Proverbs: A Commentary based on Paroimiai in Codex Vaticanus 9004425586, 9789004425583

Table of contents :
Proverbs: A Commentary based on Paroimiai in Codex Vaticanus
‎Contents
‎Introduction
1 Generalities
2 The Present Work
3 The Greek Text
4 Previous Scholarship on LXX Proverbs
5 Resources
6 Observations on the Translation of the Greek Text
7 Main Divisions of the Text
‎Text and Translation
Section 1: “The Proverbs of Solomon” (1:1–9:18d)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Section 2: “Solomonic Sayings” (10:1–22:16)
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Section 3: “The Words of the Wise” (22:17–31:9)
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 30
Chapter 24
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Section 4: “The Unseparated Words of the Wise” (25:1–29:27)
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Section 5: “A Valiant Woman” (31:10–31)
Chapter 31
‎Commentary
‎Bibliography
‎Index of Authors
‎Index of References to Ancient Literature

Citation preview

Proverbs

Septuagint Commentary Series Editors Stanley E. Porter Richard S. Hess John Jarick

The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/sept

Proverbs A Commentary based on Paroimiai in Codex Vaticanus

By

Al Wolters

LEIDEN | BOSTON

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Wolters, Albert M., author. Title: Proverbs : a commentary based on Paroimiai in Codex Vaticanus / by Al Wolters. Description: Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2020] | Series: Septuagint commentary series, 1572-3755 | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2020005197 (print) | LCCN 2020005198 (ebook) | ISBN 9789004425583 (hardback) | ISBN 9789004425590 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Proverbs–Commentaries. | Bible. Proverbs. Greek–Versions– Septuagint–Commentaries. | Bible. Proverbs–Criticism, Textual. | Bible. Proverbs–Translating. | Biblioteca apostolica vaticana. Manuscript. Vat. Gr. 1209. | Hebrew language–Translating into Greek. Classification: LCC BS1465.53 .W65 2020 (print) | LCC BS1465.53 (ebook) | DDC 223/.7048–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020005197 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020005197

Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill‑typeface. ISSN 1572-3755 ISBN 978-90-04-42558-3 (hardback) ISBN 978-90-04-42559-0 (e-book) This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner. Copyright 2020 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Hes & De Graaf, Brill Nijhoff, Brill Rodopi, Brill Sense, Hotei Publishing, mentis Verlag, Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh and Wilhelm Fink Verlag. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.

Contents Introduction

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Text and Translation Commentary

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Bibliography 275 Index of Authors 281 Index of References to Ancient Literature 283

Introduction 1

Generalities

LXX Proverbs was probably translated by a single individual, working in the early or mid-second century BCE. Like most books of the LXX, it was probably done in Egypt, although Palestine is also a possibility. Compared to other books of the LXX that are based on a Hebrew parent text, LXX Proverbs diverges significantly from the traditional Hebrew text of Proverbs. This is not only because it is a very free translation (one of the freest in the LXX), but also because two sizable chunks of its text, namely Prov 30:1–9 and 30:10–31:9, are located in the middle and at the end, respectively, of chapter 24. Along the way there are also quite a few omissions and additions in the Greek text compared to the MT. The translator was in all likelihood a well educated Jewish man living in a Greek-speaking environment with a significant Jewish population, quite possibly Alexandria. He had a good command of Greek, but his grasp of biblical Hebrew was often defective. It has sometimes been claimed that he is the same person as the translator of Job, but this is disputed. The French Benedictine scholar d’Hamonville has advanced the bold hypothesis that the translator can be identified with the Egyptian Jewish intellectual Aristobulus, who flourished ca. 181–124 BCE (d’Hamonville 2000:134, 138). This is an attractive hypothesis, but incapable of proof. The most that we can say with confidence is that, if the translator was not Aristobulus, he was someone very like him. On these basic facts and assumptions see d’Hamonville 2000:21–40, Jüngling 2015:376–380.

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The Present Work

In keeping with the general policy of the Brill Septuagint Commentary Series the present commentary is based, not on an eclectic text created by the critical collation of a number of surviving manuscripts and daughter translations, but rather on a single surviving manuscript, in this case the Codex Vaticanus (B), a fourth-century uncial which contains the book of Proverbs in its entirety. Furthermore, the present commentary, like the other volumes in the series, is concerned to deal with the Greek text in its own right—that is to say, independently of its presumed Hebrew Vorlage. Although there will be occasional references to the Hebrew, these will be kept to a minimum, and will be largely restricted to supplying supportive evidence for conclusions reached on innerGreek grounds. In particular, the commentary will seek to avoid the error that

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004425590_002

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has bedeviled a good deal of Septuagint lexicography, namely of assigning meanings to Greek words and constructions on the basis of the underlying Hebrew, rather than on general Greek usage. As a consequence, a prominent feature of this commentary is that it focuses on the philological meaning of the Greek text, that is, on the lexical semantics and grammar of the individual lexemes and constructions of the Greek. This focus is the result of the realization that the existing translations of LXX Proverbs often differ dramatically among themselves, and that, even when they do not differ, these translations often prove on closer examination to be repeating an earlier guess about a particular word or phrase based on the context or on the presumed meaning of the underlying Hebrew. The sobering fact is that we often do not know what the Greek in LXX Proverbs means, and it is often necessary to disregard the meanings assigned by earlier translations or lexicographical authorities, and to take a fresh look at the Greek evidence. It will still often be the case that the conclusions we come to are tentative, but at least they will be conclusions that do not simply repeat earlier translations or the lexicographical tradition.

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The Greek Text

As mentioned above, the Greek text on which this commentary is based is that of the Codex Vaticanus (B), and more particularly the text as written by the original scribe, regardless of the various kinds of scribal errors which it contains, some of which have been subsequently corrected in the manuscript itself by later hands. To establish the text I have relied on the excellent photographs of the manuscript available online at https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.gr. 1209. The book of Proverbs is found on pages 714–749 of this codex. It should be pointed out that mine is not the first printed Greek text which purports to reproduce LXX Proverbs according to B. A noteworthy predecessor was H.W. Swete, who published an edition of the LXX based on the Vatican codex in 1909. Although his edition of LXX Proverbs is generally scrupulously done, and is accompanied by a meticulous critical apparatus, it does on occasion print a text different from B, especially when the latter is clearly in error, and appears to make no sense. Examples are pointed out in my notes on 8:19, 10:30, 24:15, and 29:23. My aim has been to reproduce, translate, and elucidate the Greek text of Proverbs in manuscript B as its very first readers would have encountered it. The consequence of this policy is that occasionally the Greek text as I have printed it is misleading, awkward, ungrammatical, or downright unintelligible.

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See my notes on the following places: 2:21, 6:7, 7:9, 10:13, 16:7, 20:11, 23:5, 23:17, 24:15, 24:22a, 30:15, 25:13, 26:6, 27:13, 27:23, 31:24. Sometimes my translation of these places will also be deliberately awkward or unintelligible; see for example my translations of 16:7, 20:11, 23:17, 24:15, 26:6, and 27:23. In pursuing the goal of faithfully reproducing the text of B, I have also been careful to reflect its colometric layout, which may on occasion differ from modern editions or the standard modern verse-numbering. As a result, there are a few places (see 2:8, 9:15, 23:2, 27:26, and 31:15) where the verse number is found in mid-text, not in the left margin. However, although I have been careful to reproduce the exact original wording of the Greek text of Proverbs as found in B, I have felt free to normalize the text to conform to modern editorial conventions in other respects, notably in providing spaces between words, distinguishing between capital and lowercase letters, supplying accents, breathings, and punctuation, and generally adopting standard orthography. The latter includes adding subscript iotas (which are entirely absent in B), and regularizing the frequent interchange of ι and ει. In all this I am following the precedent of other volumes in the series, which is also that of general editorial practice in printing ancient Greek texts. Scribal abbreviations, such as ΑΝΟΣ for ἄνθρωπος, and a macron over a penultimate letter to indicate final nu, have been expanded. The two exceptions I have made to this overall policy are the following: (1) In the body of the Greek text (though not in the commentary) I have reproduced the way the nomina sacra θεός and κύριος are regularly abbreviated in B as ΘΣ and ΚΣ (but without reproducing the horizontal line over them that we find in the manuscript), and (2) I have reproduced the first-hand text where a later corrector provides the standard orthography. The corrected spelling is then noted in the Commentary. The numbering of chapters and verses is that which is standard for the MT, and which was adopted in Rahlfs’s edition. Where a verse or colon is missing in B compared to the MT, this verse or colon (as well as its number, in the case of an entire verse) is simply omitted in both the Greek text and English translation, with a note flagging the omission in the Commentary. See 1:16, 4:7, 8:33, 11:4, 13:6, 15:31, 16:1, 16:3–4, 16:6, 19:1–2, 20:14–22, 21:5, 22:6, 23:23. Where there are additions compared to the MT these have been indicated by lowercase letters added to the number of the preceding verse. See 3:16a, 3:22a, 4:27a–b, 6:8a–c, 6:11a, 7:1a, 8:21a, 9:10a, 9:12a–c, 9:18a–d, 10:4a, 12:11a, 12:13a, 13:9a, 13:13a, 15:18a, 15:27a, 15:28a, 15:29a–b, 17:6a, 17:16a, 18:22a, 22:8a, 22:9a, 22:14a, 24:22a–e, 25:10a, 25:20a, 26:11a, 27:20a, 27:21a, 28:17a. The case of 20:9a–c is somewhat different, since it does not represent an addition to the Hebrew text, but rather a transposition of 20:20–22 in the Hebrew text.

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The beginning of every colon, as indicated by B, is printed flush with the left margin. If a colon is longer than one line in B, the overrun is indented (I’ve standardized the length of indentation, unlike B). If Rahlfs’s verse and colon numbering does not match B’s layout, I have indicated that by putting the verse number in mid-colon. To facilitate comparison of the B text with the standard Greek text of modern scholarship I have noted in the commentary all places where B differs from the text published in “Rahlfs,” that is, the revision by Robert Hanhart of the 1935 edition of Alfred Rahlfs, published in 2006. Manuscript B contains marginalia of various kinds, not all of which I have recorded. I have not registered the Latin annotations indicating the points in the Greek text where, according to the standard chapter division and numbering of modern Bibles, chapters begin. These marginal notes were presumably added in modern times by a Vatican librarian. Nor have I included the Greek numbers in the margins which divide the book of Proverbs into 71 pericopes. These were probably added after the first-hand text was completed. What I have done, however, is record the nine Greek marginal annotations, by various later hands, which refer to the Greek text, as well as the repeated title of the book at the end. See my notes on the glossary preceding 1:1 and on 2:3, 6:14, 8:10, 11:10, 21:9, 23:292, 23:294, and 31:23. With the exception of the last one, none of these notes are recorded in the critical apparatus of Rahlfs (by contrast, all but the first are included in the critical apparatus of Swete). In other ways as well, Rahlfs’s apparatus has proved to be inaccurate or deficient. See my notes on 3:18 (ἀσφαλῆ), 6:3 (παρώξυνε and ἐνηγγυήσω), 6:14 (κατασκευάζει), 6:17–18 (ἐξολοθρευθήσονται), 7:17 (κροκίνῳ), 8:10 (ἀντερεῖσθαι δὲ συνήσει), 8:12 (κρίσσων γὰρ σοφία λίθων πολυτελῶν), 8:19 (χρυσίου), 8:26 (οὐρανῶν), 10:30 (ἥκουσιν), 11:10 (καὶ ἐπ’ ἀπωλείᾳ ἀσεβῶν ἀγαλλίαμα / ἐν εὐλογίαις δικαίων ὑψωθήσεται πόλις), 19:21 (μένει), 21:9 (κρεῖσσον, μετὰ γυναικὸς μάχη μῦς), 21:19 (κρεῖσσον), 23:17 (ζηλώτου), 23:294 (πέλειοι), 24:14 (αἰσθηθήσῃ), 24:15 (νομῇ), 26:13 (ἐν δὲ ταῖς πλατείαις φονευταί), 30:26 (χοιρογρύλλιοι), 28:4 (ἐγκαταλιπόντες), and 31:21 (ἐνδιδύσκονται).

