Verses 23-27 form a unit distinct from the rest of this chapter. The topic is mainly the herder and his animals. Interpreters suggest many higher level meanings, but there is no agreement on these. Verse 24 seems to provide the main point in this unit and is the motive for verse 23.

“Know well the condition of your flocks”: “Know well” renders a very emphatic Hebrew construction. “The condition” is literally “the face of,” which refers to the appearance of the animals by which the herder or breeder can judge if they are healthy. The word translated “flocks”, like “herds” in the next line, refers to sheep and goats.

“And give attention to your herds”: “Give attention” is literally “set your heart on,” as in 24.32 where it is rendered “considered.” Although English speakers may understand “herds” to refer to cattle, and the Hebrew term sometimes has this meaning, in this context the reference is to sheep and goats, as verses 26 and 27 make clear. This line is closely parallel in meaning to the first. Contemporary English Version has reduced the two lines to one: “You should take good care of your sheep and goats.”

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 .