Proverbs 5:2

5:2 in order to safeguard ¹  discretion, ² 

and that your lips may guard knowledge.

Proverbs 22:20

22:20 Have I not written thirty sayings ³  for you,

sayings ⁴  of counsel and knowledge,

Proverbs 30:3

30:3 I have not learned wisdom,

nor do I have knowledge ⁵  of the Holy One. ⁶ 

Proverbs 2:5

2:5 then you will understand ⁷  how to fear the Lord, ⁸ 

and you will discover ⁹  knowledge ¹⁰  about God. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 2:10

2:10 For wisdom will enter your heart, ¹² 

and moral knowledge ¹³  will be attractive ¹⁴  to you. ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 8:10

8:10 Receive my instruction ¹⁶  rather than ¹⁷  silver,

and knowledge rather than choice gold.

Proverbs 8:12

8:12 “I, wisdom, live with prudence, ¹⁸ 

and I find ¹⁹  knowledge and discretion.

Proverbs 9:10

9:10 The beginning ²⁰  of wisdom is to fear the Lord, ²¹ 

and acknowledging ²²  the Holy One ²³  is understanding.

Proverbs 14:6

14:6 The scorner ²⁴  seeks wisdom but finds none, ²⁵ 

but understanding is easy ²⁶  for a discerning person.

[5:2]  ¹ tn Heb “keep, protect, guard.”

[5:2]  ² sn This “discretion” is the same word in 1:4; it is wise, prudential consideration, careful planning, or the ability to devise plans with a view to the best way to carry them out. If that ability is retained then temptations to digress will not interfere.

[22:20]  ³ tn Older English versions and a few more recent ones render this phrase as either “excellent things” following the Qere (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NKJV), “officers,” or “heretofore” [day before yesterday], following the Kethib. However (as in most recent English versions) the Qere should be rendered “thirty,” referring to the number in the collection (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[22:20]  ⁴ tn The term “sayings” does not appear in the Hebrew text but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[30:3]  ⁵ sn The construction uses repetition to make the point emphatically: “I do not know the knowledge of the Holy One.” Agur’s claim to being “brutish” is here clarified – he is not one of those who has knowledge or understanding of God. C. H. Toy thinks the speaker is being sarcastic in reference to others who may have claimed such knowledge (Proverbs [ICC], 521).

[30:3]  ⁶ tn The epithet “the Holy One” is the adjective “holy” put in the masculine plural (as in 9:10). This will harmonize with the plural of majesty used to explain the plural with titles for God. However, NRSV takes the plural as a reference to the “holy ones,” presumably referring to angelic beings.

[2:5]  ⁷ tn The verb בִּין (bin, “to perceive; to understand; to discern”) refers to ability to grasp, discern or be sensitive to what it means to fear the Lord.

[2:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “the fear of the Lord.” The noun is an objective genitive; the Lord is to be the object of fear and reverence.

[2:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “find” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[2:5]  ¹⁰ tn The term דַּעַת (da’at, “knowledge”) goes beyond cognition; it is often used metonymically (cause) for obedience (effect); see, e.g., Prov 3:6, “in all your ways acknowledge him,” and BDB 395 s.v. This means that the disciple will follow God’s moral code; for to know God is to react ethically and spiritually to his will (e.g., J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 18).

[2:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “knowledge of God.” The noun is an objective genitive.

[2:10]  ⁹ tn The noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as a metonymy of association for “mind” and “thoughts” (BDB 524 s.v. 3). It represents the center of the inner life where the volition and emotions join to bring about actions. It is used here in parallelism with נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul”), for which see note.

[2:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “knowledge.” For the noun דַּעַת (da’at), see the note on 1:7.

[2:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “pleasant.” The verb יִנְעָם (yin’am, “to be pleasant”) describes what is attractive. It is used of being physically attracted to one’s lover (Song 7:7) or to a close friendship (2 Sam 1:26). Here wisdom becomes attractive to the righteous, that is, the righteous desires to acquire it.

[2:10]  ¹² tn Heb “your soul.” The term נַפְשְׁךָ (nafshÿkha, “your soul”) functions as a synecdoche of part (= soul) for the whole person (= you); see BDB 660 s.v. 4.a.2. It also might function as a metonymy of association for emotions and passions (BDB 660 s.v. 6) or mental cognition (BDB 660 s.v. 7).

[8:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “discipline.” The term refers to instruction that trains with discipline (e.g., Prov 1:2).

[8:10]  ¹² tn Heb “and not” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “in preference to.”

[8:12]  ¹³ tn The noun is “shrewdness,” i.e., the right use of knowledge in special cases (see also the discussion in 1:4); cf. NLT “good judgment.” The word in this sentence is an adverbial accusative of specification.

[8:12]  ¹⁴ tn This verb form is an imperfect, whereas the verb in the first colon was a perfect tense. The perfect should be classified as a gnomic perfect, and this form a habitual imperfect, because both verbs describe the nature of wisdom.

[9:10]  ¹⁵ sn The difference between תְּחִלַּת (tÿkhillat) here and רֵאשִׁית (re’shit) of 1:7, if there is any substantial difference, is that this term refers to the starting point of wisdom, and the earlier one indicates the primary place of wisdom (K&D 16:202).

[9:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “fear of the Lord.”

[9:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “knowledge of the Holy One” (so ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[9:10]  ¹⁸ tn The word is in the plural in the Hebrew (literally “holy ones”; KJV “the holy”). It was translated “holy men” in Tg. Prov 9:10. But it probably was meant to signify the majestic nature of the Lord. As J. H. Greenstone says, he is “all-holy” (Proverbs, 94). This is an example of the plural of majesty, one of the honorific uses of the plural (see IBHS 122-23 §7.4.3b).

[14:6]  ¹⁷ sn The “scorner” (לֵץ, lets) is intellectually arrogant; he lacks any serious interest in knowledge or religion. He pursues wisdom in a superficial way so that he can appear wise. The acquisition of wisdom is conditioned by one’s attitude toward it (J. H. Greenstone, Proverbs, 149).

[14:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and there is not.”

[14:6]  ¹⁹ sn The Niphal of קָלַל (qalal) means “to appear light; to appear trifling; to appear easy.”