7:23 till an arrow pierces his liver 1 –
like a bird hurrying into a trap,
and he does not know that it will cost him his life. 2
24:14 Likewise, know 3 that wisdom is sweet 4 to your soul;
if you find it, 5 you will have a future, 6
and your hope will not be cut off.
1 sn The figure of an arrow piercing the liver (an implied comparison) may refer to the pangs of a guilty conscience that the guilty must reap along with the spiritual and physical ruin that follows (see on these expressions H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament).
2 tn The expression that it is “for/about/over his life” means that it could cost him his life (e.g., Num 16:38). Alternatively, the line could refer to moral corruption and social disgrace rather than physical death – but this would not rule out physical death too.
3 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).
4 tn The phrase “is sweet” is supplied in the translation as a clarification.
5 tn The term “it” is supplied in the translation.
6 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.”