“My son, be attentive to my words”: “My son” is as in 1.8. “Be attentive” means “pay attention to”; see verse 1. For “my words” see verse 10 and 2.1.

“Incline your ear to my sayings”: This form is often used in the second of two parallel lines in poetic discourse. It means the same as “be attentive” in the first line but is more literary. Contemporary English Version translates the whole verse “My child, listen carefully to everything I say.”

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 .