Proverbs 8:4

8:4 “To you, O people, ¹  I call out,

and my voice calls ²  to all mankind. ³ 

Proverbs 8:31

8:31 rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, ⁴ 

and delighting ⁵  in its people. ⁶ 

[8:4]  ¹ tn Heb “men.” Although it might be argued in light of the preceding material that males would be particularly addressed by wisdom here, the following material indicates a more universal appeal. Cf. TEV, NLT “to all of you.”

[8:4]  ² tn The verb “calls” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of style.

[8:4]  ³ tn Heb “sons of man.” Cf. NAB “the children of men”; NCV, NLT “all people”; NRSV “all that live.”

[8:31]  ⁴ tn The two words are synonymous in general and so could be taken to express a superlative idea – the “whole world” (cf. NIV, NCV). But תֵּבֵל (tevel) also means the inhabited world, and so the construct may be interpreted as a partitive genitive.

[8:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “and my delights” [were] with/in.”

[8:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “the sons of man.”