Proverbs 4:10-13
New English Translation
10 Listen, my child,[a] and accept my words,
so that[b] the years of your life will be many.[c]
11 I hereby guide you[d] in the way of wisdom
and I lead you in upright paths.[e]
12 When you walk, your steps[f] will not be hampered,[g]
and when you run,[h] you will not stumble.
13 Hold on to instruction,[i] do not let it go;
protect it,[j] because it is your life.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 4:10 tn Heb “my son” (likewise in v. 20).
- Proverbs 4:10 tn Following an imperative, a vav plus imperfect verb can depict purpose or result.
- Proverbs 4:10 tn Heb “and the years of life will be many for you.”
- Proverbs 4:11 tn The form הֹרֵתִיךָ (horetikha) is the Hiphil perfect with a suffix from the root יָרָה (yarah, “to guide”). This and the parallel verb should be taken as instantaneous (or performative) perfects, translated as an English present tense: The sage is now instructing or pointing the way.sn The verb יָרָה (yarah) means “to teach; to instruct; to guide.” This is from the same root as the Hebrew word for “law” (torah). See G. R. Driver, “Hebrew Notes,” VT 1 (1951): 241-50; and J. L. Crenshaw, “The Acquisition of Knowledge in Israelite Wisdom Literature,” WW 7 (1986): 9.
- Proverbs 4:11 tn Heb “in the tracks of uprightness”; cf. NAB “on straightforward paths.” Both the verb and the object of the preposition make use of the idiom—the verb is the Hiphil perfect from דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, related to “road; way”) and the object is “wagon tracks, paths.”
- Proverbs 4:12 sn The noun צַעֲדֶךָ (tsaʿadekha, “your steps”) and the temporal infinitive בְּלֶכְתְּךָ (belekhtekha, “when you walk”) use the idiom of walking to represent the course of life. On that course there will be no obstacles; the “path” will be straight—morally and practically.
- Proverbs 4:12 sn The verb צָרַר (tsarar, “to be narrow; to be constricted”) refers to that which is narrow or constricted, signifying distress, trouble, adversity; that which was wide-open or broad represents freedom and deliverance.
- Proverbs 4:12 sn The progression from walking to running is an idiom called “anabasis,” suggesting that as greater and swifter progress is made, there will be nothing to impede the progress (e.g., Isa 40:31).
- Proverbs 4:13 tn Or “discipline.” See note at 1:2.
- Proverbs 4:13 tn The form נִצְּרֶהָ (nitsereha, from נָצַר, natsar) has an anomalous doubled letter (see GKC 73 §20.h).
Proverbs 4:10-13
Lexham English Bible
The Right Path
10 Listen, my child, take my sayings,
and the years of your life shall be great.
11 In the way of wisdom I have instructed you;
I have led you in the path of uprightness.
12 When you walk,[a] your step will not be hampered,
and if you run, you will not stumble.
13 Seize the instruction! Do not let go!
Guard her, for she is your life.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 4:12 Literally “In your walking”
Proverbs 4:20-27
New English Translation
20 My child, pay attention to my words;
listen attentively[a] to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart[b] from your sight,
guard[c] them within your heart;[d]
22 for they are life to those who find them
and healing to one’s entire body.[e]
23 Guard your heart[f] with all vigilance,[g]
for from it are the sources[h] of life.
24 Remove perverse speech[i] from your mouth;[j]
keep devious talk far from your lips.[k]
25 Let your eyes look directly[l] in front of you
and let your gaze[m] look straight before you.
26 Make the path for your feet[n] level,[o]
so that[p] all your ways may be established.[q]
27 Do not turn[r] to the right or to the left;
turn yourself[s] away from evil.[t]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 4:20 tn Heb “incline your ear.” The verb הַט (hat) is the Hiphil imperative from נָטָה (natah, Hiphil: “to turn to; to incline”). The idiom “to incline the ear” gives the picture of “lean over and listen closely.” sn Commentators note the use of the body in this section: ear (v. 20), eyes (v. 21), flesh (v. 22), heart (v. 23), lips (v. 24), eyes (v. 25), feet (v. 26), and hands and feet (v. 27). Each is a synecdoche of part representing the whole; the total accumulation signifies the complete person in the process.
- Proverbs 4:21 tn The Hiphil form יַלִּיזוּ (yallizu) follows the Aramaic with gemination. The verb means “to turn aside; to depart” (intransitive Hiphil or inner causative).
