“Be not wise in your own eyes” is another form of the command given in line 2 of verse 5. The point of this warning is to avoid thinking that you are wise and therefore forgetting that the Lord is the source of wisdom. New Jerusalem Bible says “Do not congratulate yourself on your own wisdom,” Scott “Do not pride yourself on your wisdom,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “Don’t hold yourself to be wise and skilled.”

“Fear the Lord, and turn away from evil”: For “fear the Lord” see 1.7. “Turn away from evil” is also used in describing Job in Job 1.1. The sense of this expression is “Refuse to do evil things,” “Don’t do evil acts,” or “Do nothing that is bad.” Some languages have figurative expressions similar to the Hebrew in this context; for example, “turn your back on bad behavior,” or “give your backside to what is bad.”

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 .