17:24 Wisdom is directly in front of 1 the discerning person,
but the eyes of a fool run 2 to the ends of the earth. 3
18:4 The words of a person’s mouth are like 4 deep waters, 5
and 6 the fountain of wisdom 7 is like 8 a flowing brook. 9
24:14 Likewise, know 10 that wisdom is sweet 11 to your soul;
if you find it, 12 you will have a future, 13
and your hope will not be cut off.
1 tn The verse begins with אֶת־פְּנֵי מֵבִין (’et-pÿni mevin), “before the discerning” or “the face of the discerning.” The particle אֶת here is simply drawing emphasis to the predicate (IBHS 182-83 §10.3.2b). Cf. NIV “A discerning man keeps wisdom in view.”
2 tn The term “run” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for the sake of clarification.
3 sn To say that “the eyes of the fool run to the ends of the earth” means that he has no power to concentrate and cannot focus his attention on anything. The language is hyperbolic. Cf. NCV “the mind of a fool wanders everywhere.”
4 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
5 sn The metaphor “deep waters” indicates either that the words have an inexhaustible supply or that they are profound.
6 tn There is debate about the nature of the parallelism between lines 4a and 4b. The major options are: (1) synonymous parallelism, (2) antithetical parallelism (e.g., NAB, NIV, NCV) or (3) formal parallelism. Normally a vav (ו) would begin an antithetical clause; the structure and the ideas suggest that the second colon continues the idea of the first half, but in a parallel way rather than as additional predicates. The metaphors used in the proverb elsewhere describe the wise.
7 sn This is an implied comparison (hypocatastasis), the fountain of wisdom being the person who speaks. The Greek version has “fountain of life” instead of “wisdom,” probably influenced from 10:11.
8 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
9 sn The point of this metaphor is that the wisdom is a continuous source of refreshing and beneficial ideas.
10 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).
11 tn The phrase “is sweet” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.
12 tn The term “it” is supplied in the translation.
13 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.”