Questions tagged [proverbs]
The book of Proverbs, one of the wisdom books of the Tanakh (Hebrew bible). Many of the short sayings are attributed to Solomon.
76
questions
14
votes
4answers
2k views
Answer not a fool, or answer a fool?
Proverbs 26:4 (KJV) says,
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
The very next verse, verse 5, says,
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise ...
2
votes
1answer
29 views
Why does the LXX occcassionally have “fear God” instead of “fear the Lord” in Proverbs?
The fear of the LORD (YHVH) is found throughout Proverbs. In the KJV, the exact phrase occurs 14 times; twice it is feareth the LORD; once fear the LORD and once fear thou the LORD.
What I find ...
2
votes
2answers
51 views
Where does the second part of the proverb 2 Peter 2:22 come from?
"But it happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." 2 Peter 2:22 (KJV)
The part about the ...
2
votes
1answer
121 views
In Proverbs 14:34, is sin a disgrace to a people, or is mercy a sin-offering?
The standard translation of Proverbs 14:34 is along the lines of (ESV, for example) the following:
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.
But Young's Literal ...
-1
votes
1answer
58 views
Is John 17:22 an allusion to Genesis 2:24?
[John 17:21-23 KJV]
(21) That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. (22) And the glory ...
2
votes
2answers
48 views
“Get out of the trap like a bird or a deer escaping from a hunter.”
Proverbs 6:1-5 speaks to a son that has become responsible for the debt of another person. It tells him (in verse 3) to hurry up to the debtor and beg him for release. But then in verse 5 it says (GNT)...
0
votes
1answer
86 views
Proverbs 1:9 What is a 'torque'?
In Proverbs 1:8-9, it is stated:
[8] Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and reject not your mother's teaching; [9] A graceful diadem will they be for your head; a torque for your neck.
But ...
3
votes
1answer
830 views
What are the 7 abominations in Proverbs 26:25?
Proverbs 26:25
do not trust such a person's pretty speeches, since in the heart lurk
seven abominations.
What are these 7 abominations?
Are these same as,
Proverbs 6:16
There are six things ...
3
votes
6answers
321 views
Who is he and what is the name of his son? Proverbs 30:4
“Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what ...
0
votes
1answer
163 views
How to understand Proverbs 6:16-19 in light of Psalm 51:5 and 58:3
In Proverbs 6, the writer lists 7 things that God hates.
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent ...
3
votes
1answer
52 views
What are the 30 chapters in Proverbs 22:20?
Proverbs 22:20
Have I not written for you thirty chapters of advice and knowledge...
What are these 30 chapters?
Who wrote these to whom?
Have these chapters ever found?
2
votes
2answers
117 views
What is the difference between 'way' and 'path' in Proverbs 3:6?
Proverbs 3:6 (NASB)
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.
What is the difference between a "way" and a "path"?
More specifically, what is the significance ...
2
votes
4answers
313 views
Is John 1:1-3 an allusion to Proverbs 8:22-31 LXX?
The idea of the LOGOS being with God and active in creation always seemed to me to be alluding to Genesis 1 where God creates the world by speaking, "Let there be..." and I think that's still valid.
...
0
votes
1answer
142 views
How does sin trap someone and hold them captive (Proverbs 5:22-23)?
How does sin entrap someone and hold them captive? See Proverbs 5:21-23:
[Pro 5:22-23 CSB] 22 A wicked man's iniquities will trap him; he will become tangled in the ropes of his own sin. 23 He ...
7
votes
4answers
374 views
Is it good to “turn a slave into a son” in Proverbs 29:21?
"He who pampers his slave from childhood will in the end find him to be a son." Proverbs 29:21, NASB
I want to contrast this with a prior verse:
"A slave will not be instructed by words alone; for ...
2
votes
3answers
277 views
Is Proverbs 25:20 about singing songs to an “evil” heart or to a “sad” one?
Proverbs 25: 20 (NASB, literal translation in bold)
"Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on natron,
Is he who sings songs to an evil heart."
I didn't understand this when ...
0
votes
1answer
1k views
Who is King Lemuel in Proverbs 31?
Who is King Lemuel in Proverbs 31? I did a search for King Lemuel in my entire library of encyclopedias, commentaries, Bible dictionaries, etc. and there is very limited information on him. Some see ...
1
vote
2answers
168 views
In Proverbs 31:1 what is meant by “oracle” (מַשָּׂא, χρηματισμός)?
