“Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad”: The thought that a wise son makes a father or parents happy is expressed throughout Proverbs. For “be wise” see 23.19. Contemporary English Version translates “Be wise” as “show good sense.” Good News Translation uses “my child” to avoid the exclusive male gender of “my son”; see 1.8. “Make my heart glad” is equivalent to “make me happy” or, as a consequence, “and I will be happy”; refer to the discussion on “make the heart glad” in verse 9.

“That I may answer him who reproaches me”: This line is literally “that I may return a word to my reproacher,” which may be expressed, for example, “so that I will have an answer for those who offend me” or “. . . those who criticize me.” For “reproaches” refer to 14.31, where it is rendered “insults.” Here the sense is more likely to be “criticizes” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version); Revised English Bible and New Living Translation render “him who reproaches me” as “my critics.” We should probably understand this as being in relation to “my son”, that is, as criticism of the teacher or father about the behavior of the young person.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .