“To you, O men, I call”: The quoted words of Wisdom begin with this verse. “You” is plural. “Men” is a rare plural form in the Hebrew Old Testament; the sense is “everybody.” One translation says, for instance, “Everybody! I’m talking to you all.”

“My cry is to the sons of men”: Her cry is addressed to everyone, not just to male adults. See Good News Translation. Bible en français courant says, “I address the whole world.” New Jerusalem Bible translates the whole verse: “I am calling to you, all people, my words are addressed to all humanity.”

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 .