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Previous Scholarship on LXX Proverbs

Earlier studies of LXX Proverbs have been overwhelmingly concerned with the relationship of the Greek text to its Hebrew original. Generally speaking, that relationship has been studied with three primary goals in mind. The first has been to recover the Hebrew Vorlage of the Greek text where it appears to differ from the MT, and thus to establish an earlier and possibly more

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authentic pre-Masoretic stage of the Hebrew text. This goal was dominant in earlier studies such as those of Jaeger (1788), de Lagarde (1863), Baumgartner (1890), and Mezzacasa (1913), as well as the recent works of Fox (2005 and 2015). The second goal has been to discern the Tendenz—the theological, ideological, or generally cultural bias—reflected in the Greek text as compared to the Hebrew. This has been the focus of such studies as those of Gerleman (1956) and Cook (1997), where the former stresses the influence of Greek philosophy, and the latter the fundamentally Jewish orientation of the translator. Other studies with this kind of focus are those of Bertram (1936), Dick (1991), and Giese (1992). The third goal has been to describe the translation techniques and linguistic transformations which have been employed as the Hebrew text was turned into Greek. This goal has been prominent in such recent work as that of de Waard (1993, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007), Tauberschmidt (2004) and van der Louw (2007). Under this heading we may also mention discussions of the question whether the translator of Proverbs can be identified with the translator of Job. See especially Gammie (1987), Cook (2010) and Lemmelijn (2014). What has failed to attract widespread or focused attention in these previous studies has been the explicitly philological aspects of LXX Proverbs in its own right, especially with respect to lexical semantics and grammar. This is not to say that significant work on the philological aspects of LXX Proverbs has not been done, but the fruits of this work have generally been scattered in various dictionaries, grammars, existing translations and other studies, without integration or focus on Proverbs. Furthermore, on many points of lexical semantics and syntax the various authorities often disagree with each other. My goal in this commentary is to bring together much of the scattered work that has previously been done on the philology of LXX Proverbs, and to build on that to advance our understanding of the Greek text of this biblical book.

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Resources

Among the resources I have relied on in writing this commentary have been the existing translations of the Septuagint, specifically including some excellent new ones published in recent years. I have carefully compared especially the following twelve translations of LXX Proverbs, here listed in chronological order, and preceded by the abbreviation I will be using. All but VL and Fox are complete translations of the entire book of Proverbs.

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VL. The Vetus Latina, cited according to Petrus Sabatier, ed., Bibliorum sacrorum Latinae versiones antiquae seu Vetus Italica. Tomus secundus (Reims: Florentain, 1743), pp. 294–345. It is available online at https://archive.org/stream/ bibliorumsacroru02saba#page/n7/mode/2up. This is a collection of the fragmentary remains of ancient Latin translations of LXX Proverbs, mainly culled from patristic citations. The value of these translations is that they represent an understanding of the Greek text by ancient Greek speakers who in all likelihood had no knowledge of Hebrew, and whose understanding of the Greek is therefore unaffected by their understanding of the Hebrew original. CP. Sacra biblia latina ad LXX. interpretum fidem diligentissime translata (Basel: Andreas Cratander, 1526). This is a reprint of the interlinear Latin translation of the LXX published in the Complutensian Polyglot (Madrid, 1520). The translator of Proverbs was Juan de Vergara, who knew no Hebrew (see Bataillon 1966:39; Sáenz-Badillos 1990:328, 334). The Greek text underlying his translation of Proverbs is largely based on the manuscript Rahlfs 248 (see O’Connell 2006:127, 138–141). The translation is available online at http://books.google.ca/ books?id=jbZbAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. Thomson. Charles Thomson, The Old Covenant Commonly called the Old Testament Translated from the Septuagint. A New Edition by S.F. Pells. Vol. II (London: Skeffington & Son, 1904). This is a facsimile reprint of the translation originally published in 1808. It is available online at https://archive.org/oldcovenantcom mon02thom#page/n5/mode/2up. Volume 2 contains Proverbs; it has no page numbering. According to the Editor’s Preface of the reprint (which does have page numbering) it was based on the Greek text of the Codex Vaticanus (p. ix). Brenton. Lancelot C.L. Brenton, The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English (London: Samuel Bagster & Sons, 1851; repr. Hendrickson: Peabody, Mass., 1997), pp. 788–818. Both the facing Greek text and the translation are said to be based on the Codex Vaticanus (B), but this is not consistently the case. Giguet. P. Giguet, La Sainte Bible. Traduction de l’ Ancien Testament d’après les Septante. Tome III: Job–Malachie (Paris: Librairie Poussielgue Frères, 1872), pp. 311–383. The Greek text on which the translation is based is that of the Codex Vaticanus. It is available online at https://archive.org/details/LaBibleEnFrancai sVol3.

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BAP. David-Marc d’Hamonville, La Bible d’Alexandrie. Les Proverbes (Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf, 2000). The translation is accompanied by extensive notes, many of them philological. The underlying Greek text for Proverbs is that of Rahlfs, with occasional departures from it recorded in the notes. NETS. Albert Pietersma and Benjamin G. Wright, eds., A New English Translation of the Septuagint and the Other Greek Translations Traditionally Included under That Title (New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), pp. 621–647. The translator of Proverbs is Johann Cook. The underlying Greek text is that of Rahlfs. SD. Wolfgang Kraus and Martin Karrer, eds., Septuaginta Deutsch. Das griechische Alte Testament in deutscher Übersetzung (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2009), pp. 935–977. The translators of Proverbs are Hermann von Lips (chapters 1–9), Ruth Scoralick (10:1 to 22:16), and Hans-Winfried Jüngling SJ (22:17–31:31). The underlying Greek text is that of Rahlfs. Moro. Corrado Martone, ed., La Bibbia dei Settanta. III. Libri poetici (Brescia: Editrice Morcelliana, 2013), pp. 467–617. The translator of Proverbs is Caterina Moro. The underlying Greek text is that of Rahlfs. BG. Natalio Fernández Marcos, and María Victoria Spottor Díaz-Caro, eds., La Biblia Griega Septuaginta. III. Libros poéticos y sapienciales (Biblioteca de Estudios Bíblicos 127; Salamanca: Ediciones Sígueme, 2013), pp. 271–346. The translator of Proverbs is José Manuel Cañas Reíllo. The underlying Greek text is that of Rahlfs. Fox. Michael V. Fox, Proverbs. An Eclectic Edition with Introduction and Textual Commentary (The Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition 1; Atlanta: SBL Press, 2015). In his Textual Commentary Fox often quotes the Greek text, both the Rahlfs text and significant variants, accompanied by his own translations. King. Nicholas King, The Old Testament (Buxhall, UK: Kevin Mayhew, 2016). This volume contains King’s translation of the entire Septuagint. The translation of Proverbs is found on pp. 1193–1245. The underlying Greek text appears to be that of Rahlfs, although King never explicitly says so. The foregoing is clearly not an exhaustive list of existing translations of LXX Proverbs. A significant omission is the Syrohexapla, the ancient Syriac translation of the hexaplaric Greek text of LXX Proverbs, which like the Vetus Latina

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represents a version produced by ancient Greek speakers who presumably were not influenced by a knowledge of the Hebrew. There are also many other modern translations, in a variety of languages, that I have not consulted (see the extensive list of translations published on the website “Septuagint Online” maintained by Joel Kalvesmali: www.kalvesmaki.com/LXX/texts.htm), but the twelve listed above are the ones that I have chosen for detailed examination and comparison. For the purposes of the present commentary, they constitute what I will call “the existing translations.” In addition to these existing translations I have relied on the standard lexica, grammars, and concordances of classical and biblical scholarship, notably the lexica of Liddell-Scott-Jones (LSJ), Lampe’s Patristic Greek Lexicon (PGL), and Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich (BDAG), and the grammars of Kühner-Gerth, Goodwin and Gulick (GG) and Blass-Debrunner-Funk (BDF). Included among these are also such largely forgotten but still valuable resources as the LXX lexicon of Schleusner and the older studies of Jaeger and de Lagarde. In addition to these, I have used with profit the following more recent or specialized reference works. C&S. F.C. Conybeare and St. George Stock, A Grammar of Septuagint Greek (Boston, 1905; repr. Grand Rapids: Academie Books, 1980). SV. Friedrich Rehkopf, Septuaginta-Vokabular (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1989). LSG. P.G.W. Glare, Greek-English Lexicon. Revised Supplement (Oxford: Clarendon, 1996). This is a supplement to LSJ, and often corrects LXX-related items in the latter, sometimes on the basis of the underlying Hebrew. GELS. Johann Lust, Erik Eynikel, and Katrin Hauspie, Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint. Revised Edition (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2003). MGELS. Takamitsu Muraoka, A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint (Louvain: Peeters, 2009). This is the currently most up-to-date lexicon of LXX Greek, which often proposes new meanings. SDEK. Wolfgang Kraus and Martin Karrer, eds., Septuaginta Deutsch. Erläuterungen und Kommentare zum griechischen Alten Testament. Band II: Psalmen bis Daniel (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2011). The notes on Proverbs (pp. 1950–2000) are written by the SD translators of Proverbs: Hermann von Lips, Ruth Scoralick, and Hans-Winfried Jüngling.

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GE. Franco Montanari, The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek (Leiden: Brill, 2015). This recent standard work (translated from the Italian) pays considerable attention to biblical and patristic Greek, including the language of the Septuagint. SSG. T. Muraoka, A Syntax of Septuagint Greek (Leuven: Peeters, 2016). SRE. Gregory R. Lanier and William A. Ross, eds., Septuaginta. A Reader’s Edition. Volume 2 (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2018). I have occasionally referred to the glosses supplied for the vocabulary of the book of Proverbs. TLG. Thesaurus Linguae Graecae, the comprehensive online database of ancient and medieval Greek literature, which is being continuously updated. It is available online at stephanus.tlg.uci.edu.

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Observations on the Translation of the Greek Text

As noted above, it is frequently the case that the existing translations of LXX Proverbs, as well as the available lexicographical resources, disagree among themselves, and thus justify a renewed evaluation of the meaning of specific Greek words and expressions. As Lanier and Ross put it in their Introduction to SRE: “the field of [Septuagintal] Greek lexicography is constantly in a state of development” (2018:xix). Matters are complicated by the fact that translators and lexicographers of the LXX have frequently assigned to Greek words the meaning (or assumed meaning) of the corresponding Hebrew, rather than interpreting the Greek in terms of general Greek usage. Examples of this flawed procedure are pointed out in the notes with respect to the following words and phrases: ἀκάρδιος (10:13, 17:16), ἀμέλγω (30:33), ἀνατρέπω (21:14), ἀντλέω (9:12), ἀποπειράω (16:29), ἀποστρέφω (10:32), βάσκανος (23:6), γηγενής (2:18), γυνὴ ἀνδρῶν (6:26), διατριβή (31:27), δισσός (31:22), ἔκστασις (26:10), ἐνώπιος (8:9), ἐξηγήτης (29:18), ἐξοκέλλω (7:21), ἐπισπουδάζω (13:11), ἐρείδω (11:16, 31:17, 31:19), ζηλόω (4:14), θέλησις (8:35), καταγελάω (29:9), κατορθόω (12:19), κειρία (7:16), κέρκωψ (26:22), κινέω (17:13), κρίνω κρίσιν (22:23), λυπηρός (26:23), μακρόθεν (31:14), μελετάω (8:7), νήπιος (1:32), νοητῶς (23:1), πάντα (28:14), παρά (8:35), παραρρέω (3:21), περικάθαρμα (21:18), περιτίθημι (7:3), ποιμαίνω (29:3), πολύς (5:20), πορνοκόπος (23:21), προπορεύομαι (24:34), σπείρω (11:24), συνάγω (11:24), συνέχω (11:26), ὑμνέω (1:20), φάρυγξ (5:3), ψυχή (13:25), and χοιρογρύλ(λ)ιος (30:26). By contrast, I proceed on the assumption that the Greek vocabulary of the LXX should as much as possible be understood, not with reference to a pre-

