Proverbs 7:27

7:27 Her house is the way to the grave, ¹ 

going down ²  to the chambers ³  of death.

Proverbs 18:8

18:8 The words of a gossip ⁴  are like choice morsels; ⁵ 

they go down into the person’s innermost being. ⁶ 

Proverbs 21:22

21:22 The wise person ⁷  can scale ⁸  the city of the mighty

and bring down the stronghold ⁹  in which they trust. ¹⁰ 

Proverbs 26:22

26:22 The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels;

they go down into a person’s innermost being. ¹¹ 

[7:27]  ¹ tn The noun “Sheol” in parallelism to “the chambers of death” probably means the grave. The noun is a genitive of location, indicating the goal of the road(s). Her house is not the grave; it is, however, the sure way to it.

[7:27]  ² tn The Qal active participle modifies “ways” to Sheol. The “road,” as it were, descends to the place of death.

[7:27]  ³ tn “Chambers” is a hypocatastasis, comparing the place of death or the grave with a bedroom in the house. It plays on the subtlety of the temptation. Cf. NLT “Her bedroom is the den of death.”

[18:8]  ⁴ tn Or “slanderer”; KJV, NAB “talebearer”; ASV, NRSV “whisperer.”

[18:8]  ⁵ tn The word כְּמִתְלַהֲמִים (kÿmitlahamim) occurs only here. It is related to a cognate verb meaning “to swallow greedily.” Earlier English versions took it from a Hebrew root הָלַם (halam, see the word לְמַהֲלֻמוֹת [lÿmahalumot] in v. 6) meaning “wounds” (so KJV). But the translation of “choice morsels” fits the idea of gossip better.

[18:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “they go down [into] the innermost parts of the belly”; NASB “of the body.”

[21:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “The wise [one/man].”

[21:22]  ⁸ tn The Qal perfect tense of עָלָה (’alah) functions in a potential nuance. Wisdom can be more effectual than physical strength.

[21:22]  ⁹ sn In a war the victory is credited not so much to the infantry as to the tactician who plans the attack. Brilliant strategy wins wars, even over apparently insuperable odds (e.g., Prov 24:5-6; Eccl 9:13-16; 2 Cor 10:4).

[21:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and bring down the strength of its confidence.” The word “strength” is a metonymy of adjunct, referring to the place of strength, i.e., “the stronghold.” “Confidence” is a genitive of worth; the stronghold is their confidence, it is appropriate for the confidence of the city.

[26:22]  ¹⁰ tn The proverb is essentially the same as 18:8; it observes how appealing gossip is.