Discovery Box| (0.02) | (Pro 15:25) | 1 sn The “proud” have to be understood here in contrast to the widow, and their “house” has to be interpreted in contrast to the widow’s territory. The implication may be that the “proud” make their gain from the needy, and so God will set the balance right. |
| (0.02) | (Pro 15:23) | 2 tn Heb “in the answer of his mouth” (so ASV); NASB “in an apt answer.” The term “mouth” is a metonymy of cause for what he says. But because the parallelism is loosely synonymous, the answer given here must be equal to the good word spoken in season. So it is an answer that is proper or fitting. |
| (0.02) | (Pro 15:12) | 2 tn The form הוֹכֵחַ (hokheakh) is a Hiphil infinitive absolute. It could function as the object of the verb (cf. NIV, NRSV) or as a finite verb (cf. KJV, NASB, NLT). The latter has been chosen here because of the prepositional phrase following it, although that is not a conclusive argument. |
| (0.02) | (Pro 15:13) | 2 sn The verb יֵיטִב (yetiv) normally means “to make good,” but here “to make the face good,” that is, there is a healthy, favorable, uplifted expression. The antithesis is the pained heart that crushes the spirit. C. H. Toy observes that a broken spirit is expressed by a sad face, while a cheerful face shows a courageous spirit (Proverbs [ICC], 308). |
| (0.02) | (Pro 15:11) | 2 tn The construction אַף כִּי (ʾaf ki, “how much more!”) introduces an argument from the lesser to the greater: If all this is open before the Lord, how much more so human hearts. “Hearts” here is a metonymy of subject, meaning the motives and thoughts (cf. NCV “the thoughts of the living”). |
| (0.02) | (Pro 14:34) | 1 sn The verb תְּרוֹמֵם (teromem, translated “exalts”) is a Polel imperfect; it means “to lift up; to raise up; to elevate.” Here the upright dealings of the leaders and the people will lift up the people. The people’s condition in that nation will be raised. |
| (0.02) | (Pro 14:31) | 1 tn Heb “an oppressor of the poor.” The verb עָשַׁק (ʿashaq) normally means “to oppress” (as in many English versions). However, here it might mean “to slander.” See J. A. Emerton, “Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” JTS 20 (1969): 202-22. |
| (0.02) | (Pro 14:17) | 3 tc The LXX reads “endures” (from נָשָׂא, nasaʾ) rather than “is hated” (from שָׂנֵא, saneʾ). This change seems to have arisen on the assumption that a contrast was needed. It has: “a man of thought endures.” Other versions take מְזִמּוֹת (mezimmot) in a good sense, but antithetical parallelism is unwarranted here. |
| (0.02) | (Pro 14:23) | 1 sn The Hebrew term עֶצֶב (ʿetsev, “painful toil; labor”) is first used in scripture in Gen 3:19 to describe the effects of the Fall. The point here is that people should be more afraid of idle talk than of hard labor. |
| (0.02) | (Pro 14:10) | 3 tn The verb is the Hitpael of II עָרַב (ʿarav), which means “to take in pledge; to give in pledge; to exchange.” Here it means “to share [in].” The proverb is saying that there are joys and sorrows that cannot be shared. No one can truly understand the deepest feelings of another. |
| (0.02) | (Pro 14:12) | 2 tn Or “but after it are the ways of death.” The phrase “ways of death” features the result of these paths. Here death means ruin (cf. Prov 7:27). Possibly the proverb envisions that the initial path which seemed good leads to other paths whose outcomes are all ruinous. |
| (0.02) | (Pro 14:6) | 3 tn The verb קָלַל (qalal) is a stative verb meaning to “be small, insignificant, quick, easy.” Stative verbs seldom appear in the Niphal, as the verb does here. But in the Niphal they are often ingressive, “knowledge (be)came easy for the discerning.” |
| (0.02) | (Pro 13:9) | 1 sn The images of “light” and “darkness” are used frequently in scripture. Here “light” is an implied comparison: “light” represents life, joy, and prosperity; “darkness” signifies adversity and death. So the “light of the righteous” represents the prosperous life of the righteous. |
| (0.02) | (Pro 13:7) | 1 tn The Hitpael of עָשַׁר (ʿashar, “to be rich”) means “to pretend to be rich” (BDB 799 s.v. עָשַׁר Hithp). Here the Hitpael means to show or present oneself in a state (cf. GKC 1256 §54e, Joüon 147 §53i, IBHS 431 §26.2f). |
| (0.02) | (Pro 12:25) | 3 tn Heb “good.” The Hebrew word “good” (טוֹב, tov) refers to what is beneficial for life, promotes life, creates life or protects life. The “good word” here would include encouragement, kindness, and insight—the person needs to regain the proper perspective on life and renew his confidence. |
| (0.02) | (Pro 11:29) | 4 sn The “fool” here is the “troubler” of the first half. One who mismanages his affairs so badly so that there is nothing for the family may have to sell himself into slavery to the wise. The ideas of the two halves of the verse are complementary. |
| (0.02) | (Pro 11:26) | 4 tn Heb “for the head of the one who sells.” The term “head” functions as a synecdoche of part (= head) for the whole (= person). The head is here emphasized because it is the “crowning” point of praise. The direct object (“it”) is not in the Hebrew text but is implied. |
| (0.02) | (Pro 11:27) | 1 tn Two separate words are used here for “seek.” The first is שָׁחַר (shakhar, “to seek diligently”) and the second is בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek after; to look for”). Whoever is seeking good is in effect seeking favor—from either God or man (e.g., Ps 5:12; Isa 49:8). |
| (0.02) | (Pro 11:22) | 3 tn Heb “taste.” The term can refer to physical taste (Exod 16:31), intellectual discretion (1 Sam 25:33), or ethical judgment (Ps 119:66). Here it probably means that she has no moral sensibility, no propriety, no good taste. |
| (0.02) | (Pro 11:20) | 4 sn The noun means “goodwill, favor, acceptance, will”; it is related to the verb רָצַה (ratsah) which means “to be pleased with; to accept favorably.” These words are used frequently in scripture to describe what pleases the Lord, meaning, what he accepts. In particular, sacrifices offered properly find acceptance with God (Ps 51:19). Here the lifestyle that is blameless pleases him. |