- Proverbs 4:21 tn Or “keep” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV and many others).
- Proverbs 4:21 sn The words “eyes” and “heart” are metonymies of subject representing the faculties of each. Cf. CEV “think about it all.”
- Proverbs 4:22 tn Heb “to all of his flesh.”
- Proverbs 4:23 tn Anatomically the Hebrew word לֵב (lev) refers to the “heart.” But abstractly it can refer to one’s inner self, will, understanding, or mind. They did not see the heart and mind in opposition, such that the advice here includes both one’s thinking and feelings.
- Proverbs 4:23 tn Heb “more than any guard.” The preposition מִן (min) has its comparative sense “more than.” The noun מִשְׁמָר (mishmar) refers here to the act of guarding, protection, or vigilance (BDB 1038 s.v. מִשְׁמָר; HALOT 649 s.v. מִשְׁמָר).
- Proverbs 4:23 sn The word תּוֹצְאוֹת (totseʾot, from יָצָא, yatsaʾ) means “outgoings; extremities; sources.” It is used here for starting points, like a fountainhead, and so the translation “sources” works well.
- Proverbs 4:24 tn Heb “crookedness.” The noun עִקְּשׁוּת (ʿiqqeshut) 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.
- Proverbs 4:24 tn Heb “crookedness of mouth.”
- Proverbs 4:24 tn Heb “deviousness of lips put far from you.”
- Proverbs 4:25 tn The jussives in this verse are both Hiphil, the first from the verb “to gaze; to look intently [or, carefully],” (נָבַט, navat) and the second from the verb “to be smooth, straight” (יָשָׁר, yashar).
- Proverbs 4:25 tn Heb “your eyelids.” The term “eyelids” is often a poetic synonym for “eye” (it is a metonymy of adjunct, something connected with the eye put for the eye that sees); it may intensify the idea as one might squint to gain a clearer look.
- Proverbs 4:26 tn Heb “path of your foot.”
- Proverbs 4:26 sn The verb is a denominative Piel from the word פֶּלֶס (peles), “balance; scale.” In addition to telling the disciple to keep focused on a righteous life, the sage tells him to keep his path level, which is figurative for living the righteous life.
- Proverbs 4:26 tn Following an imperative, a vav plus imperfect verb can depict purpose or result.
- Proverbs 4:26 tn The Niphal jussive from כּוּן (kun, “to be fixed; to be established; to be steadfast”) continues the idiom of walking and ways for the moral sense in life.
- Proverbs 4:27 sn The two verbs in this verse are from different roots, but nonetheless share the same semantic domain. The first verb is תֵּט (tet), a jussive from נָטָה (natah), which means “to turn aside” (Hiphil); the second verb is the Hiphil imperative of סוּר (sur), which means “to cause to turn to the side” (Hiphil). The disciple is not to leave the path of righteousness, but to stay on the path he must leave evil.
- Proverbs 4:27 tn Heb “your foot” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV). The term רַגְלְךָ (raglekha, “your foot”) is a synecdoche of part (= foot) for the whole person (= “yourself”).
- Proverbs 4:27 tc The LXX adds, “For the way of the right hand God knows, but those of the left hand are distorted; and he himself will make straight your paths and guide your goings in peace.” The ideas presented here are not out of harmony with Proverbs, but the section clearly shows an expansion by the translator. For a brief discussion of whether this addition is Jewish or early Christian, see C. H. Toy, Proverbs (ICC), 99.
Proverbs 4:20-27
Lexham English Bible
Staying the Course
20 My child, be attentive to my words;
to my sayings incline your ear.
21 May they not escape from your sight;[a]
keep them in the midst of your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them
and healing to the entire body.[b]
23 With all vigilance, keep your heart,
for from it comes the source[c] of life.
24 Remove from yourself deceitful speech,[d]
and abolish devious talk[e] from yourself.
25 May your eyes look forward[f]
and your gaze be straight before you.
26 May the path of your foot be balanced
and all your ways be sure.
27 Do not swerve right or left;
remove your foot from evil.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 4:21 Literally “eyes”
- Proverbs 4:22 Literally “for all his flesh”
- Proverbs 4:23 Or “extremity”
- Proverbs 4:24 Literally “crookedness of mouth”
- Proverbs 4:24 Literally “deviousness of lips”
- Proverbs 4:25 Or “opposite”
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