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sumed Hebrew Vorlage, but with reference to general Greek usage. Occasionally, however, there are good reasons, based on the Greek context (not the Hebrew Vorlage), for attributing unusual senses or nuances to LXX vocabulary which seem not to be attested elsewhere. One example is the word ἄξων, which outside of LXX Proverbs means “axle,” but which in its three occurrences in Proverbs clearly means something like “track” or “path” (see note on 2:9). Consider also the adjective πανοῦργος, together with the related noun πανουργία, which elsewhere have the pejorative connotation of slyness or cunning, but which in LXX Proverbs are used in an altogether positive sense to denote godly shrewdness (see on 1:4). Similarly, the adjective ἀνδρεῖος, which generally means “manly” or “courageous,” in LXX Proverbs sometimes acquires the meaning “diligent” or “industrious” (see on 10:4). Because of these and other complications in determining the semantic value of LXX vocabulary I have often felt compelled to depart from the conclusions of earlier translators and lexica. To illustrate this point, I list here the places where I have taken issue with the 2009 LXX lexicon by Muraoka (MGELS). Although this is currently the most up-to-date and authoritative dictionary of LXX Greek—which I have often used with profit and cited with approval—I have taken issue with it in over a hundred cases. Specifically, I have registered disagreement with its treatment of the following words or phrases (see my notes on the verses indicated): ἀηδία (23:29), ἀκάρδιος (10:13), ἀκαρπία (9:12c), ἀλλότριος (2:16, 5:20), ἀναιδῶς (21:29), ἀμφίταπος (7:16), ἀναντλέω (9:12), ἀνατρέπω (21:14), ἀνδρεῖος (31:10), ἄξιος (3:15), ἀπαντάω (26:18), ἀποδέω (6:27), ἁρμόζω (19:14), ἀσωτία (28:7), ἄσωτος (7:11), ἀφορμή (9:9), βάσκανος (23:6), βρυγμός (19:12), γινώσκω (10:9), γνοφώδης (7:9), δεκτός (10:24), διατάσσω (9:12c), διατριβή (12:11, 31:27), δίγλωσσος (11:13), δίθυμος (26:20), ἐγκυλίω (7:18), εἰς (24:24), ἐκκαίω (6:19), ἐκπετάζω (13:16), ἐλαττονέω (11:24), ἐμβάλλω (7:5), ἐμπορεύομαι (3:14), ἐνεργέω (21:6), ἐνευφραίνω (8:31), ἐντίθεμαι καρδίαν (8:5), ἐξέλκω λόγους (30:33), ἔξοδος (30:12), ἐξοκέλλω (7:21), ἐπιδείκνυμι (12:17), ἐπισπουδάζω (13:11), ἐρεθίζω (19:7), ἐρείδω (11:16), εὐλάβεια (28:14), εὔοδος (11:9), εὐσυναλλάκτως (25:10a), εὐσχήμων (11:25), ζηλόω (6:6), ἡδέως (9:17), ἡδύς (12:11a), ἡ ὑπ’ οὐρανόν (8:26), θέλησις (8:35), κακόφρων (11:22), καταγελάω (29:9), καταπτήσσω (28:14), κατασκηνόω (8:12), κειρία (7:16), κέρκωψ (26:22), κινέω (17:13), κόλπος (6:27), κρατήρ (9:3), λοιμεύομαι (19:19), μελετάω (8:7), μηρύομαι (31:13), νοητῶς (23:1), ὁδοιπόρος (6:11), οἶκος (5:8), ὀκνηρός (18:8), ὁρίζω (16:30, 18:18), παροξύνω (6:3; 27:17), παραρρέω (3:21), πᾶς (19:6), περιπίπτω (11:5), πέτευρον (9:18), πλάτος (7:3), πλατύνω (24:28), πληγή (22:8), πνοή (11:13), πολλοστός (5:19), πολύς (5:20), προσδέομαι (12:9), προσέχω (4:1), πρόσωπον (2:6), προτίθημι (29:24), πρόχειρος (11:3), σπείρω (11:24), στεγνός (31:27), στέλλω (31:25), στέφανος (12:4), στρέφω (12:7), συκοφαντέω (14:31), συναντάω (12:13a), συνέχω (11:26), τείνω (7:16), τεκταίνομαι (3:29), ὕβρις (19:18), ὑμνέω

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(1:20), ὑπερτίθημι (15:22), ὑπνώδης (23:21), ὑστεροβουλία (31:3), ὑφίσταμαι (25:6), ὑφίσταμαι προσώπῳ (21:29), ὑψηλός (9:3), φαῦλος (5:3), φείδομαι (24:11), χοιρογρύλ(λ)ιος (30:26). In seeking to determine the semantic value of individual words or phrases I have often found it useful to consult the TLG. See my notes on 6:11 (ἐμπαραγίνομαι), 6:21 (ἐγκλοιόω), 10:5 (ἀνεμόφθορος), 12:8 (νωθροκάρδιος), 13:12 (ἐναρχομένοις), 19:15 (ἀνδρογύναιος), 19:19 (λοιμεύομαι), 24:9 (ἐμμολύνω), 24:11 (ἐκπριοῦ), 30:26 (χοιρογρύλ[λ]ιος), 31:3 (ὑστεροβουλία), 25:10a (εὐσυναλλάκτως), 26:20 (δίθυμος), 29:9 (καταγελάω). In almost all of these cases the evidence of the TLG has made clear that LXX Proverbs often uses words which are unattested (or only rarely attested) in extra-biblical Greek, except in patristic or Byzantine sources written by Christians who were steeped in the language of the LXX. In two cases a TLG search has helped to identify the probable literary source of an enigmatic phrase; see on 1:3 (στροφὰς λόγων) and 30:27 (ἀφ’ ἑνὸς κελεύσματος). I have occasionally cited Greek church fathers (mainly Clement of Alexandria and John Chrysostom) who have written commentaries on, or cited passages from, LXX Proverbs, but these generally give little philological help, partly because they are usually focused on the spiritual, not the literal, meaning of the text, and partly because they too are often plainly guessing as to the meaning of obscure words. Furthermore, they also often disagree with each other. See my notes on 2:9, 5:3, 5:20, 9:18, 10:17, 17:16a, 19:29, 23:4, 24:9, 31:3, 26:20, and 31:25. It should also be pointed out that LXX Proverbs contains many examples of grammatical ambiguity, that is, cases where the reader could legitimately construe a clause or phrase in two or more different ways, and where a translator is forced to choose one construal over the other(s). See my notes on 4:9, 5:11, 6:24, 6:26, 7:4, 8:121, 8:22, 10:6, 10:17, 10:29, 11:13, 11:25, 12:15, 17:14, 18:17, 19:7, 20:3, 22:4, 24:9, 24:25, 31:1, 25:7, 25:10, 25:20, 26:18, 27:13, 28:2, 28:3, and 31:14. In at least one case (25:20) the ambiguity seems to have been deliberate. A particularly delicate problem of translation involves cases where there is a disconnect between what the translator probably meant to convey (as indicated by the Hebrew Vorlage), and what the Greek text most naturally did convey to a Greek-speaking reader. See notes on 6:24, 6:26, 6:34, 11:13, 24:14, and 29:18. I have taken the position that in such cases preference should be given to what a Greek speaker, without knowledge of the underlying Hebrew, is most likely to have understood. A special case is found in 31:20, where I have argued that a well-versed LXX reader, even without a knowledge of the Hebrew parent text, would have had enough information to realize that καρπός there does not mean “fruit” but “hand.” Although I have kept references to the presumed Hebrew Vorlage to a minimum, I have not hesitated to let a knowledge of common Septuagintal Hebra-

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isms inform my interpretation of specific Greek expressions. Regular readers of the LXX in antiquity may have had no knowledge of Hebrew, but they would have been familiar with the Hebraisms which are often found in the Greek text of the LXX. See my notes on 2:19 (πάντες … οὐκ), 3:154 (πᾶν … οὐκ), 8:5 (ἔνθεσθε καρδίαν), 9:9 (προσθήσει τοῦ δέχεσθαι), 14:22a (δεχόμενος ἐδέξατο), 18:21 (ἐν χειρὶ γλώσσης), and 26:10 (πᾶσα σάρξ). The LXX of Proverbs, like the LXX in general (and like its Hebrew Vorlage) often uses the generic masculine. The righteous person, for example, is called δίκαιος, ὁ δίκαιος, or ὁ δίκαιος ἀνήρ, and many exhortations are addressed to “(my) son” (υἱέ). In my translation I have not sought to obscure or soften this feature of the text. The LXX translator assumed as a matter of course that men had a privileged and representative position in the world, and he nowhere challenges that assumption. In this I am following the practice of all existing translations (with the partial exception of King). It should also be pointed out that the particle δέ at the beginning of a colon in Proverbs (usually reflecting ‫ ְו‬in the Hebrew), often loses its adversative meaning. Depending on whether the colon it introduces is judged to stand in some contrast to the one that precedes, or develops it further, the translation may be either “but” or “and.” LXX Proverbs is also marked by the relatively frequent omission of the definite article in places where we would expect it in ordinary prose. On this phenomenon in the LXX in general, see SSG §2. In Proverbs there are long stretches of text (for example 14:3–13) where no article appears at all. It is therefore generally unwise to draw exegetical conclusions from the anarthrous use of a noun (pace Dick 1991:39, n. 78, and 42, n. 88). In my translation I have felt free to supply a definite (or indefinite) article wherever the context seems to require it, although this is often a highly subjective affair. For the use of substantivized participles without the article, see note on 2:7.

7

Main Divisions of the Text

The Septuagint version of Proverbs can be conveniently divided into five sections of unequal length: 1. “The Proverbs of Solomon” (1:1–9:18d) 2. “Solomonic Sayings” (10:1–22:16) 3. “The Words of the Wise” a. (22:17–24:22e) b. (30:1–14) c. (24:23–34)

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d. (30:15–33) e. (31:1–9) 4. “The Unseparated Teachings of Solomon” (25:1–29:27) 5. “A Valiant Woman” (31:10–31). It will be noted that Section 3 represents a significant rearrangement of the text as compared with the standard Hebrew textual tradition. At the beginning of each section the commentary will give a brief analysis of its contents, focussing especially on questions of literary genre.

Text and Translation

∵

Παροιμίαι

1:1 1:2 1:3

1:4 1:5 1:6 1:7

1:8 1:9 1:10 1:11 1:12 1:13 1:14

Παροιμίαι Σαλωμῶντος υἱοῦ Δαυιδ, ὃς ἐβασίλευσεν ἐν Ισραηλ, γνῶναι σοφίαν καὶ παιδείαν νοῆσαί τε λόγους φρονήσεως δέξασθαί τε στροφὰς λόγων νοῆσαί τε δικαιοσύνην ἀληθῆ καὶ κρίμα κατευθύνειν, ἵνα δῷ ἀκάκοις πανουργίαν, παιδὶ δὲ νέῳ αἴσθησίν τε καὶ ἔννοιαν· τῶνδε γὰρ ἀκούσας σοφὸς σοφώτερος ἔσται, ὁ δὲ νοήμων κυβέρνησιν κτήσεται νοήσει τε παραβολὴν καὶ σκοτεινὸν λόγον ῥήσεις τε σοφῶν καὶ αἰνίγματα. Ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος ΘΥ, σύνεσις δὲ ἀγαθὴ πᾶσι τοῖς ποιοῦσιν αὐτήν· εὐσέβεια δὲ εἰς ΘΝ ἀρχὴ αἰσθήσεως, σοφίαν δὲ καὶ παιδείαν ἀσεβεῖς ἐξουθενήσουσιν. ἄκουε, υἱέ, παιδείαν πατρός σου καὶ μὴ ἀπώσῃ θεσμοὺς μητρός σου· στέφανον γὰρ χαρίτων δέξῃ σῇ κορυφῇ καὶ κλοιὸν χρύσεον περὶ σῷ τραχήλῳ. υἱέ, μὴ σε πλανήσωσιν ἄνδρες ἀσεβεῖς, μηδὲ βουληθῇς, ἐὰν παρακαλέσωσί σε λέγοντες Ἐλθὲ μεθ’ ἡμῶν, κοινώνησον αἵματος, κρύψωμεν δὲ εἰς γῆν ἄνδρα δίκαιον ἀδίκως, καταπίωμεν δὲ αὐτὸν ὥσπερ ᾅδης ζῶντα καὶ ἄρωμεν αὐτοῦ τὴν μνήμην ἐκ γῆς· κτῆσιν αὐτοῦ τὴν πολυτελῆ καταλαβώμεθα, πλήσωμεν δὲ οἴκους ἡμετέρους σκύλων· τὸν δὲ σὸν κλῆρον βάλε ἐν ἡμῖν, κοινὸν δὲ βαλλάντιον κτησώμεθα πάντες, καὶ μαρσίππιον ἓν γενηθήτω ἡμῖν.

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004425590_003

LXX Proverbs Section 1: “The Proverbs of Solomon” (1:1–9:18d) Chapter 1 1:1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, who was king in Israel: 2 to know wisdom and instruction, and to understand words of good sense, 3 to take in the “windings of words,” to understand true righteousness and to deliver a straight judgment, 4 in order that he may impart shrewdness to the guileless, and discernment and insight to the young child. 5 For by listening to these things the wise man will be wiser, and the prudent man will acquire leadership. 6 And he will understand both parable and obscure speech, both utterances of the wise and riddles. 7 The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and good understanding comes to all who practice it. And piety directed to God is the beginning of discernment, but the ungodly will make light of wisdom and discipline. 8 Hear, my son, the instruction of your father, and do not reject the rules of your mother, 9 for you will receive a graceful wreath for your head, and a golden collar around your neck. 10 My son, let not godless men lead you astray, and do not be willing if they urge you and say, 11 “Come with us, be our partner in bloodshed. Let us hide the just man unjustly in the earth, 12 let us swallow him alive like Hades, and let us remove the memory of him from the earth. 13 Let us seize his valuable possessions, let us fill our houses with plunder. 14 Cast in your lot with us, let us all get a common purse and let there be one pouch for us.”

