“Do not forsake her”: “Forsake” is as used in verse 2. “Her” refers to wisdom, which is pictured as a person in both lines of this verse and again in verses 8 and 9. However, in languages in which wisdom cannot be spoken of in this way, it may be necessary to say “wisdom” instead of using the feminine pronoun.

“And she will keep you”: “Keep” is used here in the sense of watch over, protect, or look after. “You” in the Hebrew is masculine singular, as it refers back to the speaker who is quoting his father’s direct address to him. In languages in which wisdom cannot be personified, it may be necessary to use a simile here; for example, “and wisdom will protect you just as one person protects another.”

“Love her, and she will guard you”: “Love her” (see 8.17) may need to be rendered as “love wisdom.” Because wisdom is seen as a person again, this line may be handled in the same way as the first, or the two lines may be reduced to one; for example, “Do not forsake wisdom, but love it, and it will protect you and guard you just as a person helps another person.”

“Guard” renders a word meaning to watch over, to keep safe from danger, or to protect.

You may find that verse 6 can be restructured meaningfully by switching from the commands to an “if” clause; for example, Contemporary English Version says “If you love Wisdom and don’t reject her, she will watch over you.” Some others say, for example, “If you hold wisdom, she will look after you. If you love her, she will always protect you.”

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 .