Psalms 92:4

92:4 For you, O Lord, have made me happy by your work.

I will sing for joy because of what you have done. ¹ 

Proverbs 17:16

17:16 Of what ²  use is money in the hand of a fool, ³ 

since he has no intention ⁴  of acquiring wisdom? ⁵ 

Proverbs 18:1-2

18:1 One who has isolated himself ⁶  seeks his own desires; ⁷ 

he rejects ⁸  all sound judgment.

18:2 A fool takes no pleasure ⁹  in understanding

but only in disclosing ¹⁰  what is on his mind. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 24:14

24:14 Likewise, know ¹²  that wisdom is sweet ¹³  to your soul;

if you find it, ¹⁴  you will have a future, ¹⁵ 

and your hope will not be cut off.

Romans 1:28

1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, ¹⁶  God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. ¹⁷ 

Romans 8:6

8:6 For the outlook ¹⁸  of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace,

[92:4]  ¹ tn Heb “the works of your hands.”

[17:16]  ² tn Heb “why this?” The term זֶּה (zeh) is an enclitic use of the demonstrative pronoun for emphasis: “why ever” would this happen?

[17:16]  ³ sn The sense seems to be “What good is money” since what the fool needs cannot be bought? The verse is a rhetorical question stating that money would be wasted on a fool.

[17:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “there is no heart”; NASB “he has no (+ common TEV) sense”; NLT “has no heart for wisdom.”

[17:16]  ⁵ sn W. McKane envisions a situation where the fool comes to a sage with a fee in hand, supposing that he can acquire a career as a sage, and this gives rise to the biting comment here: Why does the fool have money in his hands? To buy wisdom when he has no brains? (Proverbs [OTL], 505).

[18:1]  ⁶ tn The Niphal participle functions substantively and has a reflexive nuance: “one who has separated himself” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). He is not merely anti-social; he is a problem for society since he will defy sound judgment. The Mishnah uses the verse to teach the necessity of being part of a community because people have social responsibilities and need each other (m. Avot 2:4).

[18:1]  ⁷ tc The MT has “seeks [his own] desire[s].” The translation in the LXX represents a Hebrew Vorlage of לְתֹאֲנָה (lÿto’anah) instead of לְתַאֲוָה (lÿta’avah); this could be translated “seeks his own occasion,” that is, “his own pretext” (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 354; cf. NAB). The MT makes sense as it stands and the emendation is not really necessary.

[18:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “breaks out”; NRSV “showing contempt for”; NLT “snarling at.” This individual breaks out in contention against sound judgment. He is in opposition to society (e.g., Prov 17:14; 20:3).

[18:2]  ⁹ sn This expression forms an understatement (tapeinosis); the opposite is the point – he detests understanding or discernment.

[18:2]  ¹⁰ tn The Hitpael infinitive construct בְּהִתְגַּלּוֹת (bÿhitgalot) functions nominally as the object of the preposition. The term means “reveal, uncover, betray.” So the fool takes pleasure “in uncovering” his heart.

[18:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his heart.” This is a metonymy meaning “what is on his mind” (cf. NAB “displaying what he thinks”; NRSV “expressing personal opinion”). This kind of person is in love with his own ideas and enjoys spewing them out (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 515). It is the kind of person who would ask a question, not to learn, but to show everyone how clever he is (cf. TEV).

[24:14]  ¹² tn D. W. Thomas argues for a meaning of “seek” in place of “know” (“Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 38 [1937]: 400-403).

[24:14]  ¹³ tn The phrase “is sweet” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.

[24:14]  ¹⁴ tn The term “it” is supplied in the translation.

[24:14]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “there will be an end.” The word is אַחֲרִית (’akhrit, “after-part, end”). BDB 31 s.v. b says in a passage like this it means “a future,” i.e., a happy close of life, sometimes suggesting the idea of posterity promised to the righteous, often parallel to “hope.”

[1:28]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and just as they did not approve to have God in knowledge.”

[1:28]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “the things that are improper.”

[8:6]  ¹⁸ tn Or “mindset,” “way of thinking” (twice in this verse and once in v. 7). The Greek term φρόνημα does not refer to one’s mind, but to one’s outlook or mindset.