Proverbs 6:21

Context

6:21 Bind them¹ on your heart continually;

fasten them around your neck.

Proverbs 15:15

Context

15:15 All the days² of the afflicted³ are bad,⁴

but one with⁵ a cheerful heart has a continual feast.⁶

Proverbs 28:14

Context

28:14 Blessed is the one who is always cautious,⁷

but whoever hardens his heart⁸ will fall into evil.

[6:21] ¹sn The figures used here are hypocatastases (implied comparisons). There may also be an allusion to Deut 6 where the people were told to bind the law on their foreheads and arms. The point here is that the disciple will never be without these instructions. See further, P. W. Skehan, Studies in Israelite Poetry and Wisdom (CBQMS), 1-8.

[15:15] ²sn The “days” represent what happens on those days (metonymy of subject).

[15:15] ³tn The contrast is between the “afflicted” and the “good of heart” (a genitive of specification, “cheerful/healthy heart/spirit/attitude”).

[15:15] ⁴tn Or “evil”; or “catastrophic.”

[15:15] ⁵tn “one with” is supplied.

[15:15] ⁶sn The image of a continual feast signifies the enjoyment of what life offers (cf. TEV “happy people…enjoy life”). The figure is a hypocatastasis; among its several implications are joy, fulfillment, abundance, pleasure.

[28:14] ³tn Most commentators (and some English versions, e.g., NIV) assume that the participle מְפַחֵד (mÿfakhed, “fears”) means “fears the Lord,” even though “the Lord” is not present in the text. Such an assumption would be more convincing if the word יִרְאַת (yir’at) had been used. It is possible that the verse refers to fearing sin or its consequences. In other words, the one who is always apprehensive about the nature and consequences of sin will avoid sin and find God’s blessing. Of course the assumption that the phrase means “fear the Lord” could be correct as well. There would be little difference in the outcome; in either case sin would be avoided.

[28:14] ⁴sn The one who “hardens his heart” in this context is the person who refuses to fear sin and its consequences. The image of the “hard heart” is one of a stubborn will, unyielding and unbending (cf. NCV, TEV, NLT). This individual will fall into sin.