Psalms 136:5

136:5 to the one who used wisdom to make the heavens,

for his loyal love endures,

Genesis 1:31

1:31 God saw all that he had made – and it was very good! ¹  There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.

Proverbs 3:19-20

3:19 By wisdom the Lord laid the foundation of the earth; ² 

he established the heavens by understanding. ³ 

3:20 By his knowledge the primordial sea ⁴  was broken open, ⁵ 

and the clouds drip down dew. ⁶ 

Proverbs 8:22-36

8:22 The Lord created ⁷  me as the beginning ⁸  of his works, ⁹ 

before his deeds of long ago.

8:23 From eternity I was appointed, ¹⁰ 

from the beginning, from before the world existed. ¹¹ 

8:24 When there were no deep oceans ¹²  I was born, ¹³ 

when there were no springs overflowing ¹⁴  with water;

8:25 before the mountains were set in place –

before the hills – I was born,

8:26 before he made the earth and its fields, ¹⁵ 

or the beginning ¹⁶  of the dust of the world.

8:27 When he established the heavens, I was there;

when he marked out the horizon ¹⁷  over the face of the deep,

8:28 when he established the clouds above,

when the fountains of the deep grew strong, ¹⁸ 

8:29 when he gave the sea his decree

that the waters should not pass over his command, ¹⁹ 

when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

8:30 then I was ²⁰  beside him as a master craftsman, ²¹ 

and I was his delight ²²  day by day,

rejoicing before him at all times,

8:31 rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, ²³ 

and delighting ²⁴  in its people. ²⁵ 

8:32 “So now, children, ²⁶  listen to me;

blessed are those who keep my ways.

8:33 Listen to my instruction ²⁷  so that you may be wise, ²⁸ 

and do not neglect it.

8:34 Blessed is the one ²⁹  who listens to me,

watching ³⁰  at my doors day by day,

waiting ³¹  beside my doorway. ³² 

8:35 For the one who finds me finds ³³  life

and receives ³⁴  favor from the Lord.

8:36 But the one who does not find me ³⁵  brings harm ³⁶  to himself; ³⁷ 

all who hate me ³⁸  love death.”

Jeremiah 10:12

10:12 The Lord is the one who ³⁹  by his power made the earth.

He is the one who by his wisdom established the world.

And by his understanding he spread out the skies.

Romans 11:33

11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!

Ephesians 1:8

1:8 that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.

Ephesians 3:10

3:10 The purpose of this enlightenment is that ⁴⁰  through the church the multifaceted wisdom ⁴¹  of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms.

[1:31]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text again uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) for the sake of vividness. It is a particle that goes with the gesture of pointing, calling attention to something.

[3:19]  ² tn Heb “founded the earth.” The verb יָסַד (yasad, “to establish; to found”) describes laying the foundation of a building (1 Kgs 5:31 [HT]; 7:10; 2 Chr 3:3; Ezra 3:10-12; Zech 4:9) and God laying the foundation of the earth (Job 38:4; Pss 24:2; 89:12; 102:26; 104:5; Isa 48:13; 51:13, 16; Zech 12:1).

[3:19]  ³ sn The theme of God’s use of wisdom in creation is developed in Prov 8:22-31. Because God established the world to operate according to the principle of wisdom it is impossible for anyone to live successfully in his world apart from the wisdom that only God can give.

[3:20]  ⁴ sn The word תְּהוֹמוֹת (tÿhomot, “primordial sea”) alludes to the chaotic “deep” in Gen 1:2 (BDB 1063 s.v. תְּהוֹם 3). This was viewed in the ancient world as a force to be reckoned with. However, God not only formed it but controls it (see J. Emerton, “Spring and Torrent in Ps 74:15,” VT 15 [1965]: 125).

[3:20]  ⁵ sn This might refer to God’s action of dividing the waters to form the dry ground on the third day (Gen 1:9-10) or, less likely, to the breaking up of the fountains of the deep at the flood (Gen 7:11).

[3:20]  ⁶ sn The two colons form a merism: The wisdom of God is behind all forces of nature, whether the violent breaking forth of its watery forces at creation or the provision of the gentle rain and dew throughout history (T. T. Perowne, Proverbs, 55).

[8:22]  ⁷ tn There are two roots קָנָה (qanah) in Hebrew, one meaning “to possess,” and the other meaning “to create.” The earlier English versions did not know of the second root, but suspected in certain places that a meaning like that was necessary (e.g., Gen 4:1; 14:19; Deut 32:6). Ugaritic confirmed that it was indeed another root. The older versions have the translation “possess” because otherwise it sounds like God lacked wisdom and therefore created it at the beginning. They wanted to avoid saying that wisdom was not eternal. Arius liked the idea of Christ as the wisdom of God and so chose the translation “create.” Athanasius translated it, “constituted me as the head of creation.” The verb occurs twelve times in Proverbs with the meaning of “to acquire”; but the Greek and the Syriac versions have the meaning “create.” Although the idea is that wisdom existed before creation, the parallel ideas in these verses (“appointed,” “given birth”) argue for the translation of “create” or “establish” (R. N. Whybray, “Proverbs 8:22-31 and Its Supposed Prototypes,” VT 15 [1965]: 504-14; and W. A. Irwin, “Where Will Wisdom Be Found?” JBL 80 [1961]: 133-42).

