Psalms 107:43

107:43 Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things!

Let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love!

Proverbs 1:5-6

1:5 (Let the wise also ¹  hear ²  and gain ³  instruction,

and let the discerning ⁴  acquire ⁵  guidance! ⁶ )

1:6 To discern ⁷  the meaning of ⁸  a proverb and a parable, ⁹ 

the sayings of the wise ¹⁰  and their ¹¹  riddles. ¹² 

Proverbs 4:18

4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the bright morning light, ¹³ 

growing brighter and brighter ¹⁴  until full day. ¹⁵ 

Jeremiah 9:12

9:12 I said, ¹⁶ 

“Who is wise enough to understand why this has happened? ¹⁷ 

Who has a word from the Lord that can explain it? ¹⁸ 

Why does the land lie in ruins?

Why is it as scorched as a desert through which no one travels?”

Daniel 12:10

12:10 Many will be purified, made clean, and refined, but the wicked will go on being wicked. None of the wicked will understand, though the wise will understand.

Matthew 13:11-12

13:11 He replied, ¹⁹  “You have been given ²⁰  the opportunity to know ²¹  the secrets ²²  of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not. 13:12 For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ²³ 

John 8:47

8:47 The one who belongs to ²⁴  God listens and responds ²⁵  to God’s words. You don’t listen and respond, ²⁶  because you don’t belong to God.” ²⁷ 

John 18:37

18:37 Then Pilate said, ²⁸  “So you are a king!” Jesus replied, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world – to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to ²⁹  my voice.”

[1:5]  ¹ tn The term “also” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[1:5]  ² tn The verb יִשְׁמַע (yishma’) functions as a jussive of advice or counsel (“Let him hear!”) rather than a customary imperfect (“he will hear”). The jussive is supported by the parallelism with the following Hiphil jussive וְיוֹסֶף (vÿyosef, “Let him add!”).

[1:5]  ³ tn Heb “add.”

[1:5]  ⁴ tn The Niphal substantival participle נָבוֹן (navon, “discerning”), rather than the noun, is used to describe a person who is habitually characterized by discernment. 1:5 forms a striking contrast to 1:4 – there was the simpleton and the youth, here the wise and discerning. Both need this book.

[1:5]  ⁵ tn The Hiphil verb וְיוֹסֶף (vÿyosef) is a jussive rather than an imperfect as the final short vowel (segol) and accent on the first syllable shows (BDB 415 s.v. יָסַף Hiph).

[1:5]  ⁶ tn The noun תַּחְבֻּלָה (takhbulah, “direction; counsel”) refers to moral guidance (BDB 287 s.v.). It is related to חֹבֵל (khovel, “sailor”), חִבֵּל (khibel, “mast”) and חֶבֶל (khevel, “rope; cord”), so BDB suggests it originally meant directing a ship by pulling ropes on the mast. It is used in a concrete sense of God directing the path of clouds (Job 37:12) and in a figurative sense of moral guidance (Prov 11:14; 20:18; 24:6). Here it refers to the ability to steer a right course through life (A. Cohen, Proverbs, 2).

[1:6]  ⁷ tn The infinitive construct + ל (lamed) means “to discern” and introduces the fifth purpose of the book. It focuses on the benefits of proverbs from the perspective of the reader. By studying proverbs the reader will discern the hermeneutical key to understanding more and more proverbs.

[1:6]  ⁸ tn The phrase “the meaning of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:6]  ⁹ tn The noun מְלִיצָה (mÿlitsah) means “allusive expression; enigma” in general, and “proverb, parable” in particular (BDB 539 s.v.; HALOT 590 s.v.). The related noun מֵלִיץ means “interpreter” (Gen 42:23). The related Arabic root means “to turn aside,” so this Hebrew term might refer to a saying that has a “hidden meaning” to its words; see H. N. Richardson, “Some Notes on לִיץ and Its Derivatives,” VT 5 (1955): 163-79.

[1:6]  ¹⁰ tn This line functions in apposition to the preceding, further explaining the phrase “a proverb and a parable.”

[1:6]  ¹¹ tn The term “their” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but seems to be implied; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[1:6]  ¹² tn The noun חִידָה (khidah, “riddle”) designates enigmatic sayings whose meaning is obscure or hidden, such as a riddle (Num 12:8; Judg 14:12, 19), allegory (Ezek 17:2), perplexing moral problem (Pss 49:5; 78:2), perplexing question (1 Kgs 10:1 = 2 Chr 9:1) or ambiguous saying (Dan 8:23); see BDB 295 s.v. and HALOT 309 s.v. If this is related to Arabic hada (“to turn aside, avoid”), it refers to sayings whose meanings are obscure. The sayings of the wise often take the form of riddles that must be discerned.

[4:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “like light of brightness.” This construction is an attributive genitive: “bright light.” The word “light” (אוֹר, ’or) refers to the early morning light or the dawn (BDB 21 s.v.). The point of the simile is that the course of life that the righteous follow is like the clear, bright morning light. It is illumined, clear, easy to follow, and healthy and safe – the opposite of what darkness represents.

[4:18]  ¹⁴ tn The construction uses the Qal active participle of הָלַךְ (halakh) in a metaphorical sense to add the idea of continuance or continually to the participle הוֹלֵךְ (holekh). Here the path was growing light, but the added participle signifies continually.

[4:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “until the day is established.” This expression refers to the coming of the full day or the time of high noon.

[9:12]  ¹⁶ tn The words, “I said” are not in the text. It is not clear that a shift in speaker has taken place. However, the words of the verse are very unlikely to be a continuation of the Lord’s threat. It is generally assumed that these are the words of Jeremiah and that a dialogue is going on between him and the Lord in vv. 9-14. That assumption is accepted here.

[9:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Who is the wise man that he may understand this?”

[9:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “And [who is the man] to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken that he may explain it?”

[13:11]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And answering, he said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[13:11]  ²⁰ tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

[13:11]  ²¹ tn Grk “to you it has been given to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.

[13:11]  ²² tn Grk “the mysteries.”

[13:12]  ²³ sn What he has will be taken from him. The meaning is that the one who accepts Jesus’ teaching concerning his person and the kingdom will receive a share in the kingdom now and even more in the future, but for the one who rejects Jesus’ words, the opportunity that that person presently possesses with respect to the kingdom will someday be taken away forever.

[8:47]  ²⁴ tn Grk “who is of.”

[8:47]  ²⁵ tn Grk “to God hears” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).

[8:47]  ²⁶ tn Grk “you do not hear” (in the sense of listening to something and responding to it).

[8:47]  ²⁷ tn Grk “you are not of God.”

[18:37]  ²⁸ tn Grk “said to him.”

[18:37]  ²⁹ tn Or “obeys”; Grk “hears.”