Proverbs 15:4-6

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Proverbs 15:4 tn Heb “a tongue.” The term “tongue” is a metonymy of cause for what is produced: speech.
2. Proverbs 15:4 tn Heb “a tongue of healing.” A healing tongue refers to speech that is therapeutic or soothing. It is a source of vitality.
3. Proverbs 15:4 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
4. Proverbs 15:4 tn Heb “tree of life.”
5. Proverbs 15:4 tn Heb “perversion in it.” The referent must be the tongue, representing speech, from the first line; so this has been supplied in the translation for clarity. A tongue that is twisted, perverse, or deceitful is a way of describing deceitful speech. Such words will crush the spirit.
6. Proverbs 15:4 tn Heb “is a fracture in the spirit.”
7. Proverbs 15:5 tn Heb “is prudent” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NCV, NLT “is wise.” Anyone who accepts correction or rebuke will become prudent in life.
8. Proverbs 15:6 sn The Hebrew noun חֹסֶן (khosen) means “wealth; treasure.” Prosperity is the reward for righteousness. This is true only in so far as a proverb can be carried in its application, allowing for exceptions. The Greek text for this verse has no reference for wealth, but talks about amassing righteousness.
9. Proverbs 15:6 tn Heb “being ruined.” The Niphal participle of עָכַר (ʿakhar; “to disturb, trouble, ruin”) may be understood substantivally, meaning “disturbance, calamity” (BDB 747 s.v. עָכַר) or a “thing troubled,” thus perhaps “[it] is ruined/ruinous.” Or it may be viewed verbally, “will be ruined” (HALOT 824 s.v. עכר nif). The LXX translates “will be ruined.”