18 1:15 1:17 1:18 1:19 1:20 1:21

1:22

1:23

1:24 1:25 1:26 1:27

1:28 1:29 1:30 1:31 1:32

text and translation

μὴ πορευθῇς ἐν ὁδῷ μετ’ αὐτῶν, ἔκκλινον δὲ τὸν πόδα σου ἐκ τῶν τρίβων αὐτῶν· οὐ γὰρ ἀδίκως ἐκτείνεται δίκτυα πτερωτοῖς. αὐτοὶ γὰρ οἱ φόνου μετέχοντες θησαυρίζουσιν ἑαυτοῖς κακά, ἡ δὲ καταστροφὴ ἀνδρῶν παρανόμων κακή. αὗται αἱ ὁδοί εἰσιν πάντων τῶν συντελούντων τὰ ἄνομα· τῇ γὰρ ἀσεβείᾳ τὴν ἑαυτῶν ψυχὴν ἀφαιροῦνται. σοφία ἐν ἐξόδοις ὑμνεῖται, ἐν δὲ πλατείαις παρρησίαν ἄγει, ἐπ’ ἄκρων δὲ τειχέων κηρύσσεται, ἐπὶ δὲ πύλαις δυναστῶν παρεδρεύει, ἐπὶ δὲ πύλαις πόλεως θαρροῦσα λέγει Ὅσον ἂν χρόνον ἄκακοι ἔχωνται τῆς δικαιοσύνης, οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσονται· οἱ δὲ ἄφρονες, τῆς ὕβρεως ὄντες ἐπιθυμηταί, ἀσεβεῖς γενόμενοι ἐμίσησαν αἴσθησιν καὶ ὑπεύθυνοι ἐγένοντο ἐλέγχοις. ἰδοὺ προήσομαι ὑμῖν ἐμῆς πνοῆς ῥῆσιν. διδάξω δὲ ὑμᾶς τὸν ἐμὸν λόγον. ἐπειδὴ ἐκάλουν καὶ οὐκ ὑπηκούσατε καὶ ἐξέτεινον λόγους καὶ οὐ προσείχετε, ἀλλὰ ἀκύρους ἐποιεῖτε ἐμὰς βουλάς, τοῖς δὲ ἐμοῖς ἐλέγχοις ἠπειθήσατε, τοιγαροῦν κἀγὼ τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ ἀπωλείᾳ ἐπιγελάσομαι, καταχαροῦμαι δὲ, ἡνίκα ἂν ἐρχηται ὑμῖν ὄλεθρος, καὶ ὡς ἂν ἀφίκηται ὑμῖν ἄφνω θόρυβος, ἡ δὲ καταστροφὴ ὁμοίως καταιγίδι παρῇ, καὶ ὅταν ἔρχηται ὑμῖν θλῖψις καὶ πολιορκία, ἢ ὅταν ἔρχηται ὑμῖν ὄλεθρος. ἔσται γὰρ ὅταν ἐπικαλέσησθέ με, ἐγὼ δὲ οὐκ εἰσακούσομαι ὑμῶν· ζητήσουσίν με κακοὶ καὶ οὐχ εὑρήσουσιν. ἐμίσησαν γὰρ σοφίαν, τὸν δὲ λόγον τοῦ ΚΥ οὐ προείλαντο οὐδὲ ἤθελον ἐμαῖς προσέχειν βουλαῖς, ἐμυκτήριζον δὲ ἐμοὺς ἐλέγχους. τοιγαροῦν ἔδονται τῆς ἑαυτῶν ὁδοῦ τοὺς καρπούς καὶ τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἀσεβείας πλησθήσονται· ἀνθ’ ὧν γὰρ ἠδίκουν νηπίους, φονευθήσονται, καὶ ἐξετασμὸς ἀσεβεῖς ὀλεῖ.

text and translation

15 17 18

19 20 21

22

23

24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31 32

19

Do not go with them on the road, but turn your foot away from their paths. For nets are not spread for birds without reason. For those who participate in murder are themselves storing up troubles for themselves, and the disaster which befalls transgressors is bad. These are the ways of all who commit crimes, for by their ungodliness they are taking away their own life. Wisdom is celebrated in the exits and she speaks boldly in the streets. On the tops of walls she is proclaimed, and she takes her seat at the gates of the mighty, and by the gates of the city she speaks with boldness: “As long as the guileless hold to righteousness they will not be put to shame, but the foolish, since they are keen on pride, become ungodly and hate discernment, and become liable to admonitions. See here, I will express to you the utterance of my breath and I will teach you my word. Since I kept calling and you did not obey, and I kept prolonging my words, and you paid no attention, but kept nullifying my counsels, and disobeyed my admonitions, therefore I in my turn will laugh at your destruction, and I will exult when disaster befalls you, and when confusion suddenly comes upon you, and disaster arrives like a tempest, and when distress and siege come upon you, or when destruction comes upon you. For it shall be when you call on me, I will not listen to you; the wicked will seek me and they will not find me. For they hated wisdom, and did not choose the word of the Lord, nor did they wish to pay attention to my counsels, and they sneered at my admonitions. Therefore they will eat the fruits of their own way, and will be filled with their own ungodliness. For because they wronged little children, they will be murdered, and an investigation will destroy the ungodly.

20

text and translation

1:33

ὁ δὲ ἐμοῦ ἀκούων κατασκηνώσει ἐπ’ ἐλπίδι καὶ ἡσυχάσει ἀφόβως ἀπὸ παντὸς κακοῦ.

2:1 2:2

υἱέ, ἐὰν δεξάμενος ῥῆσιν ἐμῆς ἐντολῆς κρύψῃς παρὰ σεαυτῷ, ὑπακούσεται σοφίας τὸ οὖς σου, καὶ παραβαλεῖς καρδίαν σου εἰς σύνεσιν, παραβαλεῖς δὲ αὐτὴν ἐπὶ νουθέτησιν τῷ υἱῷ σου. ἐὰν γὰρ τὴν σοφίαν ἐπικαλέσῃ καὶ τῇ συνέσει δῷς φωνήν σου, καὶ έὰν ζητήσῃς αὐτὴν ὡς ἀργύριον καὶ ὡς θησαυροὺς ἐξεραυνήσῃς αὐτήν, τότε συνήσεις φόβον ΚΥ καὶ ἐπίγνωσιν ΘΥ εὑρήσεις. ὅτι ΚΣ δίδωσιν σοφίαν, καὶ ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ γνῶσις καὶ σύνεσις· καὶ θησαυρίζει τοῖς κατορθοῦσι σωτηρίαν, ὑπερασπιεῖ τὴν πορείαν αὐτῶν [2:8] τοῦ φυλάξαι ὁδοὺς δικαιωμάτων καὶ ὁδὸν εὐλαβουμένων αὐτὸν διαφυλάξει. τότε συνήσεις δικαιοσύνην καὶ κρίμα καὶ κατορθώσεις πάντας ἄξονας ἀγαθούς. ἐὰν γὰρ ἔλθῃ ἡ σοφία εἰς σὴν διάνοιαν, ἡ δὲ αἴσθησις τῇ σῇ ψυχῇ καλὴ εἶναι δόξῃ, βουλὴ καλὴ φυλάξει σε, ἔννοια δὲ ὁσία τηρήσει σε, ἵνα ῥύσηταί σε ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ κακῆς καὶ ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς λαλοῦντος μηδὲν πιστόν. ὢ οἱ ἐγκαταλείποντες ὁδοὺς εὐθείας τοῦ πορεύεσθαι ἐν ὁδοῖς σκότους, οἱ εὐφραινόμενοι ἐπὶ κακοῖς καὶ χαίροντες ἐπὶ διαστροφῇ κακῇ, ὧν αἱ τρίβοι σκολιαὶ καὶ καμπύλαι αἱ τροχιαὶ αὐτῶν τοῦ μακράν σε ποιῆσαι ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ εὐθείας καὶ άλλότριον τῆς δικαίας γνώμης. υἱέ, μή σε καταλάβῃ κακὴ βουλὴ ἡ ἀπολείπουσα διδασκαλίαν νεότητος καὶ διαθήκην θείαν ἐπιλελησμένη·

2:3 2:4 2:5 2:6 2:7

2:9 2:10 2:11 2:12 2:13 2:14 2:15 2:16 2:17

text and translation

33

21

But he who listens to me will dwell in hope, and will without fear rest from all evil.” Chapter 2

1 2

3 4 5 6 7

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

My son, if you receive the utterance of my commandment and hide it with yourself, your ear will attend to wisdom, and you will incline your heart to understanding, and you will incline it to correction for your son. For if you call on wisdom, and give your voice to understanding, and if you look for her as for silver and seek her out like treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and you will find the knowledge of God. Because the Lord gives wisdom, and from his person come knowledge and understanding. And he stores up salvation for the upright; he will protect their journey, (8) in order to guard the paths of right actions, and he will preserve the path of those who revere him. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, and you will keep all good tracks straight. For if wisdom enters your thinking, and discernment seems attractive to your soul, good counsel will guard you, and holy insight will preserve you, in order that it may deliver you from the evil way, and from the man who does not speak a reliable word. Oh, the people who abandon the straight ways to walk in the ways of darkness, who delight in evil deeds and rejoice in evil perversity, whose paths are crooked, and whose pathways are bent, in order to put you far from the straight way, and hostile to righteous opinion! My son, let not bad counsel get hold of you, counsel which leaves behind the instruction of your childhood, and is forgetful of the divine covenant.

22 2:18 2:19

2:20 2:21 2:22

3:1 3:2 3:3 3:4 3:5 3:6 3:7 3:8 3:9 3:10 3:11 3:12 3:13 3:14

text and translation

ἔθετο γὰρ παρὰ τῷ θανάτῳ τὸν οἶκον αὐτῆς καὶ παρὰ τῷ ᾅδῃ μετὰ τῶν γηγενῶν τοὺς ἄξονας αὐτῆς· πάντες οἱ πορευόμενοι ἐν αὐτῇ οὐκ ἀναστρέψουσιν οὐδὲ μὴ καταλάβωσιν τρίβους εὐθείας· οὐ γὰρ καταλαμβάνονται ὑπὸ ἐνιαυτῶν ζωῆς. εἰ γὰρ ἐπορεύοντο τρίβους ἀγαθάς, εὕροσαν ἂν τρίβους δικαιοσύνης λείους. ὅτι εὐθεῖς κατασκηνώσουσι γῆν, καὶ ὅσιοι ὑπολειφθήσονται ἐν αὐτῇ· ὁδοὶ ἀσεβῶν ἐκ γῆς ὀλοῦνται, οἱ δὲ παράνομοι ἐξωσθήσονται ἀπ’ αὐτῆς.

υἱέ, ἐμῶν νομίμων μὴ ἐπιλανθάνου, τὰ δὲ ῥήματά μου τηρείτω σὴ καρδία μῆκος γὰρ βίου καὶ ἔτη ζωῆς καὶ εἰρήνην προσθήσουσίν σοι. ἐλεημοσύναι καὶ πίστεις μὴ ἐκλιπέτωσάν σε, ἄφαψαι δὲ αὐτὰς ἐπὶ σῷ τραχήλῳ, καὶ εὑρήσεις χάριν· καὶ προνοοῦ καλὰ ἐνώπιον ΚΥ καὶ ἀνθρώπων. ἴσθι πεποιθὼς ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ ἐπὶ ΘΩ, ἐπὶ δὲ σῇ σοφίᾳ μὴ ἐπαίρου· πάσαις ὁδοῖς σου γνώριζε αὐτήν, ἵνα ὀρθοτομῇ τὰς ὁδούς σου, μὴ ἴσθι φρόνιμος παρὰ σεαυτῷ, φοβοῦ δὲ τὸν ΘΝ καὶ ἔκκλινε ἀπὸ παντὸς κακοῦ· τότε ἴασις ἔσται τῷ σώματί σου καὶ ἐπιμέλεια τοῖς ὀστέοις σου. τίμα τὸν ΚΝ ἀπὸ σῶν δικαίων πόνων καὶ ἀπάρχου αὐτῷ ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν δικαιοσύνης, ἵνα πίμπληται τὰ ταμιεῖά σου πλησμονῆς σίτῳ, οἴνῳ δὲ αἱ ληνοί σου ἐκβλύζωσιν. υἱέ, μὴ ὀλιγώρει παιδείας ΚΥ μηδὲ ἐκλύου ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ ἐλεγχόμενος· ὃν γὰρ ἀγαπᾷ ΚΣ ἐλέγχει, μαστιγοῖ δὲ πάντα υἱὸν ὃν παραδέχεται. μακάριος ἄνθρωπος ὃς εὗρεν σοφίαν καὶ θνητὸς ὃς εἶδεν φρόνησιν· κρεῖττον γὰρ αὐτὴν ἐμπορεύεσθαι ἢ χρυσίου καὶ ἀργυρίου θησαυρούς.

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For she has put her house next to death, and her tracks next to Hades with the earthborn. None who walk with her will turn back, nor will they ever take the straight paths, for they are not taken down by the years of life. For if they were walking on good paths, they would have found the smooth paths of righteousness, because the upright will dwell in the land, and the holy will be left in it. The ways of the ungodly will perish from the earth, and the lawless will be banished from it. Chapter 3

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My son, do not forget my laws, and let your heart preserve my words, for they will add to you length of life, and years of living, and peace. Let not deeds of mercy and good faith desert you, but attach them to your neck, and you will find favor. And think of things that are noble in the sight of the Lord and people. Be reliant on God with your whole heart, and do not pride yourself on your wisdom. In all your ways make your wisdom known, so that it may make your ways straight. Do not be sensible in your own opinion, but fear God and avoid all evil. Then there will be healing for your body, and treatment for your bones. Honor the Lord out of the products of your righteous labors, and give him the firstfruits of your well-earned harvest, in order that your barns may be filled with abundant grain, and your winepresses overflow with wine. My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when you are admonished by him, for the Lord admonishes whom he loves, and he whips every son whom he accepts. Blessed is the man who has found wisdom, and the mortal who has seen good sense. For it is better to buy her than treasures of gold and silver.

