Proverbs 4:1
Context4:1 Listen, children, 2 to a father’s instruction, 3
and pay attention so that 4 you may gain 5 discernment.
Proverbs 7:2
Context7:2 Keep my commands 6 so that you may live, 7
and obey 8 my instruction as your most prized possession. 9
Proverbs 7:5
Context7:5 so that they may keep you 10 from the adulterous 11 woman,
from the loose woman 12 who flatters you 13 with her words. 14
Proverbs 19:20
Context19:20 Listen to advice 15 and receive discipline,
that 16 you may become wise 17 by the end of your life. 18
Proverbs 20:22
Context20:22 Do not say, 19 “I will pay back 20 evil!”
Wait 21 for the Lord, so that he may vindicate you. 22
Proverbs 22:19
Context22:19 So that 23 your confidence may be in the Lord,
I am making them known to you today 24 – even you.
Proverbs 22:21
Context22:21 to show you true and reliable words, 25
so that you may give accurate answers 26 to those who sent you?
Proverbs 27:11
Context1 sn The chapter includes an exhortation to acquire wisdom (1-4a), a list of the benefits of wisdom (4b-9), a call to pursue a righteous lifestyle (10-13), a warning against a wicked lifestyle (14-19), and an exhortation to righteousness (20-27).
2 tn Heb “sons.”
3 tn Heb “discipline.”
4 tn The Qal infinitive construct with preposition ל (lamed) indicates the purpose/result of the preceding imperative.
5 tn Heb “know” (so KJV, ASV).
6 tc Before v. 2 the LXX inserts: “My son, fear the
7 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.”
8 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).
9 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.
10 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition shows the purpose of associating closely with wisdom: Wisdom will obviate temptations, the greatest being the sexual urge.
11 tn Heb “strange” (so KJV, ASV).
12 tn Heb “strange woman.” This can be interpreted as a “wayward wife” (so NIV) or an “unfaithful wife” (so NCV). As discussed earlier, the designations “strange woman” and “foreign woman” could refer to Israelites who stood outside the community in their lawlessness and loose morals – an adulteress or wayward woman. H. Ringgren and W. Zimmerli, however, suggest that she is also a promoter of a pagan cult, but that is not entirely convincing (Spruche/Prediger [ATD], 19).
13 tn The term “you” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.
14 tn Heb “she makes smooth her words.” This expression means “she flatters with her words.”
15 sn The advice refers in all probability to the teachings of the sages that will make one wise.
16 tn The proverb is one continuous thought, but the second half of the verse provides the purpose for the imperatives of the first half.
17 tn The imperfect tense has the nuance of a final imperfect in a purpose clause, and so is translated “that you may become wise” (cf. NAB, NRSV).
18 tn Heb “become wise in your latter end” (cf. KJV, ASV) which could obviously be misunderstood.
19 tn The verse is directly instructive; it begins with the negated jussive in the first colon, and follows with the imperative in the second. It warns that the righteous should not take vengeance on the wicked, for only God can do that.
20 tn The form is the Piel cohortative of resolve – “I am determined to pay back.” The verb שָׁלֵם (shalem) means “to be complete; to be sound.” In this stem, however, it can mean “to make complete; to make good; to requite; to recompense” (KJV, ASV). The idea is “getting even” by paying back someone for the evil done.
21 sn To “wait” (קַוֵּה, qavveh) on the
22 tn After the imperative, the jussive is subordinated in a purpose or result clause: “wait for the
23 tn The form לִהְיוֹת (lihyot, “to be”) is the infinitive construct indicating the purpose (or result) of the teaching (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV).
24 tn Heb “I cause you to know.” The term “today” indicates that the verb should have the instantaneous nuance, and so an English present tense is used in the translation (“am making…known”).
25 tn Heb “to cause you to know the truth of words of truth” (NASB similar).
26 tn Heb “to return true words”; NAB “a dependable report”; NIV “sound answers.”
27 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.
28 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).
29 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).