Discovery BoxProverbs 8:27-29 
Context8:27 When he established the heavens, I was there;
when he marked out the horizon 1 over the face of the deep,
8:28 when he established the clouds above,
when the fountains of the deep grew strong, 2
8:29 when he gave the sea his decree
that the waters should not pass over his command, 3
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
1 sn The infinitive construct בְּחוּקוֹ (bÿkhuqo, “to cut; to engrave; to mark”) and the noun חוּג (khug, “horizon; circle”) form a paronomasia in the line.
2 tn To form a better parallel some commentators read this infinitive בַּעֲזוֹז (ba’azoz), “when [they] grew strong,” as a Piel causative, “when he made firm, fixed fast” (cf. NIV “fixed securely”; NLT “established”). But the following verse (“should not pass over”) implies the meaning “grew strong” here.
3 tn Heb “his mouth.”
