22:4
This proverb gives three rewards or good results of being humble and fearing the LORD.
4a The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORD
4b are wealth and honor and life.
The New International Version expresses the idea of reward or result by using the word “bring” in 22:4b. In Hebrew, the same relationship is expressed by the word “consequence.” This word is the first word in 22:4a (see the next note). Another way to express this relationship is:
Obey the Lord, be humble, and you will get riches, honor, and a long life. (Good News Translation)
22:4a
The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORD: In Hebrew, this part of the verse is literally “⌊the⌋ consequence of humility the fear of Yahweh.” There is no word and. This has resulted in two main interpretations:
(1) The word and should be supplied. The rewards of humility and the fear of the LORD speaks of two character qualities that result in three benefits : wealth, honor, and life. For example:
The reward for humility and fearing the Lord is riches and honor and life. (NET Bible)
(2) The word “is” should be supplied. humility is a character quality that results in four benefits : the fear of the LORD, wealth, honor, and life. For example:
The reward of humility is the fear of Yahweh, and riches, honour and life. (New Jerusalem Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). See 15:33, where the fear of the LORD and humility are also described as character qualities that result in a benefit. Elsewhere in Proverbs, the fear of the LORD is a quality that results in life. It does not fit in the category of blessings such as riches, honor, and life.
For fear of the LORD, see the note on 10:27a.
22:4b
are wealth and honor and life: In some languages, it may be more natural to translate these three benefits as verbs rather than nouns. For example:
you will become wealthy, people will honor/respect you, and you will live long and well
honor: The word honor was last used in 21:21b. See the note there.
life: As in other verses where life is described as a reward or blessing, the word life implies a good or long life. For example:
a long life (Good News Translation)
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