“To get wisdom is better than gold”: The Revised Standard Version footnote shows that it follows the text of the ancient versions rather than the Hebrew, which has “how much better” in place of “is better”. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives the Hebrew a “C” rating and recommends “How much better it is to get wisdom than fine gold.” This is followed by Revised English Bible “How much better than gold it is to get wisdom.” Good News Translation also follows Hebrew Old Testament Text Project by emphasizing “better”, that is, “—much better—.” It may be necessary to adjust this line in translation to say, for example, “It is much better to become wise than to become rich” or “It is better to learn to be wise than to learn to be rich.”

“To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver”: This line is parallel to the first line. “Understanding” renders the same word rendered “insight” in 1.2 and refers to intelligence or knowledge. Some translators treat “chosen” as a description of silver, that is, “choice silver” or “pure silver.” However, this term matches “better than” in the first line, and the Hebrew has something equivalent to “choicer than silver,” that is, “preferable to silver.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project supports this interpretation with a “B” rating. Alternatively we may render this line, for example, “and it is better to choose knowledge than silver.”

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 .