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Proverbs 2:6


2:6 For 1  the Lord gives 2  wisdom,

and from his mouth 3  comes 4  knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 5:20


5:20 But why should you be captivated, 5  my son, by an adulteress,

and embrace the bosom of a different woman? 6 

Proverbs 6:24


6:24 by keeping 7  you from the evil woman, 8 

from the smooth tongue of 9  the loose woman. 10 

Proverbs 7:5




1 tn This is a causal clause. The reason one must fear and know the Lord is that he is the source of true, effectual wisdom.

2 tn The verb is an imperfect tense which probably functions as a habitual imperfect describing a universal truth in the past, present and future.

3 sn This expression is an anthropomorphism; it indicates that the Lord is the immediate source or author of the wisdom. It is worth noting that in the incarnation many of these “anthropomorphisms” become literal in the person of the Logos, the Word, Jesus, who reveals the Father.

4 tn The verb “comes” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

5 tn In the interrogative clause the imperfect has a deliberative nuance.


7 tn The infinitive construct is epexegetical here, explaining how these teachings function as lights: “by keeping you.” This verse is the transition from the general admonition about heeding the teachings to the practical application.

8 tc The word translated “woman” is modified by רַע (ra’, “evil”) in the sense of violating the codes of the community and inflicting harm on others. The BHS editors propose changing it to read “strange woman” as before, but there is not support for that. Some commentaries follow the LXX and read רַע as “wife of a neighbor” (cf. NAB; also NRSV “the wife of another”; CEV “someone else’s wife”) but that seems to be only a clarification.

9 tn The word “tongue” is not in construct; the word “foreign woman” is in apposition to “smooth of tongue,” specifying whose it is. The word “smooth” then is the object of the preposition, “tongue” is the genitive of specification, and “foreign woman” in apposition.

10 sn The description of the woman as a “strange woman” and now a “loose [Heb “foreign”] woman” is within the context of the people of Israel. She is a “foreigner” in the sense that she is a nonconformist, wayward, and loose. It does not necessarily mean that she is not ethnically an Israelite.

11 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition shows the purpose of associating closely with wisdom: Wisdom will obviate temptations, the greatest being the sexual urge.

12 tn Heb “strange” (so KJV, ASV).

13 tn Heb “strange woman.” This can be interpreted as a “wayward wife” (so NIV) or an “unfaithful wife” (so NCV). As discussed earlier, the designations “strange woman” and “foreign woman” could refer to Israelites who stood outside the community in their lawlessness and loose morals – an adulteress or wayward woman. H. Ringgren and W. Zimmerli, however, suggest that she is also a promoter of a pagan cult, but that is not entirely convincing (Spruche/Prediger [ATD], 19).

14 tn The term “you” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

15 tn Heb “she makes smooth her words.” This expression means “she flatters with her words.”

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