[8:22]  ⁸ tn Verbs of creation often involve double accusatives; here the double accusative involves the person (i.e., wisdom) and an abstract noun in construct (IBHS 174-75 §10.2.3c).

[8:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “his way” (so KJV, NASB). The word “way” is an idiom (implied comparison) for the actions of God.

[8:23]  ¹⁰ tn The first parallel verb is נִסַּכְתִּי (nissakhti), “I was appointed.” It is not a common word; it occurs here and in Ps 2:6 for the coronation of the king. It means “installed, set.”

[8:23]  ¹¹ tn The verb “existed” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation in the light of the context.

[8:24]  ¹² sn The summary statements just given are now developed in a lengthy treatment of wisdom as the agent of all creation. This verse singles out “watery deeps” (תְּהֹמוֹת, tÿhomot) in its allusion to creation because the word in Genesis signals the condition of the world at the very beginning, and because in the ancient world this was something no one could control. Chaos was not there first – wisdom was.

[8:24]  ¹³ tn The third parallel verb is חוֹלָלְתִּי (kholalti), “I was given birth.” Some (e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV) translate it “brought forth” – not in the sense of being presented, but in the sense of being “begotten, given birth to.” Here is the strongest support for the translation of קָנָה (qanah) as “created” in v. 22. The verb is not literal; it continues the perspective of the personification.

[8:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “made heavy.”

[8:26]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “open places.”

[8:26]  ¹⁶ tn Here רֹאשׁ (ro’sh) means “beginning” with reference to time (BDB 911 s.v. 4.b).

[8:27]  ¹⁷ sn The infinitive construct בְּחוּקוֹ (bÿkhuqo, “to cut; to engrave; to mark”) and the noun חוּג (khug, “horizon; circle”) form a paronomasia in the line.

[8:28]  ¹⁸ tn To form a better parallel some commentators read this infinitive בַּעֲזוֹז (ba’azoz), “when [they] grew strong,” as a Piel causative, “when he made firm, fixed fast” (cf. NIV “fixed securely”; NLT “established”). But the following verse (“should not pass over”) implies the meaning “grew strong” here.

[8:29]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “his mouth.”

[8:30]  ²⁰ tn The verb form is a preterite with vav consecutive, although it has not been apocopated. It provides the concluding statement for the temporal clauses as well as the parallel to v. 27.

[8:30]  ²¹ tn Critical to the interpretation of this line is the meaning of אָמוֹן (’amon). Several suggestions have been made: “master craftsman” (cf. ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV), “nursing child” (cf. NCV), “foster father.” R. B. Y. Scott chooses “faithful” – a binding or living link (“Wisdom in Creation: The ‘Amon of Proverbs 8:30,” VT 10 [1960]: 213-23). The image of a child is consistent with the previous figure of being “given birth to” (vv. 24, 25). However, “craftsman” has the most support (LXX, Vulgate, Syriac, Tg. Prov 8:30, Song 7:1; Jer 52:15; also P. W. Skehan, “Structures in Poems on Wisdom: Proverbs 8 and Sirach 24,” CBQ 41 [1979]: 365-79).

[8:30]  ²² tn The word is a plural of intensification for “delight”; it describes wisdom as the object of delight. The LXX has the suffix; the Hebrew does not.

[8:31]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and my delights” [were] with/in.”

[8:31]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the sons of man.”

[8:32]  ²⁶ tn Heb “sons.”

[8:33]  ²⁷ tn Heb “discipline.”

[8:33]  ²⁸ tn The construction uses two imperatives joined with the vav (ו); this is a volitive sequence in which result or consequence is being expressed.

[8:34]  ²⁹ tn Heb “the man.”

[8:34]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ tn Heb “keeping” or “guarding.”

[8:34]  ³² tn Heb “at the posts of my doors” (so KJV, ASV).

[8:35]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ tn The Qal active participle functions verbally here. The word stresses both social and physical harm and violence.

[8:36]  ³⁷ tn Heb “his soul.”

[8:36]  ³⁸ 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.

[10:12]  ³⁹ tn The words “The Lord is” are not in the text. They are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation here because of the possible confusion of who the subject is due to the parenthetical address to the people of Israel in v. 11. The first two verbs are participles and should not merely be translated as the narrative past. They are predicate nominatives of an implied copula intending to contrast the Lord as the one who made the earth with the idols which did not.

[3:10]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “that.” Verse 10 is a subordinate clause to the verb “enlighten” in v. 9.

[3:10]  ⁴¹ tn Or “manifold wisdom,” “wisdom in its rich variety.”