NET Bible Proverbs 31:1 The words of King Lemuel,
an oracle (מַשָּׂא) that his mother taught him:
LXX οἱ ἐμοὶ λόγοι εἴρηνται ὑπὸ θεοῦ βασιλέως χρηματισμός ὃν ἐπαίδευσεν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ
BHS ...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
Pupil/eye, or light/ lamp, or “time of darkness” in Proverbs 20 verse 20?
Pr 20:20b, NASB says "His lamp will go out in time of darkness." I am given a variant for 'time of darkness' as 'pupil,' and
THAT makes no sense to me.
I know in other places (cf Matthew 6:22-23; ...
1
vote
2answers
247 views
In Proverbs 18:21 what is the control that the tongue has over life and death?
NET Bible Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the
tongue, and those who love its use will eat its fruit.
LXX Proverbs 18:21 θάνατος καὶ ζωὴ ἐν χειρὶ γλώσσης οἱ δὲ κρατοῦντες
...
-1
votes
1answer
91 views
Is the point of Proverbs 27:23-27 to maintain your farm in case your business fails? Or to choose farming over commerce?
KJV Pro 27:23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and
look well to thy herds. Pro 27:24 For riches are not for ever: and
doth the crown endure to every generation? Pro 27:25 The ...
2
votes
1answer
463 views
Proverbs 12:10, is it really talking about animal welfare?
Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast,
but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
Prov. 12:10, ESV
The standard interpretation seems to relate to animal welfare, but this website ...
0
votes
1answer
1k views
In Proverbs 30:20 what is so evil about a woman wiping her mouth after she eats?
KJV Pro 30:20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and
wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
http://biblehub.com/proverbs/30-20.htm
If so, is this intended to ...
4
votes
3answers
330 views
What is the meaning of “excellent things” in Proverbs 22:20?
Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, that I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth...
-- Proverbs 22:20 (KJV)
In the KJV, the Hebrew word ...
6
votes
1answer
77 views
Possible English understandings of “ba’al nefesh” in Proverbs 23:2?
I'm wondering about how "ba’al nefesh" could resonably be understood in modern English (USA)? I note the renderings from various translations (https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Proverbs%2023:2) ...
1
vote
2answers
52 views
Translation of Proverbs 14:14
My Hebrew is a bit rusty, got stuck on Proverbs 14:14, and particularly the second part of the verse, וּ֝מֵעָלָ֗יו אִ֣ישׁ טֹֽוב׃
How do I translate, וּ֝מֵעָלָ֗יו correctly in the context of this ...
2
votes
1answer
193 views
Is Proverbs 24:11-12 about protecting people from genocide?
Would the following verses be considered as protecting people who face genocide?
Proverbs 24:11-12 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
[11] Deliver those who are being taken away to death,
And ...
1
vote
2answers
66 views
Proverbs 17:7 - Why still less is false speech to a prince?
Proverbs 17:7
Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;
still less is false speech to a prince.
I understand the first verse as a fool can't say fine speech. But the second verse: "still less is ...
1
vote
1answer
252 views
Proverbs 16:33, why the but? and outcome vs justice
Most translations say something like,
People cast lots, BUT God determines all outcomes.
What is the justification of the Contrajunction BUT?
And why is 'outcomes' related to the lots, as ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Proverbs 16:1 - meaning of the answer of the tongue
Proverbs 16:1
The plans of the heart belong to man,
but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
The phrase The plans of the heart belong to man I can understand as: the man plans things on ...
0
votes
1answer
3k views
Proverbs 16:31 - Why is gray hair is a crown of glory?
Proverbs 16:31
Gray hair is a crown of glory;
it is gained in a righteous life.
Why is gray hair is a crown of glory? I think when people get old, their hair is just automatically turned into ...
0
votes
2answers
1k views
Proverbs 15:23 - what does “a word in season” mean?
Proverbs 15:23
To make an apt answer is a joy to a man,
and a word in season, how good it is!
So "a word in season" like a word that is remembered in seasons, like season in a year?
1
vote
1answer
81 views
Proverbs 15:11 - who are the children of man
PROVERBS 15:11
Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD;
how much more the hearts of the children of man!
So look like this Proverb said "children of man" tend to be worse than Sheol and ...
2
votes
3answers
933 views
Proverbs 11:15 - “put up security for a stranger” and “striking hands in pledge”
Proverbs 11:15
Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm,
but he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure.
I don't really understand 2 phrases:
"put up security for ...
-2
votes
1answer
67 views
Is Mark 6:3 an allusion to Proverbs 8:30?