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24 3:15

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τιμιωτέρα δὲ ἐστιν λίθων πολυτελῶν, οὐκ ἀντιτάξεται αὐτῇ οὐδὲν πονηρόν· εὔγνωστός ἐστιν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐγγίζουσιν αὐτῇ, πᾶν δὲ τίμιον οὐκ ἄξιον αὐτῆς ἐστιν. 3:16 μῆκος γὰρ βίου καὶ ἔτη ζωῆς ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ αὐτῆς, ἐν δὲ τῇ ἀριστερᾷ αὐτῆς πλοῦτος καὶ δόξα· 3:16a ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτῆς ἐκπορεύεται δικαιοσύνη, νόμον δὲ καὶ ἔλεον ἐπὶ γλώσσης φορεῖ. 3:17 αἱ ὁδοὶ αὐτῆς ὁδοὶ καλαί, καὶ πάντες οἱ τρίβοι αὐτῆς ἐν εἰρήνῃ· 3:18 ξύλον ζωῆς ἐστι πᾶσι τοῖς ἀντεχομένοις αὐτῆς, καὶ τοῖς ἐπερειδομένοις ἐπ’ αὐτὴν ὠς ἐπὶ ΚΝ. 3:19 ὁ ΘΣ τῇ σοφίᾳ ἐθεμελίωσεν τὴν γῆν, ἡτοίμασεν δὲ οὐρανοὺς φρονήσει· 3:20 ἐν αἰσθήσει ἄβυσσοι ἐρράγησαν, νέφη δὲ ἐρρύησαν δρόσους. 3:21 υἱέ, μὴ παραρρυῇς, τήρησον δὲ ἐμὴν βουλὴν καὶ ἔννοιαν, 3:22 ἵνα ζήσῃ ἡ ψυχή σου, καὶ χάρις ᾖ περὶ σῷ τραχήλῳ. 3:22a ἔσται δὲ ἴασις ταῖς σαρξί σου καὶ ἐπιμέλεια τοῖς σοῖς ὀστέοις, 3:23 ἵνα πορεύῃ πεποιθὼς ἐν εἰρήνῃ πάσας τὰς ὁδούς σου, ὁ δὲ πούς σου οὐ μὴ προσκόψῃ. 3:24 ἐὰν γὰρ κάθῃ, ἄφοβος ἔσῃ, ἐὰν δὲ καθεύδῃς, ἡδέως ὑπνώσεις· 3:25 καὶ οὐ φοβηθήσῃ πτόησιν ἐπελθοῦσαν οὐδὲ ὁρμὰς ἀσεβῶν ἐπερχομένας· 3:26 ὁ γὰρ ΚΣ ἔσται ἐπὶ πασῶν ὁδῶν σου καὶ ἐρείσει σὸν πόδα, ἵνα μὴ σαλευθῇς. 3:27 μὴ ἀπόσχῃ εὖ ποιεῖν ἐνδεῆ, ἡνίκα ἂν ἔχῃ ἡ χείρ σου βοηθεῖν· 3:28 μὴ εἴπῃς Ἐπανελθὼν ἐπάνηκε, αὔριον δώσω, δυνατοῦ σου ὄντος εὖ ποιεῖν· οὐ γὰρ οἶδας τί τέξεται ἡ ἐπιοῦσα. 3:29 μὴ τεκτήνῃ ἐπὶ σὸν φίλον κακά παροικοῦντα καὶ πεποιθότα ἐπὶ σοί. 3:30 μὴ φιλεχθρήσῃς πρὸς ἄνθρωπον μάτην, μή τί σε ἐργάσηται κακόν.

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15

She is more valuable than precious stones; no evil will compare with her; she is easily known to all who approach her, and no precious thing matches her in value. 16 For length of life and years of living are in her right hand; in her left are wealth and honor. 16a Righteousness comes out of her mouth, and she bears law and mercy on her tongue. 17 Her ways are good ways, and all her paths are in peace. 18 She is a tree of life to all her devotees, and to those who rely on her as on the Lord. 19 With wisdom God founded the earth, and with understanding he established the heavens. 20 By discernment the depths were broken open, and the clouds dripped with dew. 21 My son, do not drift off course, but preserve my counsel and insight, 22 so that your soul may live, and there may be grace around your neck. 22a And there will be healing for your flesh, and treatment for your bones, 23 so that with confidence you may go all your ways in peace, and your foot may never stumble. 24 For if you sit down, you will be without fear, and if you lie down, you will have a pleasant sleep. 25 And you will not be afraid of panic overwhelming you, nor of the attacks of the ungodly assailing you. 26 For the Lord will be over all your ways, and he will secure your footing, so that you will not be shaken. 27 Do not refrain from doing good to the needy, whenever you can give a helping hand. 28 Do not say, “Return and come back, tomorrow I will give,” when you are able to do good, for you do not know what tomorrow will bring forth. 29 Do not devise evil against your friend who lives with you and trusts you. 30 Do not pick a quarrel with someone for no reason, lest he make you something evil.

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26 3:31 3:32 3:33 3:34 3:35

4:1 4:2 4:3 4:4 4:5 4:6 4:8 4:9 4:10

4:11 4:12 4:13 4:14

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μὴ κτήσῃ κακῶν ἀνδρῶν ὀνείδη μηδὲ ζηλώσῃς τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτῶν· ἀκάθαρτος γὰρ ἔναντι ΚΥ πᾶς παράνομος, ἐν δὲ δικαίοις οὐ συνεδριάζει. κατάρα ΘΥ ἐν οἴκοις ἀσεβῶν, ἐπαύλεις δὲ δικαίων εὐλογοῦνται. ΚΣ ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται, ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν. δόξαν σοφοὶ κληρονομήσουσιν, οἱ δὲ ἀσεβεῖς ὕψωσαν ἀτιμίαν.

ἀκούσατε, παῖδες, παιδείαν πατρὸς καὶ προσέχετε γνῶναι ἔννοιαν· δῶρον γὰρ ἀγαθὸν δωροῦμαι ὑμῖν, τὸν ἐμὸν νόμον μὴ ἐγκαταλίπετε. υἱὸς γὰρ ἐγενόμην κἀγὼ πατρὶ ὑπήκοος καὶ ἀγαπώμενος ἐν προσώπῳ μητρός, οἳ ἔλεγον καὶ ἐδίδασκόν με Ἐρειδέτω ὁ ἡμέτερος λόγος εἰς σὴν καρδίαν· φύλασσε ἐντολὰς, μὴ ἐπιλάθῃ μηδὲ παρίδῃς ῥῆσιν ἐμοῦ στόματος μηδὲ ἐγκαταλίπῃς αὐτήν, καὶ ἀνθέξεταί σου· ἐράσθητι αὐτῆς καὶ τηρήσει σε· περιχαράκωσον αὐτήν, καὶ ὑψώσει σε· τίμησον αὐτήν, ἵνα σε περιλάβῃ, ἵνα δῷ τῇ σῇ κεφαλῇ στέφανον χαρίτων, στεφάνῳ δὲ τρυφῆς ὑπερασπίσῃ σου. ἄκουε, υἱέ, καὶ δέξαι ἐμοὺς λόγους, καὶ πληθυνθήσεται ἔτη ζωῆς σου, ἵνα σοι γένωνται πολλαὶ ὁδοὶ βίου· ὁδοὺς γὰρ σοφίας διδάσκω σε, ἐμβιβάζω δέ σε τροχιαῖς ὀρθαῖς. ἐὰν γὰρ πορεύῃ, οὐ συνκλεισθήσεταί σου τὰ διαβήματα· ἐὰν δὲ τρέχῃς, οὐ κοπιάσεις. ἐπιλαβοῦ ἐμῆς παιδείας, μὴ ἀφῇς, ἀλλὰ φύλαξον αὐτὴν σεαυτῷ εἰς ζωήν σου. ὁδοὺς ἀσεβῶν μὴ ἐπέλθῃς μηδὲ ζηλώσῃς ὁδοὺς παρανόμων·

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31 32 33 34 35

Do not incur the reproaches of wicked men, and do not emulate their ways. For every transgressor is unclean before the Lord, and he does not sit among the righteous. The curse of God is in the houses of the ungodly, but the dwellings of the righteous are blessed. The Lord opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. The wise will inherit honor, but the ungodly exalt dishonor. Chapter 4

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Children, listen to the instruction of your father, and be intent on getting to know his insight, for I am giving you a good gift; do not forsake my law. For I also was a son obedient to my father, and beloved in the eyes of my mother, the parents who spoke and taught me: “Let our speech stick fast in your heart; keep the commandments, do not forget or disregard the utterance of my mouth. Do not forsake her and she will stick with you; be her lover, and she will protect you. Fence her about, and she will exalt you; honor her, so that she may embrace you, in order that she may crown your head with a luxurious wreath, and shield you with a delightful wreath.” Listen, my son, and accept my words, and the years of your life will be increased, so that the ways of your life may be many. For I am teaching you the ways of wisdom, and I am setting you on straight pathways. For if you walk, your steps will not be hemmed in, and if you run, you will not grow weary. Take hold of my instruction, do not let it go, but keep it for yourself, for your life. Do not embark on the ways of the ungodly, and do not emulate the ways of transgressors.

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28

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4:15

ἐν ὧ ἂν τόπῳ στρατοπεδεύσωσιν, μὴ ἐπέλθῃς ἐκεῖ, ἔκκλινον δὲ ἀπ’ αὐτῶν καὶ παράλλαξον. 4:16 οὐ γὰρ μὴ ὑπνώσωσιν, ἐὰν μὴ κακοποιήσωμεν· ἀφῄρηται ὁ ὕπνος αὐτῶν, καὶ οὐ κοιμῶνται· 4:17 οἵδε γὰρ σιτοῦνται σῖτα ἀσεβείας, οἴνῳ δὲ παρανόμῳ μεθύσκονται. 4:18 αἱ δὲ ὁδοὶ τῶν δικαίων ὁμοίως φωτὶ λάμπουσιν, προπορεύονται καὶ φωτίζουσιν, ἕως κατορθώσῃ ἡ ἡμέρα· 4:19 αἱ δὲ ὁδοὶ τῶν ἀσεβῶν σκοτειναί, οὐκ οἴδασιν πῶς προσκόπτουσιν. 4:20 υἱέ, ἐμῇ ῥήσει πρόσεχε, τοῖς δὲ ἐμοῖς λόγοις παράβαλε σὸν οὖς, 4:21 ὅπως μὴ ἐκλίπωσίν σε αἱ πηγαί σου, φύλασσε αὐτὰς ἐν καρδίᾳ· 4:22 ζωὴ γάρ ἐστιν τοῖς εὑρίσκουσιν αὐτὴν καὶ πάσῃ σαρκὶ ἴασις. 4:23 πάσῃ φυλακῇ τήρει σὴν καρδίαν· ἐκ γὰρ τούτων ἔξοδοι ζωῆς. 4:24 περίελε σεαυτοῦ σκολιὸν στόμα καὶ ἄδικα χείλη ἀπὸ σοῦ μακρὰν ἄπωσαι. 4:25 οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου ὀρθὰ βλεπέτωσαν, τὰ δὲ βλέφαρά σου νευέτω δίκαια. 4:26 ὀρθὰς τροχιὰς ποίει σοῖς ποσὶν καὶ τὰς ὁδούς σου κατεύθυνε. 4:27 μὴ ἐκκλίνῃς εἰς τὰ δεξιὰ μηδὲ εἰς τὰ ἀριστερά, ἀπόστρεψον δὲ σὸν πόδα ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ κακῆς· 4:27a ὁδοὺς γὰρ τὰς ἐκ δεξιῶν οἶδεν ὁ ΘΣ διεστραμμέναι δέ εἰσιν αἱ ἐξ ἀριστερῶν· 4:27b αὐτὸς δὲ ὀρθὰς ποιήσει τὰς τροχιάς σου, τὰς δὲ πορείας σου ἐν εἰρήνῃ προάξει.

