Psalms 71:8

71:8 I praise you constantly

and speak of your splendor all day long. ¹ 

Psalms 71:15

71:15 I will tell about your justice,

and all day long proclaim your salvation, ² 

though I cannot fathom its full extent. ³ 

Psalms 37:30

37:30 The godly speak wise words

and promote justice. ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 11:19

11:19 Teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, ⁵  as you lie down, and as you get up.

Proverbs 10:20-21

10:20 What the righteous say ⁶  is like ⁷  the best ⁸  silver,

but what the wicked think ⁹  is of little value. ¹⁰ 

10:21 The teaching ¹¹  of the righteous feeds ¹²  many,

but fools die ¹³  for lack of wisdom. ¹⁴ 

Matthew 12:35

12:35 The good person ¹⁵  brings good things out of his ¹⁶  good treasury, ¹⁷  and the evil person brings evil things out of his evil treasury.

Ephesians 4:29

4:29 You must let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, ¹⁸  that it may give grace to those who hear.

[71:8]  ¹ tn Heb “my mouth is filled [with] your praise, all the day [with] your splendor.”

[71:15]  ² tn Heb “my mouth declares your vindication, all the day your deliverance.”

[71:15]  ³ tn Heb “though I do not know [the] numbers,” that is, the tally of God’s just and saving acts. HALOT 768 s.v. סְפֹרוֹת understands the plural noun to mean “the art of writing.”

[37:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “The mouth of the godly [one] utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.” The singular form is used in a representative sense; the typical godly individual is in view. The imperfect verbal forms draw attention to the characteristic behavior of the godly.

[11:19]  ⁵ tn Or “as you are away on a journey” (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT); NAB “at home and abroad.”

[10:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “the lips of the righteous.” The term “lips” functions as a metonymy of cause for speech. This contrasts the tongue (metonymy of cause for what they say) with the heart (metonymy of subject for what they intend). What the righteous say is more valuable than what the wicked intend.

[10:20]  ⁷ tn The comparative “like” is not in the Hebrew text but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[10:20]  ⁸ tn Or “pure”; Heb “choice.”

[10:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “the heart of the wicked” (so KJV, NAB, NIV). The term “heart” functions as a metonymy of cause for thoughts. The term לֵב (lev, “heart”) often refers to the seat of thoughts, will and emotions (BDB 524 s.v. 3-4).

[10:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “like little.” This expression refers to what has little value: “little worth” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV; cf. BDB 590 s.v. מְעַט 2.d). The point of the metaphor is clarified by the parallelism: Silver is valuable; the heart of the wicked is worth little. Tg. Prov 10:20 says it was full of dross, a contrast with choice silver.

[10:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “lips.” The term “lips” functions as a metonymy of cause for what is said (or in this case taught).

[10:21]  ¹² tn The verb רָעָה (ra’ah) means “to feed” or “to shepherd” (e.g., Gen 48:15). What they say will meet the needs of many.

[10:21]  ¹³ tn In what sense the fool “dies” is unclear. Fools ruin their lives and the lives of others by their lack of discipline and knowledge. The contrast is between enhancing life and ruining life.

[10:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “heart.” The term לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as a metonymy of association for wisdom and knowledge (BDB 524 s.v. 3.a).

[12:35]  ¹⁵ tn The Greek text reads here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos). The term is generic referring to any person.

[12:35]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “the”; the Greek article has been translated here and in the following clause (“his evil treasury”) as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[12:35]  ¹⁷ sn The treasury here is a metaphorical reference to a person’s heart (cf. BDAG 456 s.v. θησαυρός 1.b and the parallel passage in Luke 6:45).

[4:29]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “but if something good for the building up of the need.” The final genitive τῆς χρείας (th" creia") may refer to “the need of the moment” or it may refer to the need of a particular person or group of people as the next phrase “give grace to those who hear” indicates.