Proverbs 6:6

6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; ¹ 

observe its ways and be wise!

Proverbs 7:7

7:7 and I saw among the naive –

I discerned among the youths ²  –

a young man ³  who lacked wisdom. ⁴ 

Proverbs 20:12

20:12 The ear that hears and the eye that sees ⁵  –

the Lord has made them both. ⁶ 

Proverbs 22:3

22:3 A shrewd person ⁷  sees danger ⁸  and hides himself,

but the naive keep right on going ⁹  and suffer for it. ¹⁰ 

Proverbs 24:18

24:18 lest the Lord see it, and be displeased, ¹¹ 

and turn his wrath away from him. ¹² 

Proverbs 24:32

24:32 When I saw this, I gave careful consideration to it; ¹³ 

I received instruction from what I saw: ¹⁴ 

Proverbs 26:12

26:12 Do you see ¹⁵  a man wise in his own eyes? ¹⁶ 

There is more hope for a fool ¹⁷  than for him.

Proverbs 27:12

27:12 A shrewd person sees danger and hides himself,

but the naive keep right on going ¹⁸  and suffer for it.

Proverbs 27:25

27:25 When the hay is removed and new grass appears,

and the grass from the hills is gathered in,

Proverbs 29:16

29:16 When the wicked increase, ¹⁹  transgression increases,

but the righteous will see ²⁰  their downfall.

[6:6]  ¹ sn The sluggard (עָצֵל, ’atsel) is the lazy or sluggish person (cf. NCV “lazy person”; NRSV, NLT “lazybones”).

[7:7]  ² tn Heb “sons.”

[7:7]  ³ tn Heb “lad” or “youth.”

[7:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “heart.”

[20:12]  ³ sn The first half of the verse refers to two basic senses that the Lord has given to people. C. H. Toy, however, thinks that they represent all the faculties (Proverbs [ICC], 388). But in the book of Proverbs seeing and hearing come to the fore. By usage “hearing” also means obeying (15:31; 25:12), and “seeing” also means perceiving and understanding (Isa 6:9-10).

[20:12]  ⁴ sn The verse not only credits God with making these faculties of hearing and sight and giving them to people, but it also emphasizes their spiritual use in God’s service.

[22:3]  ⁴ sn The contrast is between the “shrewd” (prudent) person and the “simpleton.” The shrewd person knows where the dangers and pitfalls are in life and so can avoid them; the naive person is unwary, untrained, and gullible, unable to survive the dangers of the world and blundering into them.

[22:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “evil,” a term that is broad enough to include (1) “sin” as well as (2) any form of “danger” (NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT) or “trouble” (TEV, CEV). The second option is more likely what is meant here: The naive simpleton does not see the danger to be avoided and so suffers for it.

[22:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “go on”; the word “right” is supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning: The naive person, oblivious to impending danger, meets it head on (cf. TEV “will walk right into it”).

[22:3]  ⁷ tn The verb עָנַשׁ (’anash) means “to fine” specifically. In the Niphal stem it means “to be fined,” or more generally, “to be punished.” In this line the punishment is the consequence of blundering into trouble – they will pay for it.

[24:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “and [it is] evil in his eyes.”

[24:18]  ⁶ sn The judgment of God should strike a note of fear in the heart of people (e.g., Lev 19:17-18). His judgment is not to be taken lightly, or personalized as a victory. If that were to happen, then the Lord might take pity on the enemies in their calamity, for he champions the downtrodden and defeated. These are probably personal enemies; the imprecatory psalms and the prophetic oracles present a different set of circumstances for the downfall of God’s enemies – even the book of Proverbs says that brings joy to the community.

[24:32]  ⁶ sn Heb “I set my heart.” The “heart” represents the mind and the will combined; to “set” the mind and will means to give careful consideration to what was observed.

[24:32]  ⁷ tn Heb “I looked, I received instruction.” There are four verbs in the two parts of this verse: “I saw…I set…I saw…I received.” It is clear that the first two verbs in each half verse are the foundation for the next two. At the beginning of the verse the form is the preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive; it can be subordinated as a temporal clause to the next verb, probably to be identified as a preterite with the vav – “when I saw, I put.” The next two verbs are both perfect tenses; their construction would parallel the first half of the verse, even though there are no conjunctions here – “[when] I saw, I received.”

[26:12]  ⁷ tn The verse simply uses a perfect tense. The meaning of the verse would be the same if this were interpreted as an affirmation rather than as an interrogative. The first line calls such a person to one’s attention.

[26:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “in his own eyes” (so NAB, NASB, NIV).

[26:12]  ⁹ sn Previous passages in the book of Proverbs all but deny the possibility of hope for the fool. So this proverb is saying there is absolutely no hope for the self-conceited person, and there might be a slight hope for the fool – he may yet figure out that he really is a fool.

[27:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “go on”; the word “right” is supplied in the translation to clarify the meaning: The naive person, oblivious to impending danger, meets it head on.

[29:16]  ⁹ tn The verb רָבָה (ravah), which is repeated twice in this line, means “to increase.” The first occurrence here is usually taken to mean that when the wicked increase they hold the power (cf. NRSV, NLT “are in authority”; TEV, CEV “are in power”). The text does not explain the details, only that when the wicked increase sin will increase in the land.

[29:16]  ¹⁰ sn The Hebrew verb translated “see” in this context indicates a triumph: The righteous will gaze with satisfaction, or they will look on the downfall of the wicked triumphantly (e.g., Pss 37:4 and 112:8). The verse is teaching that no matter how widespread evil may be, the righteous will someday see its destruction.