Font Size
Proverbs 10:17
New English Translation
Proverbs 10:17
New English Translation
17 The one who heeds instruction[a] is on the way to[b] life,
but the one who rejects[c] rebuke goes astray.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 10:17 tn Heb “discipline.” The noun מוּסָר (musar) has a basic two-fold range of meanings: (1) “discipline” (so NIV; NAB “admonition”; NCV, NLT “correction”) and (2) “instruction” (BDB 416 s.v.; so KJV, NASB, NRSV). The wise person listens to instruction (first colon); however, the fool will not even take discipline to heart (second colon).
- Proverbs 10:17 tn The term is a genitive of location indicating the goal (IBHS 147-48 §9.5.2f).
- Proverbs 10:17 sn The contrast with the one who holds fast to discipline is the one who forsakes or abandons reproof or correction. Whereas the first is an example, this latter individual causes people to wander from the true course of life, that is, causes them to err.
Proverbs 10:17
New Living Translation
Proverbs 10:17
New Living Translation
17 People who accept discipline are on the pathway to life,
but those who ignore correction will go astray.
Proverbs 12:1
New English Translation
Proverbs 12:1
New English Translation
Read full chapter
Footnotes
- Proverbs 12:1 sn Those who wish to improve themselves must learn to accept correction; the fool hates/rejects any correction.
- Proverbs 12:1 tn The word בַּעַר (baʿar, “stupid, brutish”) comes from בְּעִיר (beʿir, “beast, cattle). It refers to a lack of rationality (Ps 49:10; 73:22; 92:7; 30:2). The verbal derivative is used to convey “deficiency in moral and religious, rather than intellectual aspects” (NIDOTTE 679 s.v. בָּעַר).
Proverbs 12:1
New Living Translation
Proverbs 12:1
New Living Translation
12 To learn, you must love discipline;
it is stupid to hate correction.
Proverbs 13:1
New English Translation
Proverbs 13:1
New English Translation
Read full chapter
Footnotes
- Proverbs 13:1 tc The MT reads “a wise son, discipline of a father.” Instead of מוּסָר (musar, “discipline”), G. R. Driver suggested reading this word as מְיֻסַּר (meyussar, “allows himself to be disciplined”); see his “Hebrew Notes on Prophets and Proverbs,” JTS 41 (1940): 174. A few Medieval Hebrew manuscripts, the LXX, and the Syriac read יִשְׁמַע (yishmaʿ) “a wise son listens to/obeys his father.” The translation, “accepts…discipline,” reflects the notion intended by either.
- Proverbs 13:1 sn The “scoffer” is the worst kind of fool. He has no respect for authority, reviles worship of God, and is unteachable because he thinks he knows it all. The change to a stronger word in the second colon—“rebuke” (גָּעַר, gaʿar)—shows that he does not respond to instruction on any level. Cf. NLT “a young mocker,” taking this to refer to the opposite of the “wise son” in the first colon.
- Proverbs 13:1 tn Heb “has not listened.” The perfect verb has been chosen to emphasize the past pattern of the scoffer.
Proverbs 13:1
New Living Translation
Proverbs 13:1
New Living Translation
13 A wise child accepts a parent’s discipline;[a]
a mocker refuses to listen to correction.
Footnotes
- 13:1 Hebrew A wise son accepts his father’s discipline.
Proverbs 13:18
New English Translation
Proverbs 13:18
New English Translation
18 The one who neglects[a] discipline ends up in[b] poverty and shame,
but the one who accepts reproof is honored.[c]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 13:18 tn The verb III פָּרַע (paraʿ) normally means “to let go; to let alone” and here “to neglect; to avoid; to reject” (BDB 828 s.v.).
- Proverbs 13:18 tn The phrase “ends up in” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.
- Proverbs 13:18 sn Honor and success are contrasted with poverty and shame; the key to enjoying the one and escaping the other is discipline and correction. W. McKane, Proverbs (OTL), 456, notes that it is a difference between a man of weight (power and wealth, from the idea of “heavy” for “honor”) and the man of straw (lowly esteemed and poor).