5:1 5:2 5:3

υἱέ, ἐμῇ σοφίᾳ πρόσεχε, ἐμοῖς δὲ λόγοις παράβαλλε σὸν οὖς, ἵνα φυλάξῃς ἔννοιαν ἀγαθήν· αἴσθησις δὲ ἐμῶν χειλέων ἐντέλλεταί σοι. μὴ πρόσεχε φαύλῃ γυναικί· μέλι γὰρ ἀποστάζει ἀπὸ χειλέων γυναικὸς πόρνης, ἣ πρὸς καιρὸν λιπαίνει σὸν φάρυγγα,

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15

In whatever place they set up camp, don’t go there, but turn away from them and pass them by. 16 For they will surely not go to sleep unless they do some evil; their sleep has been taken away, and they do not slumber. 17 For these people feed themselves with the food of ungodliness, and they are drunk with unlawful wine. 18 But the ways of the righteous shine like the light, they go forth and shed light, until the day prospers. 19 But the ways of the ungodly are dark, they do not know how they stumble. 20 My son, pay attention to my utterance, incline your ear to my words. 21 So that your springs may not fail you, guard them in your heart. 22 For there is life for those who find her, and healing for all flesh. 23 Guard your heart with all vigilance, for life issues forth from these. 24 Rid yourself of your perverse mouth, and banish dishonest lips far from you. 25 Let your eyes have a blameless gaze, and let your eyelids signal righteous things. 26 Make straight the pathways for your feet, and straighten your ways. 27 Do not turn aside to the right or the left, but turn away your foot from the evil way. 27a For God knows the ways on the right, and those on the left are crooked. 27b And he himself will make your pathways straight, and will advance your goings in peace. Chapter 5 1 2 3

My son, pay attention to my wisdom, and incline your ear to my words, so that you may keep good insight. And the discernment of my lips commands you: pay no attention to a loose woman, for honey drips from the lips of a prostitute, who for a time oils your throat,

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30 5:4 5:5

5:6 5:7 5:8 5:9 5:10 5:11 5:12 5:13 5:14 5:15 5:16 5:17 5:18 5:19

5:20 5:21

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ὕστερον μέντοι πικρότερον χολῆς εὑρήσεις καὶ ἠκονημένον μᾶλλον μαχαίρας διστόμου. τῆς γὰρ ἀφροσύνης οἱ πόδες κατάγουσιν τοὺς χρωμένους αὐτῇ μετὰ θανάτου εἰς τὸν ᾅδην, τὰ δὲ ἴχνη αὐτῆς οὐκ ἐρείδεται· ὁδοὺς γὰρ ζωῆς οὐκ ἐπέρχεται, σφαλεραὶ δὲ αἱ τροχιαὶ αὐτῆς καὶ οὐκ εὔγνωστοι. νῦν οὖν, υἱέ, ἄκουέ μου καὶ μὴ ἀκύρους ποιήσῃς ἐμοὺς λόγους· μακρὰν ποίησον ἀπ’ αὐτῆς σὴν ὁδόν, μὴ ἐγγίσῃς πρὸς θύραις οἴκων αὐτῆς, ἵνα μὴ πρόῃ ἄλλοις ζωήν σου καὶ σὸν βίον ἀνελεήμοσιν, ἵνα μὴ πλησθῶσιν ἀλλότριοι σῆς ἰσχύος, οἱ δὲ σοὶ πόνοι εἰς οἴκους ἀλλοτρίων ἔλθωσιν, καὶ μεταμεληθήσῃ ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων, ἡνίκα ἂν κατατριβῶσιν σάρκες σώματός σου, καὶ ἐρεῖς Πῶς ἐμίσησα παιδείαν, καὶ ἐλέγχους ἐξέκλινεν ἡ καρδία μου· οὐκ ἤκουον φωνὴν παιδεύοντός με καὶ διδάσκοντός με οὐδὲ παρέβαλλον τὸ οὖς μου· παρ’ ὀλίγον ἐγενόμην ἐν παντὶ κακῷ ἐν μέσῳ ἐκκλησίας καὶ συναγωγῆς, πῖνε ὕδατα ἀπὸ σῶν ἀγγείων καὶ ἀπὸ σῶν φρεάτων πηγῆς. μὴ ὑπερεκχείσθω σοι ὕδατα ἐκ τῆς σῆς πηγῆς, εἰς δὲ σὰς πλατείας διαπορευέσθω τὰ σὰ ὕδατα· ἔστω σοι μόνα ὑπάρχοντα, καὶ μηδεὶς ἀλλότριος μετασχέτω σοι· ἡ πηγή σου τοῦ ὕδατος ἔστω σοι ἰδίᾳ, καὶ συνευφραίνου μετὰ γυναικὸς τῆς ἐκ νεότητός σου. ἔλαφος φιλίας καὶ πῶλος σῶν χαρίτων ὁμιλείτω σοι, ἡ δὲ ἰδίᾳ ἡγείσθω σου καὶ συνέστω σοι ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ, ἐν γὰρ τῇ ταύτης φιλίᾳ συνπεριφερόμενος πολλοστὸς ἔση. μὴ πολὺς ἴσθι πρὸς ἀλλοτρίαν μηδὲ συνέρχου ἀγκάλαις τῆς μὴ ἰδίας· ἐνώπιον γάρ εἰσιν τῶν τοῦ ΘΥ ὀφθαλμῶν ὁδοὶ ἀνδρός, εἰς δὲ πάσας τὰς τροχιὰς αὐτοῦ σκοπεύει.

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but later you will find something more bitter than gall, and sharper than a two-edged sword. For the feet of folly bring those who use her down to Hades with death, and her footsteps are not steadied. For she does not walk the ways of life, and her pathways are treacherous and not well known. Now then, my son, listen to me, and do not nullify my words. Put your way far from her; do not go near the doors of her home, lest you waste your life on others, and your living on the unmerciful, lest strangers be filled with your strength, and the fruits of your labor enter the home of strangers. And in the end you will be sorry, when the flesh of your body is worn out, and you will say, “How I hated instruction, and my heart avoided admonitions. I wasn’t listening to the voice of my instructor and teacher, nor inclining my ear. I almost got into every kind of wrongdoing in the midst of the congregation and the assembly.” Drink water from your vessels and from your spring-fed wells. Water must not be poured out by you from your spring, but your water must run into your streets. Let only possessions belong to you, and let no stranger share them with you. Let your spring of water be yours in private, and enjoy yourself with the wife of your youth. Let your beloved doe and lovely filly be intimate with you. And let her lead you in private, and let her be with you on every occasion. For by accommodating yourself in your love for her you will be very great. Do not be passionate with a woman who belongs to another, and do not come together in the embraces of a woman who is not your own. For the ways of a husband are before the eyes of God, and he keeps a close watch on all his pathways.

32 5:22 5:23

6:1 6:2 6:3

6:4 6:5 6:6

6:7

6:8 6:8a

6:8b 6:8c 6:9 6:10

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παρανομίαι ἄνδρα ἀγρεύουσιν, σειραῖς δὲ τῶν ἑαυτου ἁμαρτιῶν ἕκαστος σφίγγεται· οὗτος τελευτᾷ μετὰ ἀπαιδεύτων, ἐκ δὲ πλήθους τῆς ἑαυτοῦ βιότητος ἐξερρίφη καὶ ἀπώλετο δι’ ἀφροσύνην.

υἱέ, ἐὰν ἐγγυήσῃ σὸν φίλον, παραδώσεις σὴν χεῖρα ἐχθρῷ· παγὶς γὰρ ἰσχυρὰ ἀνδρὶ τὰ ἴδια χείλη, καὶ ἁλίσκεται χείλεσιν ἰδίου στόματος. ποίει, υἱέ, ἃ ἐγώ σοι ἐντέλλομαι, καὶ σώζου· ἥκεις γὰρ εἰς χεῖρας κακῶν διὰ σὸν φίλον. ἴσθι μὴ ἐκλυόμενος, παρόξυνε δὲ καὶ τὸν φίλον σου, ὃν ἐνεγυήσω· μὴ δῷς ὕπνον σοῖς ὄμμασιν μηδὲ ἐπινυστάξῃς σοῖς βλεφάροις, ἵνα σώζῃ ὥσπερ δορκὰς ἐκ βρόχων καὶ ὥσπερ ὄρνεον ἐκ παγίδος. ἴσθι πρὸς τὸν μύρμηκα, ὦ ὀκνηρέ, καὶ ζήλωσον ἰδὼν τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ γενοῦ ἐκείνου σοφώτερος· ἐκείνῳ γὰρ γεωργίου μὴ ὑπάρχοντος μηδὲ τὸν ἀναγκάζοντα ἔχων μηδὲ ὑπὸ δεσπότην ὣν ἑτοιμάζεται θέρους τὴν τροφὴν πολλήν τε ἐν τῷ ἀμήτῳ ποιεῖται τὴν παράθεσιν. ἢ πορεύθητι πρὸς τὴν μέλισσαν καὶ μάθε ὡς ἐργάτις ἐστὶν τήν τε ἐργασίαν ὡς σεμνὴν ποιεῖται, ἧς τοὺς πόνους βασιλεῖς καὶ ἰδιῶται πρὸς ὑγίειαν προσφέρονται, ποθεινὴ δέ ἐστιν πᾶσιν καὶ ἐπίδοξος· καίπερ οὖσα τῇ ῥώμῃ ἀσθενής, τὴν σοφίαν τιμήσασα προήχθη. ἕως τίνος, ὀκνηρέ, κατάκεισαι; πότε δὲ ἐξ ὕπνου ἐγερθήσῃ; ὀλίγον μὲν ὑπνοῖς, όλίγον δὲ κάθησαι, μικρὸν δὲ νυστάζεις, ὀλίγον δὲ ἐναγκαλίζῃ χερσὶν στήθη·

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Trangressions ensnare a husband, and each one is tied up by the cords of his own sins. He comes to his end together with the uninstructed. He is cast out of the fullness of his lifetime, and perishes because of his folly. Chapter 6

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My son, if you pledge security for your friend, you will deliver your hand to an enemy. For a man’s own lips are a powerful snare to him, and he is trapped by the lips of his own mouth. My son, do what I command you, and be saved. For on account of your friend you have come into the hands of wicked men. Don’t be discouraged, and spur on your friend as well, for whom you have pledged security. Do not give sleep to your eyes, or nod off with your (drooping) eyelids, so that you may be saved like a gazelle from a noose, and like a bird from a snare. Be with the ant, you lazybones, and when you have seen its ways, emulate them, and be wiser than that ant. For although it has no farming land, has no one to compel it, and is under no master, it prepares food for itself in summer, and sets aside a good deal at harvest time. Or go to the bee, and learn how hardworking it is, and does its work as something admirable. Kings and commoners consume its products for their health, and it is desirable and splendid to all. Although it is physically weak, it is highly regarded because it honors Wisdom. How long are you lying in bed, you lazybones? And when will you wake up from sleep? You sleep a little, you sit a little, you doze a bit, and you hug your chest with your arms a little.

34 6:11

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εἶτ’ ἐμπαραγίνεταί σοι ὥσπερ κακὸς ὁδοιπόρος ἡ πενία καὶ ἡ ἔνδεια ὥσπερ ἀγαθὸς δρομεύς. 6:11a ἐὰν δὲ ἄοκνος ᾖς, ἥξει ὥσπερ πηγὴ ὁ ἀμητός σου ἡ δὲ ἔνδεια ὥσπερ κακὸς δρομεὺς ἀπαυτομολήσει. 6:12 ἀνὴρ ἄφρων καὶ παράνομος πορεύεται ὁδοὺς οὐκ ἀγαθάς· 6:13 ὁ δ’ αὐτὸς ἐννεύει ὀφθαλμῷ, σημαίνει δὲ ποδί, διδάσκει δὲ ἐννεύμασιν δακτύλων, 6:14 διεστραμμένη καρδία τεκταίνεται κακὰ ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ· ὁ τοιοῦτος ταραχὰς συνίστησιν πόλει. 6:15 διὰ τοῦτο ἐξαπίνης ἔρχεται ἡ ἀπώλεια αὐτοῦ, διακοπὴ καὶ συντριβὴ ἀνίατος. 6:16 ὅτι χαίρει πᾶσιν, οἷς μισεῖ ὁ ΘΣ, συντρίβεται δὲ δι’ ἀκαθαρσίαν ψυχῆς· 6:17 ὀφθαλμὸς ὑβριστοῦ, γλῶσσα ἄδικος, χεῖρες ἐκχέουσαι αἷμα δικαίου 6:18 καὶ καρδία τεταινομένη λογισμοὺς κακούς καὶ πόδες ἐπισπεύδοντες κακοποιεῖν· 6:19 ἐκκαίει ψεύδη μάρτυς ἄδικος καὶ ἐπιπέμπει κρίσεις ἀνὰ μέσον ἀδελφῶν. 6:20 υἱέ, φύλασσε νόμους πατρός σου καὶ μὴ ἀπώσῃ θεσμοὺς μητρός σου· 6:21 ἄφαψαι δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ σῇ ψυχῇ διὰ παντὸς καὶ ἐνκλοίωσαι ἐπὶ σῷ τραχήλῳ. 6:22 ἡνίκα ἂν περιπατῇς, ἐπάγου αὐτήν, καὶ μετὰ σοῦ ἔστω· ὡς δ’ ἂν καθεύδῃς, φυλασσέτω σε, ἵνα ἐγειρομένῳ συλλαλῇ σοι· 6:23 ὅτι λύχνος ἐντολὴ νόμου καὶ φῶς ὁδὸς ζωῆς, καὶ ἔλεγχος καὶ παιδεία 6:24 τοῦ διαφυλάσσειν σε ἀπὸ γυναικὸς ὑπάνδρου καὶ ἀπὸ διαβολῆς γλώσσης ἀλλοτρίας. 6:25 μή σε νικήσῃ κάλλους ἐπιθυμία, μηδὲ ἀγρευθῇς σοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς μηδὲ συναρπασθῃς ἀπὸ τῶν αὐτῆς βλεφάρων· 6:26 τιμὴ γὰρ πόρνης ὅση καὶ ἑνὸς ἄρτου, γυνὴ δὲ ἀνδρῶν τιμίας ψυχὰς ἀγρεύει. 6:27 ἀποδήσει τις πῦρ ἐν κόλπῳ, τὰ δὲ ἱμάτια οὐ κατακαύσει; 6:28 ἢ περιπατήσει τις ἐπ’ ἀνθράκων πυρός, τοὺς δὲ πόδας οὐ κατακαύσει; 6:29 οὕτως ὁ εἰσελθὼν πρὸς γυναῖκα ὕπανδρον, οὐκ ἀθοωθήσεται οὐδὲ πᾶς ὁ ἁπτόμενος αὐτῆς.

