³ tn Heb “harvest.” The term תְּבוּאַת (t^evuʾat, “harvest; yield”) is used figuratively here (hypocatastasis), drawing an implied comparison between the agricultural yield of a farmer’s labors with the consequences of the actions of the wicked. They will “reap” (= judgment) what they “sow” (= sin).

² tn Heb “like sport” (so NASB, NRSV). The noun שְׂחוֹק (s^ekhoq, “sport”) is used elsewhere to refer to what is exhilarating and pleasurable (BDB 966 s.v.). As W. G. Plaut says, it is like child’s play (Proverbs, 132). For the fool evil brings such enjoyment; for the discerning wisdom does.

³ tn The Hebrew switches to the perfect verb form to introduce the speech in the following verses. It lets us know what her message has been. It is possible that the imperfect verb in the previous verse should be understood as a past habitual, “she would call” or as a preterite (without the vav consecutive), “she called.”

² tn The word rendered “compensation” is כֹּפֶר (kofer); it is essentially a ransom price, a sum to be paid to deliver another from debt, bondage, or crime. The husband cannot accept payment as a ransom for a life, since what has happened cannot be undone so easily.

¹ tn The term לֵב (lev, “mind, heart”) here represents thinking by means of metonymy (i.e., the mind stands for what the mind does). The overstatement, “lacking the ability to think,” means lacking discernment, wisdom, good sense. Cf. NAB “is a fool”; NIV “lacks judgment”; NKJV “lacks understanding,” NCV, NRSV “has no sense.”

⁴ tn This final clause in the section is somewhat cryptic. The guilty thief must pay back sevenfold what he stole, even if it means he must use the substance of his whole house. The verb functions as an imperfect of possibility: “he might even give.”

² sn The word אִוַּלְתּוֹ (ʾivvalto, “his folly”) is from the root אול and is related to the noun אֶוִיל (ʾevil, “foolish; fool”). The noun אִוֶּלֶת (ʾivvelet, “folly”) describes foolish and destructive activity. It lacks understanding, destroys what wisdom builds, and leads to destruction if it is not corrected.

¹ tn Heb “crookedness.” The noun עִקְּשׁוּת (ʿiqq^eshut) refers to what is morally twisted or perverted. Here it refers to things that are said (cf. NAB “dishonest talk”; NRSV “crooked speech”). The term “mouth” functions as a metonymy of cause for perverse speech. Such perverse talking could be subtle or blatant.

¹ tn The perfect tense has the nuance of instantaneous (or performative) perfect; the sage is now calling the disciples to listen. It could also be a perfect of resolve, indicating what he is determined to do, or a present perfect reflecting his proven past history, “Indeed I have given you X.”

² sn The metaphor compares wisdom to the symbol of vitality and fullness of life. This might be an allusion to Gen 3:22, suggesting that what was lost as a result of the Fall may be recovered through wisdom: long and beneficial life (R. Marcus, “The Tree of Life in Proverbs,” JBL 62 [1943]: 117-20).

¹ sn Heb “You will not strike your foot.” What the foot strikes (cf. Ps 91:12 “against a stone”) is omitted but something is implied. This is a figure (hypocatastasis) comparing stumbling on a stone in the path to making serious mistakes in life that bring harm.

³ tn Heb “pleasant.” The verb יִנְעָם (yinʿam, “to be pleasant”) describes what is attractive. It is used of being physically attracted to one’s lover (Song 7:7) or to a close friendship (2 Sam 1:26). Here wisdom becomes attractive to the righteous, that is, the righteous desires to acquire it.

² sn The expression “eat the fruit of” is a figurative expression (hypocatastasis) that compares the consequences of sin to agricultural growth that culminates in produce. They will suffer the consequences of their sinful actions, that is, they will “reap” what they “sow.”

¹ sn They think that they are going to shed innocent blood, but in their blindness they do not realize that it is their own blood they shed. Their greed will lead to their destruction. This is an example of ironic poetic justice. They do not intend to destroy themselves, but this is what they accomplish.

³ tn Heb “one purse” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV). The term כִּיס (kis, “purse; bag”) is a synecdoche of container (= purse) for contents (= stolen goods). The adjective אֶחָד (ʾekhad, “one”) indicates that the thieves promised to share equally in what they had stolen.

² tn As a stative verb יָדַע (yadaʿ) can mean “to know” or, as here, “to come to know,” or “to become wise in” (BDB 394). This term refers to experiential knowledge, not just cognitive knowledge; it includes the intellectual assimilation and practical use of what is acquired.

² tn Heb “into bottomless pits, they will not arise.” The translation assumes that the preposition ב (bet) has the nuance “from” here. Another option is to connect the line with what precedes, take the final clause as an asyndetic relative clause, and translate, “into bottomless pits [from which] they cannot arise.” The Hebrew noun מַהֲמֹרָה (mahamorah, “bottomless pit”) occurs only here in the OT.

³ tn This could mean that the desires of the wicked will go unfulfilled. Another possibility is that “desire” refers by metonymy to the object desired and acquired. In this case the point is that the wicked will lose what they desired so badly and acquired by evil means (see Ps 10:3).

¹ tn Heb “remember me, what is [my] lifespan.” The Hebrew term חֶלֶד (kheled) is also used of one’s lifespan in Ps 39:5. Because the Hebrew text is so awkward here, some prefer to emend it to read מֶה חָדֵל אָנִי (meh khadel ʾani, “[remember] how transient [that is, “short-lived”] I am”; see Ps 39:4).

¹ tn The words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Verses 8-10 appear to recall what the Lord commanded the generation of Israelites that experienced the events described in v. 7. Note the statement in v. 11, “my people did not listen to me.”