New American Standard Bible Mark 6:3 "Is not this the carpenter, the son
of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not
His sisters here with us?" And they took offense at ...
1
vote
1answer
57 views
Is Job 15:7 referring to wisdom from Proverbs 8:25 or to Adam?
NET Bible
Job 15:7 Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth
before the hills?
Proverbs 8:25 before the mountains were settled in place, before the
hills, I was given birth,
...
1
vote
1answer
245 views
In Proverbs 8:28, what are “the fountains of the deep”?
Proverbs 8-22-28 (NIV)
22 “The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works,[a][b]
before his deeds of old;
23 I was formed long ages ago,
at the very beginning, when the world ...
1
vote
2answers
276 views
What is Proverbs 8:23 asserting about the origin of wisdom?
Young's Literal Translation has this:
YLT Proverbs 8:23 From the age I was anointed, from the first, From
former states of the earth.
So it has:
from the age (I was anointed)
from the first
...
6
votes
10answers
3k views
Does Proverbs 8:22 say that God's wisdom was the first person/thing that God created?
Several translations have "possessed me" while others have "made me". Is "possessed me" the proper translation and if so, what does it mean? Or is "made me" the correct translation and if so, was ...
5
votes
2answers
841 views
In Proverbs 11:30, what does it mean to “take lives”?
"Soul-winning" is a commonly used phrase in some christian circles to refer to "getting people saved" by "witnessing" and seems to derive from a slightly anachronistic interpretation of the KJV ...
4
votes
3answers
6k views
In Proverbs 5:18 what is meant by “your wife in your youth”?
Please help me understand the meaning of,"your wife in your youth" in Proverbs 5:18. Thank you in advance.
NIV Proverbs 5: 15Drink water from your own cistern, running water
from your own well. ...
0
votes
1answer
394 views
Which “day of trouble” is Proverbs 16:4 referring to?
Throughout the Bible, various occurrences of the phrase "day of trouble" appear. In various Psalms, such as Psalm 50:14
Psalm 50:14-15 (ESV)
Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and ...
9
votes
4answers
7k views
Is Proverbs 17:8 condoning bribery?
In Proverbs 17:8 (ESV) the author states,
A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers.
Earlier in the text in 15:27, the author states,
...
1
vote
1answer
122 views
Proverbs 31:16 - Did the woman use her resources to purchase the field?
זָמְמָ֣ה שָׂ֭דֶה וַתִּקָּחֵ֑הוּ מִפְּרִ֥י כַ֝פֶּ֗יהָ נטע כ נָ֣טְעָה ק כָּֽרֶם׃
Typically this is translated to indicate the woman bought a field...and from her resources she also planted a vineyard:
...
7
votes
3answers
819 views
Is the “woman of valour” in Proverbs 31 “real” or “symbolic”?
There is a lot of interest in the feminine imagery in the first nine chapters of Proverbs, especially the figure of "Lady Wisdom".
The book also ends with attention to a female figure. The last ...
1
vote
1answer
488 views
In Proverbs 8:12, who is “Prudence”?
In Proverbs 8:12, who is "Prudence" with whom "Wisdom" dwells?
YLT Pro 8:12 I, wisdom, have dwelt with prudence, And a
knowledge of devices I find out.
Related:
Who is Wisdom in Proverbs
2
votes
1answer
189 views
In Proverbs 24:27, is there something in the Hebrew that suggests that a rebuild or remodel is in view?
Proverbs 24:27, in the KJV, seems to suggest that he is giving advice on a de novo [from scratch] construction plan where the land is to be productive before attempting to build a house there:
KJV ...
3
votes
1answer
180 views
Where does CEV come up with “common sense” in Proverbs 2:6?
The verse is Proverbs 2:6 and it reads as follows:
Proverbs 2:6 (KJV)
6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
The CEV version however reads:
...
-1
votes
1answer
959 views
Proverbs 8:22-31. Woman Wisdom personification or actual divine being? [duplicate]
In Proverbs 8:22-31, a figure known as "Woman Wisdom" is described as being present when God was creating the world. Obviously, "Woman Wisdom" serves as a great personification to teach about the ...
1
vote
1answer
138 views
Does Proverbs 16:9 say that God has determined every move mankind makes?
"A man's heart deviseth (יחשב: considers, thinks about) his way: but YHVH directeth (יכין: establishes, sets up, appoints) his steps. Proverbs 16:9
Does Proverbs 16:9 say that God has determined ...