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35

Then poverty befalls you like a bad walker, and destitution like a good runner. 11a But if you are industrious, your harvest will arrive like a wellspring, and destitution will take flight like a bad runner. 12 A foolish and lawless man walks in ways that are not good. 13 And the same man signals with his eye, conveys meaning with his foot, and teaches with finger signs. 14 His perverse heart devises evil schemes at every opportunity; a man like this causes disturbances for the city. 15 Therefore his destruction is coming suddenly —a trauma and a shattering beyond healing. 16 For he takes pleasure in everything God hates, and he is shattered because of the uncleanness of his soul: 17 the eye of the haughty, an unjust tongue, hands which shed the blood of the righteous, 18 and a heart devising evil thoughts, and feet hastening to do evil. 19 An unjust witness makes lies burn, and sows discord among brothers. 20 My son, keep the laws of your father, and do not reject the rules of your mother, 21 but fasten them continually to your soul, and wear them around your neck. 22 When you walk, take her along and let her be with you; when you sleep, let her guard you, so that she may speak with you when you wake up, 23 because the commandment of the law is a lamp, and its light is a way of life, and admonition, and instruction, 24 to keep you safe from the married woman, and from the slander of the tongue of someone else’s woman. 25 Let not desire for beauty overcome you, and do not be taken captive by your eyes, or carried away on account of her eyelids. 26 For the price of a prostitute is also as much as that of a single loaf of bread, and the woman takes captive the priceless souls of men. 27 Is anyone going to tie off fire in the fold of his garment—and it will not burn his clothes? 28 Or is anyone going to walk on fiery coals—and it will not burn his feet? 29 In this way the man who goes in to a married woman will not go unpunished, nor will anyone who touches her.

36 6:30 6:31 6:32 6:33 6:34 6:35

7:1 7:1a 7:2 7:3 7:4 7:5 7:6 7:7 7:8 7:9 7:10 7:11 7:12

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οὐ θαυμαστὸν ἐὰν ἁλῷ τις κλέπτων, κλέπτει γὰρ ἵνα ἐμπλήσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν πεινῶν· ἐὰν δὲ ἁλῷ, ἀποτείσει ἑπταπλάσια καὶ πάντα τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ δοὺς ῥύσεται ἑαυτόν. ὁ δὲ μοιχὸς δι’ ἔνδειαν φρενῶν ἀπώλειαν τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτοῦ περιποιεῖται, ὀδύνας τε καὶ ἀτιμίας ὑποφέρει, τὸ δὲ ὄνειδος αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐξαλειφθήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. μεστὸς γὰρ ζήλου θυμὸς ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς· οὐ φείσεται ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως οὐκ ἀνταλλάξεται οὐδενὸς λύτρου τὴν ἔχθραν οὐδὲ μὴ διαλυθῇ πολλῶν δώρων.

υἱέ, φύλασσε ἐμοὺς λόγους, τὰς δὲ ἐμὰς ἐντολὰς κρύψον παρὰ σεαυτῷ· υἱέ, τίμα τὸν ΚΝ, καὶ ἰσχύσεις, πλὴν δὲ αὐτοῦ μὴ φοβοῦ ἄλλον. φύλαξον ἐμὰς ἐντολὰς, καὶ βιώσεις, τοὺς δὲ ἐμοὺς λόγους ὥσπερ κόρας ὀμμάτων· περίθου δὲ αὐτοὺς σοῖς δακτύλοις, ἐπίγραψον δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ πλάτος τῆς καρδίας σου. εἰπὸν τὴν σοφίαν σὴν ἀδελφὴν εἶναι, τὴν δὲ φρόνησιν γνώριμον περιποίησαι σεαυτῷ, ἵνα σε τηρήσῃ ἀπὸ γυναικὸς ἀλλοτρίας καὶ πονηρᾶς, ἐὰν σε λόγοις τοῖς πρὸς χάριν ἐμβάληται. ἀπὸ γὰρ θυρίδος ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτῆς εἰς τὰς πλατείας παρακύπτουσα, ὃν ἂν ἴδῃ τῶν ἀφρόνων τέκνων νεανίαν ἐνδεῆ φρενῶν παραπορευόμενον παρὰ γωνίαν ἐν διόδοις οἴκων αὐτῆς καὶ λαλοῦντα ἐν σκότει ἑσπερινῷ, ἡνίκα ἂν ἡσυχία νυκτερινὴ καὶ γνοφώδης, ἡ δὲ γυνὴ συναντᾷ αὐτῷ, εἶδος ἔχουσα πορνικὸν, ἣ ποιεῖ νέων ἐξίπτασθαι καρδίας. ἀνεπτερωμένη δέ ἐστιν καὶ ἄσωτος, ἐν οἴκῳ δὲ οὐκ ἡσυχάζουσιν οἱ πόδες αὐτῆς· χρόνον γάρ τινα ἔξω ῥέμβεται, χρόνον δὲ ἐν πλατείαις παρὰ πᾶσαν γωνίαν ἐνεδρεύει.

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37

It is not to be wondered at if someone is caught stealing, for he steals to fill his soul when he is hungry. And if he is caught he will repay sevenfold, and will rescue himself by giving all his possessions. But the adulterer brings destruction upon his soul for lack of sense. He endures both pangs and dishonor, and his disgrace will never be blotted out. For the heart of her husband is full of jealousy; he will not go easy on him on the day of the trial. He will not give up his enmity in exchange for any compensation, nor will he ever be reconciled by many gifts. Chapter 7

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My son, keep my words, and hide my commandments with you. My son, honor the Lord and you will be strong; and beyond him fear no other. Keep my commandments and you will live, and protect my words as the apples of your eyes. And put them on your fingers, write them on the surface of your heart. Tell Wisdom to be your sister, and acquire good sense as an acquaintance for yourself, in order that she may keep you from the wicked woman who belongs to another, in case the woman should throw herself at you with ingratiating words. For from a window she is looking out of her house into the streets for whatever young man devoid of sense she may see among the foolish young people, a young man passing by a corner in the alleys to her house, and speaking in the evening darkness, during the dim quiet of the night. And the woman meets with him, looking like a prostitute, a woman who makes young men lose their heads. She is aroused and promiscuous, and her feet do not rest at home. For some time she roams outside, for a time she lies in wait in the streets at every corner.

38 7:13 7:14 7:15 7:16 7:17 7:18 7:19 7:20 7:21 7:22

7:23

7:24 7:25 7:26 7:27

8:1 8:2 8:3

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εἶτα ἐπιλαβομένη ἐφίλησεν αὐτόν, ἀναιδεῖ δὲ προσώπῳ προσεῖπεν αὐτῷ Θυσία εἰρηνική μοί ἐστιν, σήμερον ἀποδίδωμι τὰς εὐχάς μου· ἕνεκα τούτου ἐξῆλθον εἰς συνάντησίν σοι, ποθοῦσα τὸ σὸν πρόσωπον εὕρηκά σε· κειρείᾳ τέτακα τὴν κλίνην μου, ἀμφιτάποις δὲ ἔστρωκα τοῖς ἀπ’ Αἰγύπτου· διέρρανκα τὴν κοίτην μου κροκίνῳ. τὸν δὲ οἶκόν μου κινναμώμῳ· ἐλθὲ καὶ ἀπολαύσωμεν φιλίας ἕως ὄρθρου, δεῦρο καὶ ἐνκυλισθῶμεν ἔρωτι· οὐ γὰρ πάρεστιν ὁ ἀνήρ μου ἐν οἴκῳ, πεπόρευται δὲ ὁδὸν μακράν ἔνδεσμον ἀργυρίου λαβὼν ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ, δι’ ἡμερῶν πολλῶν ἐπανήξει εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ. ἀπεπλάνησεν δὲ αὐτὸν πολλῇ ὁμιλίᾳ βρόχοις τε τοῖς ἀπὸ χειλέων ἐξώκειλεν αὐτόν. ὁ δὲ ἐπηκολούθησεν αὐτῇ κεπφωθείς, ὥσπερ δὲ βοῦς ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἄγεται καὶ ὥσπερ κύων ἐπὶ δεσμοὺς ἢ ὡς ἔλαφος τοξεύματι πεπληγὼς εἰς τὸ ἦπαρ, σπεύδει δὲ ὥσπερ ὄρνεον εἰς παγίδα οὐκ εἰδὼς ὅτι περὶ ψυχῆς τρέχει. νῦν οὖν, υἱέ, ἄκουέ μου καὶ πρόσεχε ῥήμασιν στόματός μου· μὴ ἐκκλινάτω εἰς τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτῆς ἡ καρδία σου· πολλοὺς γὰρ τρώσασα καταβέβληκεν, καὶ ἀναρίθμητοι εἰσιν οὓς πεφόνευκεν· ὁδοὶ ᾅδου ὁ οἶκος αὐτῆς κατάγουσαι εἰς τὰ ταμιεῖα τοῦ θανάτου.

σὺ τὴν σοφίαν κηρύξεις, ἵνα φρόνησίς σοι ὑπακούσῃ· ἐπὶ γὰρ τῶν ὑψηλῶν ἄκρων ἐστίν, ἀνὰ μέσον δὲ τῶν τρίβων ἕστηκεν· παρὰ γὰρ πύλαις δυναστῶν παρεδρεύει, ἐν δὲ εἰσόδοις ὑμνεῖται

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39

Then she takes hold of him and kisses him, and with a brazen face says to him, “I have a peace offering; today I am paying my vows. For this reason I came out to meet you; longing for your face, I found you. I have drawn my bed tight with a webbing of straps, and I have spread it with Egyptian rugs. I have sprinkled my couch with saffron oil, and my house with cinnamon. Come, and let’s enjoy love until daybreak; come here, and let’s be enwrapped in love. For my husband is not at home, and has gone on a long journey. having taken a bag of silver in his hand. He will return home after many days.” And with much talk she leads him astray, and with the snares from her lips makes him come to grief. And he, gullible fool, follows her, and is led like an ox to the slaughter, like a dog to its chains, or as a stag struck by an arrow to its liver. And he hastens like a bird into a snare, not knowing that he is running with his life at stake. Now then, my son, listen to me, and pay attention to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart turn aside to her ways, for she has wounded and brought down many, and those she has murdered are without number. Her house is ways to Hades, leading down to the chambers of death. Chapter 8

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As for you, you shall proclaim Wisdom, so that good sense may obey you. She is on the lofty summits, and stands in the midst of the pathways. For she takes her seat by the gates of the mighty, and she is celebrated in the entrances:

40 8:4 8:5 8:6 8:7 8:8 8:9 8:10 8:11 8:12

8:13

8:14 8:15 8:16 8:17 8:18 8:19 8:20 8:21

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Ὑμᾶς, ὦ ἄνθρωποι, παρακαλῶ καὶ προΐεμαι ἐμὴν φωνὴν υἱοῖς ἀνθρώπων· νοήσατε, ἄκακοι, πανουργίαν, οἱ δὲ ἀπαίδευτοι, ἔνθεσθε καρδίαν. εἰσακούσατέ μου, σεμνὰ γὰρ ἐρῶ καὶ ἀνοίσω ἀπὸ χειλέων ὀρθά· ὅτι ἀλήθειαν μελετήσει ὁ φάρυγξ μου, ἐβδελυγμένα δὲ ἐναντίον ἐμοῦ χείλη ψευδῆ. μετὰ δικαιοσύνης πάντα τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ στόματός μου, οὐδὲν ἐν αὐτοῖς σκολιὸν οὐδὲ στράγγαλῶδες· πάντα ἐνώπια τοῖς συνιοῦσιν καὶ ὀρθὰ τοῖς εὑρίσκουσι γνῶσιν. λάβετε παιδείαν καὶ μὴ ἀργύριον καὶ γνῶσιν ὑπὲρ χρυσίον δεδοκιμασμένον. κρείσσων γὰρ σοφία λίθων πολυτελῶν, πᾶν δὲ τίμιον οὐκ ἄξιον αὐτῆς ἐστιν. ἐγὼ ἡ σοφία κατεσκήνωσα βουλήν, καὶ γνῶσιν καὶ ἔννοιαν ἐγὼ ἐπεκαλεσάμην. (κρίσσων γὰρ σοφία λίθων πολυτελῶν.) φόβος ΚΥ μισεῖ ἀδικίαν, ὕβριν τε καὶ ὑπερηφανίαν καὶ ὁδοὺς πονηρῶν· μεμίσηκα δὲ ἐγὼ διεστραμμένας ὁδοὺς κακῶν. ἐμὴ βουλὴ καὶ ἀσφάλεια, ἐμὴ φρόνησις, ἐμὴ δὲ ἰσχύς· δι’ έμοῦ βασιλεῖς βασιλεύουσιν, καὶ οἱ δυνάσται γράφουσιν δικαιοσύνην· δι’ ἐμοῦ μεγιστᾶνες μεγαλύνονται, καὶ τύραννοι δι’ ἐμοῦ κρατοῦσι γῆς. ἐγὼ τοὺς ἐμὲ φιλοῦντας ἀγαπῶ, οἱ δὲ ἐμὲ ζητοῦντες εὑρήσουσιν. πλοῦτος καὶ δόξα ἐμοὶ ὑπάρχει καὶ κτῆσις πολλῶν καὶ δικαιοσύνη· βέλτιον ἐμὲ καρπίζεσθαι ὑπὲρ χρυσίον καὶ λίθον τίμιον, τὰ δὲ ἐμὰ γενήματα κρείσσω ἀργυρίου ἐκλεκτοῦ. ἐν ὁδοῖς δικαιοσύνης περιπατῶ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τρίβων δικαιώματος ἀναστρέφομαι, ἵνα μερίσω τοῖς ἐμὲ ἀγαπῶσιν ὕπαρξιν καὶ τοὺς θησαυροὺς αὐτῶν ἐμπλήσω ἀγαθῶν.