Proverbs 13:18
New Living Translation
Proverbs 13:18
New Living Translation
18 If you ignore criticism, you will end in poverty and disgrace;
if you accept correction, you will be honored.
Proverbs 15:5
New English Translation
Proverbs 15:5
New English Translation
5 A fool rejects his father’s discipline,
but whoever heeds reproof shows good sense.[a]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 15:5 tn Heb “is prudent” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NCV, NLT “is wise.” Anyone who accepts correction or rebuke will become prudent in life.
Proverbs 15:5
New Living Translation
Proverbs 15:5
New Living Translation
5 Only a fool despises a parent’s[a] discipline;
whoever learns from correction is wise.
Footnotes
- 15:5 Hebrew father’s.
Proverbs 15:10
New English Translation
Proverbs 15:10
New English Translation
Read full chapter
Footnotes
- Proverbs 15:10 tn The two lines are parallel synonymously, so the “severe discipline” of the first colon is parallel to “will die” of the second. The expression מוּסָר רָע (musar raʿ, “severe discipline”) indicates a discipline that is catastrophic or harmful to life.
- Proverbs 15:10 sn If this line and the previous line are synonymous, then the one who abandons the way also refuses any correction, and so there is severe punishment. To abandon the way means to leave the life of righteousness which is the repeated subject of the book of Proverbs.
Proverbs 15:10
New Living Translation
Proverbs 15:10
New Living Translation
10 Whoever abandons the right path will be severely disciplined;
whoever hates correction will die.
Proverbs 15:12
New English Translation
Proverbs 15:12
New English Translation
Read full chapter
Footnotes
- Proverbs 15:12 tn The verb אָהֵב (ʾahev, “to love”) is stative, so its imperfect form should be future tense.sn This is an understatement, the opposite being intended (a figure called tapeinosis). A scorner rejects any efforts to reform him.
- Proverbs 15:12 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.
- Proverbs 15:12 tc The MT has אֶל (ʾel, “to [the wise]”), suggesting seeking the advice of the wise. The LXX, however, has “with the wise,” suggesting אֶת (ʾet).
Proverbs 15:12
New Living Translation
Proverbs 15:12
New Living Translation
12 Mockers hate to be corrected,
so they stay away from the wise.
Proverbs 15:31-32
New English Translation
Proverbs 15:31-32
New English Translation
31 The person[a] who hears the reproof that leads to life[b]
is at home[c] among the wise.[d]
32 The one who refuses correction despises himself,[e]
but whoever listens to[f] reproof acquires understanding.[g]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 15:31 tn Heb “ear” (so KJV, NRSV). The term “ear” is a synecdoche of part (= ear) for the whole (= person).
- Proverbs 15:31 tn “Life” is an objective genitive: Reproof brings or preserves life. Cf. NIV “life-giving rebuke”; NLT “constructive criticism.”
- Proverbs 15:31 tn Heb “lodges.” This means to live with, to be at home with.
- Proverbs 15:31 sn The proverb is one full sentence; it affirms that a teachable person is among the wise.
- Proverbs 15:32 sn To “despise oneself” means to reject oneself as if there was little value. The one who ignores discipline is not interested in improving himself.
- Proverbs 15:32 tn The nuances of שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) include hearing and obeying or carrying out what was said. Cf. “heeds” so NAB, NIV, NKJV, NRSV.
- Proverbs 15:32 tn The term לֵב (lev, “mind, heart”) is used as a metonymy of association for what one does with the mind (thinking), and so refers to discernment, wisdom, good sense.
Proverbs 15:31-32
New Living Translation
Proverbs 15:31-32
New Living Translation
31 If you listen to constructive criticism,
you will be at home among the wise.
32 If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself;
but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.
Proverbs 17:10
New English Translation
Proverbs 17:10
New English Translation
Read full chapter
Footnotes
- Proverbs 17:10 tn Heb “goes in deeper” (cf. NASB, NRSV). The verb נָחֵת (nakhet) “to go down; to descend” with the preposition ב (bet) means “to descend into; to make an impression on” someone.
