¹ tn Heb “like a wayfarer” or “like a traveler” (cf. KJV). The LXX has “swiftness like a traveler.” It has also been interpreted as a “highwayman” (cf. NAB) or a “dangerous assailant.” W. McKane suggests “vagrant” (Proverbs [OTL], 324); cf. NASB “vagabond.” Someone traveling swiftly would likely be a robber.

² tn The Hebrew word for “armed” is probably connected to the word for “shield” and “deliver” (s.v. גָּנַן). G. R. Driver connects it to the Arabic word for “bold; insolent,” interpreting its use here as referring to a beggar or an insolent man (“Studies in the Vocabulary of the Old Testament, IV,” JTS 33 [1933]: 38-47).

³ tn The construction features a cognate accusative (verb and noun from same root). The preposition בּ (bet) has the partitive use “some” (GKC 380 §119.m).

⁴ tn The final verb actually stands in a relative clause although the relative pronoun is not present; it modifies “wine.”

sn The expressions “eat” and “drink” carry the implied comparison forward; they mean that the simple are to appropriate the teachings of wisdom.

⁵ tn Heb “the wise of heart” (so NASB, NRSV). The genitive noun לֵב (lev, “heart”) functions as an attributive adjective: “the wise heart.” The term לֵב functions as a synecdoche of part (= heart) for the whole person (= person). The heart is emphasized because it is the seat of wisdom (BDB 524 s.v. 3.b).

⁶ tn Heb “commandments.”

⁷ tn Heb “fool of lips.” The phrase is a genitive of specification: “a fool in respect to lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause (= lips) for effect (= speech). This person talks foolishness; he is too busy talking to pay attention to instruction.

⁸ tn The Niphal verb לָבַט (lavat) means “to be thrust down [or, away]”; that is, “to be ruined; to fall” or “to stumble” (e.g., Hos 4:14). The fool who refuses to listen to advice – but abides by his own standards which he freely expresses – will suffer the predicaments that he creates.

⁹ tn Heb “the dread of the wicked.” The noun רָשָׁע (rasha’, “wicked”) is a subjective genitive. The noun מְגוֹרַת (mÿgorat) refers to “the feared thing,” that is, what the wicked dread. The wicked are afraid of the consequences of their sinful actions; however, they cannot escape these consequences.

¹⁰ tn Heb “the desire of the righteous.” The noun צַדִּיק (tsadiq, “righteous”) is a subjective genitive.

¹¹ tn Heb “it will give.” When used without an expressed subject, the verb יִתֵּן (yitten) has a passive nuance: “it will be granted.”

¹² tn Heb “a man of shield.” This could refer to an armed warrior (so NRSV) but in this context, in collocation with the other word for “robber” in the previous line, it must refer to an armed criminal.

¹³ sn The idea of clothing and being clothed is a favorite figure in Hebrew. It makes a comparison between wearing clothes and having strength and honor. Just as clothes immediately indicate something of the nature and circumstances of the person, so do these virtues.

¹⁴ tn The first word of the sixteenth line begins with ע (ayin), the sixteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

¹⁵ sn This word appears in Ps 111:3 which says that the Lord’s work is honorable, and here the woman is clothed with strength and honor.

¹⁶ sn Here “laugh” is either a metonymy of adjunct or effect. The point is that she is confident for the future because of all her industry and planning.

¹⁷ tn Heb “day.” This word is a metonymy of subject meaning any events that take place on the day or in the time to come.