Proverbs 5:14

5:14 I almost ¹  came to complete ruin ² 

in the midst of the whole congregation!” ³ 

Proverbs 10:20

10:20 What the righteous say ⁴  is like ⁵  the best ⁶  silver,

but what the wicked think ⁷  is of little value. ⁸ 

Proverbs 15:16

15:16 Better ⁹  is little with the fear of the Lord

than great wealth and turmoil ¹⁰  with it. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 16:8

16:8 Better to have a little with righteousness ¹² 

than to have abundant income without justice. ¹³ 

[5:14]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “I was in all evil” (cf. KJV, ASV).

[5:14]  ³ tn The text uses the two words “congregation and assembly” to form a hendiadys, meaning the entire assembly.

[10:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “the lips of the righteous.” The term “lips” functions as a metonymy of cause for speech. This contrasts the tongue (metonymy of cause for what they say) with the heart (metonymy of subject for what they intend). What the righteous say is more valuable than what the wicked intend.

[10:20]  ⁵ tn The comparative “like” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[10:20]  ⁶ tn Or “pure”; Heb “choice.”

[10:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “the heart of the wicked” (so KJV, NAB, NIV). The term “heart” functions as a metonymy of cause for thoughts. The term לֵב (lev, “heart”) often refers to the seat of thoughts, will and emotions (BDB 524 s.v. 3-4).

[10:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “like little.” This expression refers to what has little value: “little worth” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV; cf. BDB 590 s.v. מְעַט 2.d). The point of the metaphor is clarified by the parallelism: Silver is valuable; the heart of the wicked is worth little. Tg. Prov 10:20 says it was full of dross, a contrast with choice silver.

[15:16]  ⁷ sn One of the frequent characteristics of wisdom literature is the “better” saying; it is a comparison of different but similar things to determine which is to be preferred. These two verses focus on spiritual things being better than troubled material things.

[15:16]  ⁸ sn Turmoil refers to anxiety; the fear of the Lord alleviates anxiety, for it brings with it contentment and confidence.

[15:16]  ⁹ sn Not all wealth has turmoil with it. But the proverb is focusing on the comparison of two things – fear of the Lord with little and wealth with turmoil. Between these two, the former is definitely better.

[16:8]  ¹⁰ sn The lines contrast the modest income with the abundant income; but the real contrast is between righteousness and the lack of justice (or injustice). “Justice” is used for both legal justice and ethical conduct. It is contrasted with righteousness in 12:5 and 21:7; it describes ethical behavior in 21:3. Here the point is that unethical behavior tarnishes the great gain and will be judged by God.

[16:8]  ¹¹ sn This is another “better” saying; between these two things, the first is better. There are other options – such as righteousness with wealth – but the proverb is not concerned with that. A similar saying appears in Amenemope 8:19-20 (ANET 422).