- Proverbs 17:10 tn The form is the Hiphil infinitive of נָכָה (nakhah) with the comparative מִן, min. The word “fool” then would be an objective genitive—more than blows to/on a fool.
Proverbs 17:10
New Living Translation
Proverbs 17:10
New Living Translation
10 A single rebuke does more for a person of understanding
than a hundred lashes on the back of a fool.
Proverbs 19:20
New English Translation
Proverbs 19:20
New English Translation
20 Listen to advice[a] and receive discipline,
that[b] you may become wise[c] by the end of your life.[d]
Footnotes
- Proverbs 19:20 sn The advice refers in all probability to the teachings of the sages that will make one wise.
- Proverbs 19:20 tn The proverb is one continuous thought, but the second half of the verse provides the purpose for the imperatives of the first half.
- Proverbs 19:20 tn The imperfect tense has the nuance of a final imperfect in a purpose clause, and so is translated “that you may become wise” (cf. NAB, NRSV).
- Proverbs 19:20 tn Heb “become wise in your latter end” (cf. KJV, ASV) which could obviously be misunderstood.
Proverbs 19:20
New Living Translation
Proverbs 19:20
New Living Translation
20 Get all the advice and instruction you can,
so you will be wise the rest of your life.
Proverbs 19:27
New English Translation
Proverbs 19:27
New English Translation
Read full chapter
Footnotes
- Proverbs 19:27 tn Heb “Stop listening…!” The infinitive construct לִשְׁמֹעַ (lishmoaʿ) functions as the direct object of the imperative: “stop heeding [or, listening to].” Of course in this proverb which shows the consequences of doing so, this is irony. The sage is instructing not to stop. The conditional protasis construction does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation.
- Proverbs 19:27 tn The second line has an infinitive construct לִשְׁגוֹת (lishgot), meaning “to stray; to go astray; to err.” It indicates the result of the instruction—stop listening, and as a result you will go astray. The LXX took it differently: “A son who ceases to attend to discipline is likely to stray from words of knowledge.” RSV sees the final clause as the purpose of the instructions to be avoided: “do not listen to instructions to err.”
Proverbs 19:27
New Living Translation
Proverbs 19:27
New Living Translation
27 If you stop listening to instruction, my child,
you will turn your back on knowledge.
Proverbs 20:30
New English Translation
Proverbs 20:30
New English Translation
Read full chapter
Footnotes
- Proverbs 20:30 tc The verb מָרַק (maraq) means “to polish; to scour”; in the Hiphil it means “to cleanse away,” but it is only attested here, and that in the Kethib reading of תַּמְרִיק (tamriq). The Qere has תַּמְרוּק (tamruq, “are a means of cleansing”). The LXX has “blows and contusions fall on evil men, and stripes penetrate their inner beings”; the Latin has “the bruise of a wound cleanses away evil things.” C. H. Toy suggests emending the text to read “stripes cleanse the body, and blows the inward parts” or “cosmetics purify the body, and blows the soul” (Proverbs [ICC], 397). Cf. CEV “can knock all of the evil out of you.”
- Proverbs 20:30 tn The term “cleanse” does not appear in this line but is supplied in the translation in the light of the parallelism.
- Proverbs 20:30 sn Physical punishment may prove spiritually valuable. Other proverbs say that some people will never learn from this kind of punishment, but in general this may be the only thing that works for some cases.
Proverbs 20:30
New Living Translation
Proverbs 20:30
New Living Translation
30 Physical punishment cleanses away evil;[a]
such discipline purifies the heart.
Footnotes
- 20:30 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Proverbs 23:12
New English Translation
Proverbs 23:12
New English Translation
12 Apply[a] your heart to instruction
and your ears to the words of knowledge.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 23:12 tn Heb “bring.” The Hiphil imperative “come; enter” means “to apply the heart,” to use the heart or mind in the process. The same would be true in the second half: “to bring the ears” would mean to listen very carefully. Cf. TEV “Pay attention.”
Proverbs 23:12
New Living Translation
Proverbs 23:12
New Living Translation
12 Commit yourself to instruction;
listen carefully to words of knowledge.
New English Translation (NET)
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.