Psalms 119:14

119:14 I rejoice in the lifestyle prescribed by your rules ¹ 

as if ²  they were riches of all kinds. ³ 

Psalms 119:111

119:111 I claim your rules as my permanent possession,

for they give me joy. ⁴ 

Psalms 119:127

119:127 For this reason ⁵  I love your commands

more than gold, even purest gold.

Psalms 119:162

119:162 I rejoice in your instructions,

like one who finds much plunder. ⁶ 

Psalms 19:10

19:10 They are of greater value ⁷  than gold,

than even a great amount of pure gold;

they bring greater delight ⁸  than honey,

than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.

Proverbs 3:14-15

3:14 For her ⁹  benefit ¹⁰  is more profitable ¹¹  than silver,

and her ¹²  gain ¹³  is better ¹⁴  than gold.

3:15 She is more precious than rubies,

and none of the things ¹⁵  you desire ¹⁶  can compare ¹⁷  with her. ¹⁸ 

Proverbs 8:10-11

8:10 Receive my instruction ¹⁹  rather than ²⁰  silver,

and knowledge rather than choice gold.

8:11 For wisdom is better than rubies,

and desirable things cannot be compared ²¹  to her.

Proverbs 8:19

8:19 My fruit is better than the purest gold, ²² 

and what I produce ²³  is better than choice silver.

Proverbs 16:16

16:16 How much better it is to acquire ²⁴  wisdom than gold;

to acquire understanding is more desirable ²⁵  than silver.

Matthew 13:44-46

Parables on the Kingdom of Heaven

13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.

13:45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 13:46 When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.

[119:14]  ¹ tn Heb “in the way of your rules.”

[119:14]  ² tn Heb “as upon,” meaning “as if” (see 2 Chr 32:19).

[119:14]  ³ tn Heb “all wealth.” The phrase refers to all kinds of wealth and riches. See Prov 1:13; 6:31; 24:4; Ezek 27:12, 18.

[119:111]  ⁴ tn Heb “for the joy of my heart [are] they.”

[119:127]  ⁵ tn “For this reason” connects logically with the statement made in v. 126. Because the judgment the psalmist fears (see vv. 119-120) is imminent, he remains loyal to God’s law.

[119:162]  ⁶ tn Heb “like one who finds great plunder.” See Judg 5:30. The image is that of a victorious warrior who finds a large amount of plunder on the field of battle.

[19:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “more desirable.”

[19:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “are sweeter.” God’s law is “sweet’ in the sense that, when obeyed, it brings a great reward (see v. 11b).

[3:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “her profit.” The 3rd person feminine singular suffix on the noun is probably a genitive of source: “from her.”

[3:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “profit.” The noun סַחַר (sakhar, “trading profit”) often refers to the financial profit of traveling merchants (Isa 23:3, 18; 45:14; HALOT 750 s.v.). The related participle describes a traveling “trader, dealer, wholesaler, merchant” (e.g., Gen 37:28; Prov 31:14; Isa 23:2; Ezek 27:36; HALOT 750 s.v. סחר qal.2). Here the noun is used figuratively to describe the moral benefit of wisdom.

[3:14]  ¹¹ tn The noun סַחַר (“profit”) is repeated in this line for emphasis. The two usages draw upon slightly different nuances, creating a polysemantic wordplay. The moral “benefit” of wisdom is more “profitable” than silver.

[3:14]  ¹² tn Heb “her yield.” The 3rd person feminine singular suffix on the noun is probably a genitive of source: “from her.”

[3:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “yield.” The noun תְּבוּאָה (tÿvu’ah, “product; yield”) is normally used of crops and harvests (BDB 100 s.v. 1). Here it is figurative for the moral benefit of wisdom (BDB 100 s.v. 2.b).

[3:14]  ¹⁴ tn The phrase “is better” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

[3:15]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “all of your desires cannot compare with her.”

[3:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “your desires.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix on the noun probably functions as subjective genitive.

[3:15]  ¹⁷ tn The imperfect tense verb יָסַד (yasad, “to establish be like; to resemble”) has a potential nuance here: “can be compared with.”

[3:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “All of your desires do not compare with her.”

[8:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “discipline.” The term refers to instruction that trains with discipline (e.g., Prov 1:2).

[8:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and not” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “in preference to.”

[8:11]  ²¹ tn The verb יִשְׁווּ (yishvu, from שָׁוָה, shavah) can be rendered “are not comparable” or in a potential nuance “cannot be compared” with her.

[8:19]  ²² tn The two synonyms, “than gold, than fine gold” probably form a hendiadys here to express “the very finest gold.”

[8:19]  ²³ sn The language of the text with “fruit” and “ingathering” is the language of the harvest – what the crops yield. So the figure is hypocatastasis, comparing what wisdom produces to such crops.

[16:16]  ²⁴ tn The form קְנֹה (qÿnoh) is an infinitive; the Greek version apparently took it as a participle, and the Latin as an imperative – both working with an unpointed קנה, the letter ה (he) being unexpected in the form if it is an infinitive construct (the parallel clause has קְנוֹת [qÿnot] for the infinitive, but the ancient versions also translate that as either a participle or an imperative).

[16:16]  ²⁵ tn The form is a Niphal participle, masculine singular. If it is modifying “understanding” it should be a feminine form. If it is to be translated, it would have to be rendered “and to acquire understanding is to be chosen more than silver” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). Many commentaries consider it superfluous. NIV and NCV simply have “to choose understanding rather than silver!”