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.
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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
...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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) ...
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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 ...
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1answer
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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?
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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 ...
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3answers
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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 ...
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1answer
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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 ...
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1answer
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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,
...
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1answer
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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 ...
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2answers
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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
...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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1answer
114 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 ...
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4answers
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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,
...
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1answer
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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:
...
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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 ...
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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
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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 ...
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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:
...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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2answers
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Who is the maid in Proverbs 30:19?
Three verses from Proverbs 30 run as follows:
[18] There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:
[19] (1) The way of an eagle in the air; (2) the way of a ...
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The word wisdom [duplicate]
In the book of proverbs the word wisdom is feminine in french ,teaching and the word light as well,while the sun is singular and the son of light is feminine.Is it the same in English for it doesn't ...
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What does “an apple of gold in a picture of silver” represent in Proverbs of Solomon?
What does "a word fitly spoken is like an apple of gold in a picture of silver" (Proverbs 25:11) mean?
I know that an apple is a fruit but the apple of gold in a picture of silver part I can't ...
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1answer
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Proverbs 26:10 - Are modern translations right to involve an 'archer'?
I'm trying to interpret Proverbs 26:10, but as I've attempted to cross-reference more and more sources, I keep finding radically different translations:
"Like an archer who wounds at random, so is ...
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2answers
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What is the relationship between the prostitute and the loaf of bread in Proverbs 6:26a?
The first phrase of Proverbs 6:26 is translated in several different ways by major translations:
for the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread [ESV]
For on account of a harlot one is ...
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3answers
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What is the proper translation of Proverbs 22:6?
I've read that the translation, which implies a promise to "right parenting" of
Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
is not accurate ...
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1answer
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What is the purpose of listing two different birds in the curse of Proverbs 30:17?
Proverbs 30:17 describes the fate of those who disobey their parents, concluding they will have an unnatural death and be eaten by birds of prey:
The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a ...
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What are the “security” and “pledge” of Proverbs 27:13?
Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress. (ESV)
What does it mean to "put up security" and to "hold it ...
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2answers
539 views
The blessing and the sorrow in Proverbs 10:22
In Proverbs 10:22 it reads:
The blessing from the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow to it.
(Proverbs 10:22, NET, emphasis mine)
The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of a ...
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1answer
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How to interpret Proverbs 6:16-19, in view of “Numbered Parallelism”
Question 1: How would one interpret, (not translate), Proverbs 6, in view of the linguistic construction: "Numbered Parallelism." How does "Numbered Parallelism", here, affect the interpretation of ...
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Concealing & revealing in Proverbs 25:2
My question is about the intended meaning of this proverb:
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
--Prov. 25:2, NASB
I see three ...
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2answers
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Proverbs: differences between the LXX and the MT
What is the origin of the differences in the order of some verses in the book of Proverbs between the LXX and the MT?
Here are two examples:1 the verses 30:1—14 are after 24:22 and the verses 30:15—...
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What's the difference between a “lying tongue” and a “false witness” in Proverbs 6?
In Proverbs 6 is there a difference between a lying tongue and a false witness?
Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a ...
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3answers
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Do Proverbs 6:16 and Proverbs 30:18 contain a figure of speech? [duplicate]
If you look at Proverbs 6:16 and Proverbs 30:18, they are written in a certain format:
"There are six things the LORD hates--no, seven things he detests"
"There are three things that are too ...
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4answers
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Why is Wisdom personified as a woman?
Regardless of interpretation, I find it intriguing that Proverbs 8:22 mentions how Wisdom was the first created by the LORD (apparently even before mankind). This Wisdom is present as a feminine ...
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4answers
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What is the “Lot” in Proverbs 16:33
Proverbs 16:33
" The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the Lord."
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1answer
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Does 2 Samuel 22:27 mean that God can be unrighteous?
With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure ; and with the froward thou
wilt shew thyself unsavoury (2 Samuel 22:27)
and
All the words of my mouth [are] in righteousness; [there is] nothing
...
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1answer
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Does the LXX of Proverbs 1:7 have influence on the use of εὐσέβεια in the NT?
Is there any New Testament text wherin an influence of this LXX expanded translation is of interpretive importance in the NT (esp. with regard to εὐσέβεια)?
Edit (question clarification):
I find this ...
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Meaning of N .. N+1 pattern in Amos, Proverbs, Job and Psalms [duplicate]
In the first couple of chapters of Amos, we see a number of proclamations from God that all begin with (all ESV)
"For three transgressions of [region/group], and for four, I will not revoke the ...
