“For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light”: The words translated “commandment” and “teaching” are the same as in verse 20. Judaism has held that the “teaching” (Hebrew torah) is the written law while “commandment” (Hebrew mitswah) is the application of the written law. However, it is important to consider the meanings of these terms in their contexts. Although modern translations differ in their treatment of this line, most take “commandment” and “teaching” to refer to the same as in verse 20. See Good News Translation “their instructions.” New International Version has “these commands . . . this teaching.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch makes the reference to verse 20 even more direct by saying, “What father and mother have taught you is. . ..”

“A lamp” refers to an oil lamp, that is, a container holding olive oil and a wick. If it is not natural to say that a “commandment” is a “lamp”, it may be necessary to shift to something equivalent to “. . . gives light like a lamp” or “. . . shows the way like a lamp in the dark.” “The teaching” (is) “a light” may have to be adjusted in a similar way. It is also possible to reduce “lamp” and “light” to one by saying, for example, “Their instruction is like a light in the dark” or “What they teach you brings light like a lamp burning in the dark.”

“The reproofs of discipline are the way of life”: “Reproof”, which means to correct, rebuke, or scold, is the same as used in 1.23. “Reproofs of discipline” refers to the corrections that come from the application of “discipline” and training. This expression may also be taken as “correction and training.” “Way of life” is the goal of correction and so Good News Translation has “can teach you how to live” and Contemporary English Version “will lead you through life.” We may also say, for example, “Correction and discipline will show you how to live.”

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 .