Proverbs 3:15

3:15 She is more precious than rubies,

and none of the things you desire can compare with her.

Proverbs 20:15

20:15 There is gold, and an abundance of rubies,

but words of knowledge are like a precious jewel.


tn Heb “all of your desires cannot compare with her.”

tn Heb “your desires.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix on the noun probably functions as subjective genitive.

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

tn Heb “All of your desires do not compare with her.”

tn The verse is usually taken as antithetical parallelism: There may be gold and rubies but the true gem is knowledge. However, C. H. Toy arranges it differently: “store of gold and wealth of corals and precious vessels – all are wise lips” (Proverbs [ICC], 388). But this uses the gems as metaphors for wise speech, and does not stress the contrast between wealth and wisdom.

tn Heb “lips of knowledge.” The term “lips” is a metonymy for speaking, and “knowledge” could be either an attributive genitive or objective genitive: “knowledgeable lips.” Lips that impart knowledge are the true jewel to be sought.

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.