Discovery Box| (0.25) | (Ecc 5:20) | 4 tn Heb “with the joy of his heart.” The words “he derives from his activity” do not appear in the Hebrew, but they are added to clarify the Teacher’s point in light of what he says right before this. |
| (0.25) | (Ecc 5:3) | 2 tn The juxtaposition of the two lines joined by vav (“just as…so…”) suggests a comparison (BDB 253 s.v. ו 1.j); see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 71, §437. |
| (0.25) | (Ecc 2:18) | 1 tn The phrase “the fruit of” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity (see the following note on the phrase “hard labor”). |
| (0.25) | (Ecc 1:11) | 3 sn The Hebrew terms translated former events and future events create a merism (two polar extremes encompass everything in between). This encompasses all secular achievements in human history past to future things yet to be done. |
| (0.25) | (Ecc 1:9) | 1 tn Heb “what is.” The Hebrew verbal form is a perfect. Another option is to translate, “What has been.” See the next line, which speaks of the past and the future. |
| (0.25) | (Pro 31:28) | 2 sn The deliberate action of “rising up” to call her blessed is the Hebrew way of indicating something important is about to be done that has to be prepared for. |
| (0.25) | (Pro 31:22) | 1 tn The word “because” does not occur in the Hebrew in this verse, but continues to apply from the end of verse 21. It is added to both halves of this verse for clarity. |
| (0.25) | (Pro 31:22) | 2 tn The verb (עָשְׂתָה; ʿasetah) is the Hebrew perfect form of a dynamic verb. It contains background material in a causal clause and so is past perfect in English translation. |
| (0.25) | (Pro 31:1) | 2 tn Some English versions take the Hebrew noun translated “oracle” here as a place name specifying the kingdom of King Lemuel; cf. NAB “king of Massa”; CEV “King Lemuel of Massa.” |
| (0.25) | (Pro 30:14) | 4 tn The Hebrew form לֶאֱכֹל (leʾekhol) is the Qal infinitive construct; it indicates the purpose of this generation’s ruthless power—it is destructive. The figure is an implied comparison (known as hypocatastasis) between “devouring” and “destroying.” |
| (0.25) | (Pro 30:4) | 6 tn The particle כִּי (ki) functions in an asseverative sense, “surely; indeed; truly” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §449). The statement appears sarcastic, suggesting that verses 2-3 are also sarcastic. |
| (0.25) | (Pro 29:23) | 3 sn The Hebrew word translated “lowly” forms an implied comparison: To be humble is like being low, base, earthbound; whereas pride is often compared to being high, lofty—at least in one’s own eyes. |
| (0.25) | (Pro 29:20) | 2 tn The Hebrew term אִישׁ (ʾish) is commonly translated “a man,” but can in fact refer to a man or a woman. There is no indication in the immediate context that this should be limited only to males. |
| (0.25) | (Pro 28:2) | 1 sn The Hebrew word translated “rebellious” has rebellion as its basic meaning, and that is the idea here. The proverb is describing a time when sinfulness brings about social and political unrest. |
| (0.25) | (Pro 27:12) | 1 tn All of the verbs in this verse are Hebrew perfect forms that should be understood as past tense. The proverb presents its message as events which have occurred and are prototypical of the behavior of the shrewd and the inexperienced. |
| (0.25) | (Pro 25:23) | 3 tn The phrase “brings forth” does not appear in Hebrew in this line but is implied by the parallelism with the previous line; it is supplied here in the translation for clarity. |
| (0.25) | (Pro 24:10) | 1 tn The verb הִתְרַפִּיתָ (hitrappita) is a Hitpael perfect form of רָפָה (rafah). Most translations render the verse as a conditional statement (“if you…”) though the Hebrew lacks the term “if.” Hebrew proverbs can use the past tense to set the topic or opening premise of a proverb, and then comment on it in the second half of the proverb. English translators of proverbial sayings tend to want to make the Hebrew past time verbs into present tense in English. But this convention is difficult with second person verb forms, so the translations tend to change the sentence into an interrogative or conditional formula. The direct address in the Hebrew is more confrontational. In the Qal, the verb רָפָה (rafah) means “to become slack, limp, to wither.” In the Hitpael it means “to slack off,” “be lax,” possibly “to discourage oneself.” It has also been rendered as “give up” (NCV, CEV); “fail” (NLT); “falter” (NIV), “faint” (ASV, ESV). |
| (0.25) | (Pro 23:29) | 2 sn The Hebrew word translated “dullness” describes darkness or dullness of the eyes due to intoxication, perhaps “redness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV, NCV, NLT “bloodshot eyes.” NAB understands the situation differently: “black eyes.” |
| (0.25) | (Pro 22:4) | 1 tn The Hebrew term עֵקֶב (ʿeqev, “reward”) is related to the term meaning “heel”; it refers to the consequences or the reward that follows (akin to the English expression “on the heels of”). |
| (0.25) | (Pro 21:9) | 1 tn English versions which translate the Hebrew term as “roof” here sometimes produce amusing images for modern readers: TEV “Better to live on the roof”; CEV “It’s better to stay outside on the roof of your house.” |
