1 tn Heb “wise of heart” (so NRSV).
2 tn Heb “to the wise of heart it will be called discerning.” This means that the wise of heart, those who make wise decisions (“heart” being the metonymy), will gain a reputation of being the discerning ones.
3 tn Heb “sweetness of lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause, meaning what is said. It is a genitive of specification. The idea of “sweetness” must be gracious and friendly words. The teaching will be well-received because it is both delightful and persuasive (cf. NIV “pleasant words promote instruction”).
4 tn Heb “teaching” or “receptivity”; KJV “learning”; NIV “instruction.”
5 tn Or “mind” (cf. NCV, NRSV, NLT).
6 tn Heb “makes wise his mouth,” with “mouth” being a metonymy of cause for what is said: “speech.”
7 sn Those who are wise say wise things. The proverb uses synthetic parallelism: The first line asserts that the wise heart ensures that what is said is wise, and the second line adds that such a person increases the reception of what is said.
8 tn Heb “to his lips.” The term “lips” functions as a metonymy of cause for what is said.
