The language of this saying is similar to that of the Instructions in the poems in chapters 1–9. See, for example, 6.32; 8.17.

“He who loves wisdom makes his father glad”: “He who” is literally “a man who.” New Revised Standard Version has translated “A child who” as more appropriate in the context of pleasing a father. In some languages it is not possible to speak of loving an abstract such as “wisdom”. Accordingly, it is sometimes necessary to say “loves doing what is wise” or to use a figurative expression; for example, “If your heart is warm to wisdom” or “If wisdom causes your liver to move.” For “makes his father glad” see 10.1.

“But one who keeps company with harlots squanders his substance”: For warnings against adultery see chapter 5. “Keeps company with harlots” is literally “a friend of harlots.” For “harlots” see 6.26 and 7.10. Note that here association with harlots is condemned because it “squanders . . . substance”, which means “wastes wealth.” “His substance” is ambiguous since “his” might refer back to the father or the son. The meaning is given clearly in New Revised Standard Version: “to keep company with prostitutes is to squander one’s substance.” Note Good News Translation “It is a foolish waste to spend money on prostitutes.” Contemporary English Version goes further: “chasing after bad women will cost you everything.”

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 .

“Remove far from me falsehood and lying”: This literal rendering is not quite natural in English, although many versions keep the expression “far from. . ..” The essential meaning is “keep me from lying” (Good News Translation); and this also may be expressed in a positive way: “Make me absolutely honest” (Contemporary English Version). The two expressions rendered “falsehood” and “lying” are literally “vain speech” and “words of deception”; they have practically the same meaning in this context.

“Give me neither poverty nor riches”: For “poverty” see 6.11; for “riches” see 3.16. The construction “give me neither . . . nor” means that these are two conditions the person prays not to be in. It is clear from what follows that this line speaks of “poverty”, “being poor,” and “riches”, “being rich,” as two extremes. The prayer is to have neither too little nor too much: “don’t let me be too poor or too rich” (Contemporary English Version).

“Feed me with the food that is needful for me”: “Feed me” means “provide me with food” (see Revised English Bible). The request is for the happy middle situation, “just enough to meet my needs.” See Contemporary English Version “Give me just what I need” and Good News Translation “So give me only as much food as I need.” “The food that is needful for me” is literally “food of my prescribed portion”; this is reflected in Scott “food that is my portion” and New Jerusalem Bible “only my share of food.”

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 .

“Men whose paths are crooked”: “Men” is supplied by Revised Standard Version; the Hebrew is literally “their [masculine] paths.” New Revised Standard Version has “those whose paths.” Translators may wish to begin a new sentence with “They are people. . ..” “Crooked” refers here to people being devious or deceptive. They are described in Deut 32.5 as “a perverse and crooked generation.” If a language does not express deceptive conduct by the image of crooked or twisted paths, another natural figure should be used.

“And who are devious in their ways”: This line means the same as the first one. In some languages figurative language may be used in one line and nonfigurative in the other; for example, “They walk on crooked paths and they are dishonest people” or “They are deceitful people and speak with two tongues.” In other cases it may be necessary to use figurative expressions in both lines. It is also possible to combine the two lines and say, for example, “people whose way of life is not straight.”

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 .

Verse 4 states the consequences of verse 3, just as verse 2 gives the consequences of verse 1. Good News Translation makes verse 4 a consequence of verse 3 by saying “If you do this. . ..”

“So you will find favor and good repute”: “So”, which introduces the consequence, translates the common Hebrew connector. “Find favor” means to be accepted, approved, or well thought of. “Repute”, as the Revised Standard Version footnote shows, is a correction of the Hebrew text, which has “understanding” (“Cn” in the footnote stands for “Correction”). Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, however, rates the Hebrew text as “B” and suggests that “good intelligence” may also be taken to mean “good success” or “good behavior.”

“In the sight of God and man”: In some languages translators may find it more natural to make “God and man” (“people”, New Revised Standard Version) the actors of the verb. Contemporary English Version does this by saying “God and people will like you and consider you a success.” In some languages a somewhat more formal rendering of the verse is possible, for example, “If you do this, you will be loved and approved by God and by people.”

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 .

“Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction”: “Hear” is the same as in 1.8, where the command is in the singular. In this verse it is addressed in the plural to “sons”, which Good News Translation and New Revised Standard Version render as “children.” Contemporary English Version keeps the singular “my child.” “O” is included in some English translations to indicate that the “sons” are being formally addressed; there is nothing equivalent in the Hebrew text. Some interpreters think that the plural “sons” represents here a school or circle of students or listeners. Note, however, that only the singular form “my son” is used in verses 10 and 20.

In 1.8 “father” is the father of the son being addressed. In this context the father is general, that is, “a father”. Some interpreters think that “a father” is not to be taken literally but figuratively in the sense of “teacher” or “wise person.” It must, however, be kept in mind that the intimate relation of father (and mother) to the learner is signaled by these kinship terms and that learning wisdom is part of a family inheritance, as seen in verses 3-4.

In verse 2 the speaker refers to himself using first person pronouns as the one who gives teaching and instruction. So it seems likely that “a father” in this verse is also a reference to the speaker. Therefore Contemporary English Version replaces “a father’s instruction” with “my teachings.” An example of the way the first person reference is handled in some other translations is “[My] child, I am your father, and you must listen to the things I teach you.”

“Instruction” renders the same word used in 1.8 and has the sense of teaching or the content of what the father teaches his sons. See also 1.2.

“And be attentive, that you may gain insight”: “Be attentive” renders a word used mostly in poetic texts. It is used, for example, in Psa 17.1 “attend to my cry,” which is expressed in Good News Translation as “pay attention to my cry for help.” In translation it may be necessary to indicate what the sons are to pay attention to, for example, “Pay attention to what I teach you” or “Listen carefully to my words.”

“Gain insight”: Note that the Revised Standard Version footnote shows the Hebrew text is literally “know insight.” The thought is that the learner will know the deep and important meanings revealed in wisdom and its instructions. “Insight”, as in 1.2, refers to understanding, discernment, or comprehension. Bible en français courant says “and you will know how to be intelligent.” It is also possible to render this line “If you listen well, you will become intelligent.”

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 .

The meaning of the Hebrew text of part of this verse is uncertain. It appears to say that the way of the adulterous woman is unstable and does not lead to life. In this way verse 6 states negatively what verse 5 says positively.

“She does not take heed to the path of life”: that is, “She does not follow the path that leads to life.” “Path of life” refers to the good way that gives the learner a long life. This contrasts with the way that leads to death or takes someone down to death, where “death,” as in verse 5, is a premature death resulting from living foolishly or without wisdom.

“Her ways wander, and she does not know it”: Here the idea is that she takes the wrong road, misses the way, gets lost, and is not even aware that she is on the wrong road. As Bible en français courant says “She does not follow the road that leads to life, she misses the [right] road without knowing it.”

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 .