Proverbs 15:29-31

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Proverbs 15:29 sn To say that the Lord is “far” from the wicked is to say that he has made himself unavailable to their appeal—he does not answer them. This motif is used by David throughout Ps 22 for the problem of unanswered prayer—“Why are you far off?”
2. Proverbs 15:29 sn The verb “hear” (שָׁמַע, shamaʿ) has more of the sense of “respond to” in this context. If one “listens to the voice of the Lord,” for example, it means that he obeys the Lord. If one wishes God to “hear his prayer,” it means he wishes God to answer it.
3. Proverbs 15:29 sn God’s response to prayer is determined by the righteousness of the one who prays. A prayer of repentance by the wicked is an exception, for by it they would become the righteous (C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 316).
4. Proverbs 15:30 tc The LXX has “the eye that sees beautiful things.” D. W. Thomas suggests pointing מְאוֹר (m^eʾor) as a Hophal participle, “a fine sight cheers the mind” (“Textual and Philological Notes,” 205). But little is to be gained from this change.tn Heb “light of the eyes” (so KJV, NRSV). The expression may indicate the gleam in the eyes of the one who tells the good news, as the parallel clause suggests.
5. Proverbs 15:30 tn Heb “makes fat the bones;” NAB “invigorates the bones;” NASB “puts fat on the bones.” The word “bones” is a metonymy of subject, the bones representing the whole body. The idea of “making fat” signifies by comparison (hypocatastasis) with fat things that the body will be healthy and prosperous (e.g., Prov 17:22; 25:25; Gen 45:27-28; Isa 52:7-8). Good news makes the person feel good in body and soul.
6. Proverbs 15:31 tn Heb “ear” (so KJV, NRSV). The term “ear” is a synecdoche of part (= ear) for the whole (= person).
7. Proverbs 15:31 tn “Life” is an objective genitive: Reproof brings or preserves life. Cf. NIV “life-giving rebuke”; NLT “constructive criticism.”
8. Proverbs 15:31 tn Heb “lodges.” This means to live with, to be at home with.
9. Proverbs 15:31 sn The proverb is one full sentence; it affirms that a teachable person is among the wise.