4:10 Listen, my child, 1 and accept my words,
so that 2 the years of your life will be many. 3
7:2 Keep my commands 4 so that you may live, 5
and obey 6 my instruction as your most prized possession. 7
8:34 Blessed is the one 8 who listens to me,
watching 9 at my doors day by day,
waiting 10 beside my doorway. 11
27:11 Be wise, my son, 12 and make my heart glad,
so that I may answer 13 anyone who taunts me. 14
1 tn Heb “my son” (likewise in v. 20).
2 tn The vav prefixed to the imperfect verb follows an imperative; this volitive sequence depicts purpose/result.
3 tn Heb “and the years of life will be many for you.”
4 tc Before v. 2 the LXX inserts: “My son, fear the
5 tn The construction of an imperative with the vav (ו) of sequence after another imperative denotes a logical sequence of purpose or result: “that you may live,” or “and you will live.”
6 tn The term “obey” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied for the sake of clarity and smoothness. Some English versions, in light of the second line of v. 1, supply “guard” (e.g., NIV, NCV, NLT).
7 tn Heb “the little man in your eye.” Traditionally this Hebrew idiom is translated into English as “the apple of your eye” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); a more contemporary rendering would be “as your most prized possession.” The word for “man” has the diminutive ending on it. It refers to the pupil, where the object focused on – a man – is reflected in miniature. The point is that the teaching must be the central focus of the disciple’s vision and attention.
8 tn Heb “the man.”
9 tn The form לִשְׁקֹד (lishqod) is the infinitive construct serving epexegetically in the sentence. It explains how the person will listen to wisdom.
10 tn Heb “keeping” or “guarding.”
11 tn Heb “at the posts of my doors” (so KJV, ASV).
12 tn Heb “my son”; the reference to a “son” is retained in the translation here because in the following lines the advice is to avoid women who are prostitutes.
13 tn The verb is the cohortative of שׁוּב (shuv); after the two imperatives that provide the instruction, this form with the vav will indicate the purpose or result (indirect volitive sequence).
14 sn The expression anyone who taunts me refers to those who would reproach or treat the sage with contempt, condemning him as a poor teacher. Teachers are often criticized for the faults and weaknesses of their students; but any teacher criticized that way takes pleasure in pointing to those who have learned as proof that he has not labored in vain (e.g., 1 Thess 2:19-20; 3:8).