Proverbs 8:34-36

8:34 Blessed is the one ¹  who listens to me,

watching ²  at my doors day by day,

waiting ³  beside my doorway. ⁴ 

8:35 For the one who finds me finds ⁵  life

and receives ⁶  favor from the Lord.

8:36 But the one who does not find me ⁷  brings harm ⁸  to himself; ⁹ 

all who hate me ¹⁰  love death.”

[8:34]  ¹ tn Heb “the man.”

[8:34]  ² tn The form לִשְׁקֹד (lishqod) is the infinitive construct serving epexegetically in the sentence. It explains how the person will listen to wisdom.

[8:34]  ³ tn Heb “keeping” or “guarding.”

[8:34]  ⁴ tn Heb “at the posts of my doors” (so KJV, ASV).

[8:35]  ⁵ tc The Kethib reads plurals: “those who find me are finders of life”; this is reflected in the LXX and Syriac. But the Qere is singular: “whoever finds me finds life.” The Qere is generally favored as the original reading in such cases as these.

[8:35]  ⁶ tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive carries the same nuance as the perfect tense that came before it, setting out the timeless principle.

[8:36]  ⁷ tn Heb “the one sinning [against] me.” The verb חָטָא (khata’, “to sin”) forms a contrast with “find” in the previous verse, and so has its basic meaning of “failing to find, miss.” So it is talking about the one who misses wisdom, as opposed to the one who finds it.

[8:36]  ⁸ tn The Qal active participle functions verbally here. The word stresses both social and physical harm and violence.

[8:36]  ⁹ tn Heb “his soul.”

[8:36]  ¹⁰ tn The basic idea of the verb שָׂנֵא (sane’, “to hate”) is that of rejection. Its antonym is also used in the line, “love,” which has the idea of choosing. So not choosing (i.e., hating) wisdom amounts to choosing (i.e., loving) death.