Proverbs 8:6

8:6 Listen, for I will speak excellent things, ¹ 

and my lips will utter ²  what is right.

Proverbs 16:13

16:13 The delight of kings ³  is righteous counsel, ⁴ 

and they love the one who speaks ⁵  uprightly. ⁶ 

Proverbs 21:28

21:28 A lying witness ⁷  will perish, ⁸ 

but the one who reports accurately speaks forever. ⁹ 

Proverbs 23:9

23:9 Do not speak in the ears of a fool, ¹⁰ 

for he will despise the wisdom of your words. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 24:2

24:2 for their hearts contemplate violence,

and their lips speak harm. ¹² 

Proverbs 25:11

25:11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver, ¹³ 

so is a word skillfully spoken. ¹⁴ 

[8:6]  ¹ tn Heb “noble” or “princely.” Wisdom begins the first motivation by claiming to speak noble things, that is, excellent things.

[8:6]  ² tn Heb “opening of my lips” (so KJV, NASB). The noun “lips” is a metonymy of cause, with the organ of speech put for what is said.

[16:13]  ³ tn The MT has the plural, even though the verb “loves” is masculine singular. The ancient versions and two Hebrew mss read “a king.”

[16:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “lips of righteousness”; cf. NAB, NIV “honest lips.” The genitive “righteousness” functions as an attributive adjective. The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause for what is said: “righteous speech” or “righteous counsel.”

[16:13]  ⁵ tn The MT has the singular participle followed by the plural adjective (which is here a substantive). The editors of BHS wish to follow the ancient versions in making the participle plural, “those who speak uprightly.”

[16:13]  ⁶ sn The verse is talking about righteous kings, of course – they love righteousness and not flattery. In this proverb “righteous” and “upright” referring to what is said means “what is right and straight,” i.e., the truth (cf. NCV).

[21:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “a witness of lies,” an attributive genitive.

[21:28]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew verb translated “will perish” (יֹאבֵד, yo’bed) could mean that the false witness will die, either by the hand of God or by the community. But it also could be taken in the sense that the false testimony will be destroyed. This would mean that “false witness” would be a metonymy of cause – what he says will perish (cf. NCV “will be forgotten”).

[21:28]  ⁷ tn Heb “but a man who listens speaks forever.” The first part of it may mean (1) a true witness, one who reports what he actually hears. But it may also refer to (2) someone who listens to the false testimony given by the false witness. The NIV follows the suggestion of a homonym for the Hebrew word with the meaning “will perish/be destroyed”: “will be destroyed forever.” This suggests a synonymous pair of ideas rather than a contrast. Others accept antithetical parallelism. C. H. Toy suggested an idea like “be established” to contrast with “will perish” (Proverbs [ICC], 411). W. McKane suggested it meant the truthful witness “will speak to the end” without being put down (Proverbs [OTL], 556). It is simpler to interpret the words that are here in the sense of a contrast. The idea of speaking forever/to the end would then be hyperbolic.

[23:9]  ⁷ sn The mention of “the ears” emphasizes the concerted effort to get the person’s undivided attention. However, a fool rejects instruction and discipline.

[23:9]  ⁸ sn Saying number nine indicates that wisdom is wasted on a fool. The literature of Egypt has no specific parallel to this one.

[24:2]  ⁹ sn This nineteenth saying warns against evil associations. Evil people are obsessed with destruction and trouble. See on this theme 1:10-19; 3:31 and 23:17. D. Kidner observes that a close view of sinners is often a good antidote to envying them (Proverbs [TOTC], 153).

[25:11]  ¹¹ sn The verse uses emblematic parallelism, stating the simile in the first part and the point in the second. The meaning of the simile is not entirely clear, but it does speak of beauty, value, and artistry. The “apples of gold” (possibly citrons, quinces, oranges, or apricots) may refer to carvings of fruit in gold on columns.

[25:11]  ¹² tn Heb “on its wheels.” This expression means “aptly, fittingly.” The point is obviously about the immense value and memorable beauty of words used skillfully (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 148). Noting the meaning of the term and the dual form of the word, W. McKane suggests that the expression is metaphorical for the balancing halves of a Hebrew parallel wisdom saying: “The stichos is a wheel, and the sentence consisting of two wheels is a ‘well-turned’ expression” (Proverbs [OTL], 584). The line then would be describing a balanced, well-turned saying, a proverb; it is skillfully constructed, beautifully written, and of lasting value.