtso’), a Qal infinitive construct. The LXX (as well as the other major early versions) renders it as a future, which reflects a Vorlage of יִמְצָא (yimtsa’). The infinitive is used here in a modal sense, meaning “is destined to” or “is certain of” finding good in life.

[23:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “buy” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT); CEV “Invest in truth.”

[27:8]  ¹⁷ tn The form נוֹדֶדֶת (nodedet) is the Qal participle from נָדַד (nadad), “to wander; to stray; to flutter; to retreat; to depart”; cf. NIV, NRSV, NLT “strays.” It will be directly paralleled with the masculine participle in the second colon.

[27:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “place” (so KJV, ASV); most other English versions translate as “home.”

[16:16]  ²¹ tn The form קְנֹה (qÿnoh) is an infinitive; the Greek version apparently took it as a participle, and the Latin as an imperative – both working with an unpointed קנה, the letter ה (he) being unexpected in the form if it is an infinitive construct (the parallel clause has קְנוֹת [qÿnot] for the infinitive, but the ancient versions also translate that as either a participle or an imperative).

[16:16]  ²² tn The form is a Niphal participle, masculine singular. If it is modifying “understanding” it should be a feminine form. If it is to be translated, it would have to be rendered “and to acquire understanding is to be chosen more than silver” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). Many commentaries consider it superfluous. NIV and NCV simply have “to choose understanding rather than silver!”