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“On you, people, I call, and I utter my voice to the sons of men. You guileless ones, understand shrewdness; you uninstructed ones, pay attention. Listen to me, for I will speak noble words and I will report from my lips what is right. Because my mouth will speak the truth, and lying lips are loathsome to me. All the words of my mouth are on the side of righteousness; there is nothing crooked or twisted in them. They are all plain to those who understand, and right to those who find knowledge. Take instruction and not silver, and knowledge rather than genuine gold. For wisdom is better than precious stones, and no precious thing matches her in value. I, Wisdom, inhabit counsel, and I appeal to knowledge and insight (for wisdom is better than precious stones). The fear of the Lord hates unrighteousness, arrogance as well as pride, and the ways of the wicked. As for me, I hate the perverse ways of evil men. Counsel and safety are mine, mine is good sense, and mine is strength. By me kings rule, and the mighty codify justice. By me the great are made great, and by me sovereigns control the earth. I love those who love me, and those who seek me will find me. Wealth and honor belong to me, as well as abundant possessions, and righteousness. It is better to enjoy the fruits I offer than those offered by gold and precious stone, and my products are better than those of choice gold. I walk in the ways of righteousness, and I make my way along the pathways of right, so that I may share my possessions with those who love me, and fill their storehouses with good things.

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8:21a ἐὰν ἀναγγείλω ὑμῖν τὰ καθ’ ἡμέραν γινόμενα, μνημονεύσω τὰ ἐξ αἰῶνος ἀριθμῆσαι. 8:22 ΚΣ ἔκτισέν με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ, 8:23 πρὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐθεμελίωσέν με ἐν ἀρχῇ. 8:24 πρὸ τοῦ τὴν γῆν ποιῆσαι καὶ πρὸ τοῦ τὰς ἀβύσσους ποιῆσαι, πρὸ τοῦ προελθεῖν τὰς πηγὰς τῶν ὑδάτων, 8:25 πρὸ τοῦ ὄρη ἑδρασθῆναι, πρὸ δὲ πάντων βουνῶν γεννᾷ με. 8:26 ΚΣ ἐποίησεν χώρας καὶ ἀοικήτους καὶ ἄκρα οἰκούμενα τῆς ὑπ’ οὐρανόν. 8:27 ἡνίκα ἡτοίμασεν τὸν οὐρανόν, συμπαρήμην αὐτῷ, καὶ ὅτε ἀφώριζεν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ θρόνον ἐπ’ ἀνέμων. 8:28 καὶ ὡς ἰσχυρὰ ἐποίει τὰ ἄνω νέφη, καὶ ὡς ἀσφαλεῖς ἐτίθει πηγὰς τῆς ὑπ’ οὐρανὸν 8:29 καὶ ὡς ἰσχυρὰ ἐποίει τὰ θεμέλια τῆς γῆς, 8:30 ἤμην παρ’ αὐτῷ ἁρμόζουσα, ἐγὼ ἤμην ᾗ προσέχαιρεν. καθ’ ἡμέραν δὲ εὐφραινόμην ἐν προσώπῳ αὐτοῦ ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ, 8:31 ὅτε ἐνευφραίνετο τὴν οἰκουμένην συντελέσας καὶ εὐφραίνετο ἐν υἱοῖς ἀνθρώπων. 8:32 νῦν οὖν, υἱέ, ἄκουέ μου. 8:34 μακάριος ἀνήρ, ὃς εἰσακούσεταί μου, καὶ ἄνθρωπος, ὃς τὰς ἐμὰς ὁδοὺς φυλάξει ἀγρυπνῶν ἐπ’ ἐμαῖς θύραις καθ’ ἡμέραν τηρῶν σταθμοὺς ἐμῶν εἰσόδων· 8:35 αἱ γὰρ ἔξοδοί μου ἔξοδοι ζωῆς, καὶ ἑτοιμάζεται θέλησις παρὰ ΚΥ. 8:36 οἱ δὲ εἰς ἐμὲ ἁμαρτάνοντες ἀσεβοῦσιν τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχάς, καὶ οἱ μισοῦντές με ἀγαπῶσιν θάνατον.

9:1 9:2

9:3

ἡ σοφία οἰκοδόμησεν ἑαυτῇ οἶκον καὶ ὑπήρεισεν στύλους ἑπτά· ἔσφαξεν τὰ ἑαυτῆς θύματα, ἐκέρασεν εἰς κρατῆρα τὸν ἑαυτῆς οἶνον καὶ ἡτοιμάσατο τὴν ἑαυτῆς τράπεζαν· ἀπέστειλεν τοὺς ἑαυτῆς δούλους συγκαλοῦσα μετὰ ὑψηλοῦ κηρύγματος ἐπὶ κρατῆρα λέγουσα

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21a If I make known to you the things that happen daily, I will remember to recount the things of old. 22 The Lord created me as the beginning of his ways, for the sake of his works, 23 he established me from of old, in the beginning, 24 before he made the earth, and before he made the depths, before the springs of water came forth. 25 Before the mountains were established, before all the hills, he begets me. 26 The Lord made countries, even the uninhabited ones, and the inhabited ends of the world. 27 When he established heaven, I was with him. And when he was setting apart his throne upon the winds, 28 and when he was strengthening the upper clouds, and securing the springs of the world, 29 and was strengthening the foundations of the earth, 30 I was with him, bringing order. I was the one in whom he delighted, and every day I rejoiced in his presence at all times, 31 when he rejoiced upon completing the world, and he rejoiced among the sons of men. 32 Now then, my son, listen to me: 34 blessed is the man who will listen to me, and the person who will keep my ways, daily keeping vigil at my doors, guarding the doorposts of my entrances. 35 For my exits are the exits of life, and willingness is created by the Lord. 36 But those who sin against me dishonor their own souls, and those who hate me love death.” Chapter 9 1 2

3

Wisdom has built herself a house, and has supported it with seven pillars. She has slaughtered her sacrificial animals, she has poured her wine into the mixing bowl, she has prepared her table. She has sent out her slaves, issuing with solemn proclamation an invitation to the mixing bowl, in these words:

44 9:4

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Ὃς ἐστιν ἄφρων, ἐκκλινάτω πρός με· καὶ τοῖς ἐνδεέσι φρενῶν εἶπεν 9:5 Ἔλθατε φάγετε τῶν ἐμῶν ἄρτων καὶ πίετε οἶνον, ὃν ἐκέρασα ὑμῖν· 9:6 ἀπολείπετε ἀφροσύνην, ἵνα εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα βασιλεύσητε, καὶ ζητήσατε φρόνησιν, καὶ κατορθώσατε ἐν γνώσει σύνεσιν. 9:7 ὁ παιδεύων κακοὺς λήμψεται ἑαυτῷ ἀτιμίαν, ἐλέγχων δὲ τὸν ἀσεβῆ μωμήσεται ἑαυτόν. 9:8 μὴ ἔλεγχε κακούς, ἵνα μὴ μισῶσίν σε· ἔλεγχε σοφόν, καὶ ἀγαπήσει σε. 9:9 δίδου σοφῷ ἀφορμήν, καὶ σοφώτερος ἔσται· γνώριζε δικαίῳ, καὶ προσθήσει τοῦ δέχεσθαι. 9:10 ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος ΚΥ, καὶ βουλὴ ἁγίων σύνεσις· 9:10a τὸ γὰρ γνῶναι νόμον διανοίας ἐστιν ἀγαθῆς· 9:11 τούτῳ γὰρ τῷ τρόπῳ πολὺν ζήσεις χρόνον, καὶ προστεθήσεταί σοι ἔτη ζωῆς σου. 9:12 υἱέ, ἐὰν σοφὸς γένῃ σεαυτῷ, σοφὸς ἔσῃ καὶ τοῖς πλησίον· ἐὰν δὲ κακὸς ἀποβῇς, μόνος ἂν ἀντλήσεις κακά. 9:12a ὃς ἐρείδεται ἐπὶ ψεύδεσιν, οὗτος ποιμαίνει ἀνέμους, ὁ δ’ αὐτὸς διώξεται ὄρνεα πετόμενα· 9:12b ἀπέλιπεν γὰρ ὁδοὺς τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ ἀμπελῶνος, τοὺς δὲ ἄξονας τοῦ ἰδίου γεωργίου πεπλάνηται· 9:12c διαπορεύεται δὲ δι’ ἀνύδρου ἐρήμου καὶ γῆν διατεταγμένην ἐν διψώδεσιν, συνάγει δὲ χερσὶν ἀκαρπίαν. 9:13 γυνὴ ἄφρων καὶ θρασεῖα ἐνδεὴς ψωμοῦ γίνεται, ἣ οὐκ ἐπίσταται αἰσχύνην· 9:14 ἐκάθισεν ἐπὶ θύραις τοῦ ἑαυτῆς οἴκου ἐπὶ δίφρου ἐμφανῶς ἐν πλατείαις [9:15] προσκαλουμένη τοὺς παριόντας καὶ κατευθύνοντας ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν 9:16 Ὃς ἐστιν ὑμῶν ἀφρονέστατος, ἐκκλινάτω πρός με· ἐνδεέσι δὲ φρονήσεως παρακελεύομαι λέγουσα 9:17 Ἄρτων κρυφίων ἡδέως ἅψασθε καὶ ὕδατος κλοπῆς γλυκεροῦ. 9:18 ὁ δὲ οὐκ οἶδεν ὅτι γηγενεῖς παρ’ αὐτῇ ὄλλυνται, καὶ ἐπὶ πέτευρον ᾅδου συναντᾷ.

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4 5 6

7 8 9

10 10a 11 12

12a 12b 12c

13 14

16 17 18

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“Let him who is foolish turn aside to me,” and she said to those devoid of sense: “Come, eat of my bread, and drink the wine which I have poured for you. Abandon folly, so that you may rule forever. And seek good sense, and by knowledge get your understanding straight.” He who disciplines the wicked will bring dishonor on himself, and when he admonishes the ungodly he will discredit himself. Do not admonish the wicked, lest they hate you; admonish the wise man, and he will love you. Give a wise man a start, and he will be wiser; make knowledge available to a righteous man, and he will continue to take it in. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and the counsel of the holy is understanding, for to know the law is the mark of a good mind. For in this way you will live a long time, and years of your life will be added to you. My son, if you become wise for yourself, you will be wise for your neighbors as well. But if you turn out wicked, you alone will drain (the cup of) trouble. He who relies on lies shepherds the winds, and the same one will pursue flying birds, for he has abandoned the ways of his own vineyard, and has gone astray on the tracks of his own farm. He goes through a waterless desert, and a land fissured by drought, and he harvests unfruitfulness with his hands. A foolish and brazen woman becomes in need of something to eat, a woman who knows no shame. She sits at the doors of her house on a chair, openly in the streets, (15) calling out to those who are passing by and going straight in their ways: “Let the greatest fool among you turn aside to me, and to those devoid of good sense I give this advice: ‘Take and enjoy the bread I have hidden away, and the sweet water I have stolen.’” He, however, is unaware that the earthborn perish in her house, and that he is meeting with her upon the trapdoor of Hades.

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9:18a ἀλλὰ ἀποπήδησον, μὴ χρονίσῃς ἐν τῷ τόπῳ μηδὲ ἐπιστήσῃς τὸ σὸν ὄμμα πρὸς αὐτήν· 9:18b οὕτως γὰρ διαβήσῃ ὕδωρ ἀλλότριον 9:18c ἀπὸ δὲ ὕδατος ἀλλοτρίου ἀπόσχου καὶ ἀπὸ πηγῆς ἀλλοτρίας μὴ πίῃς, 9:18d ἵνα πολὺν ζήσῃς χρόνον, προστεθῇ δέ σοι ἔτη ζωῆς.

10:1 10:2 10:3 10:4 10:4a 10:5 10:6 10:7 10:8 10:9 10:10 10:11 10:12

υἱὸς σοφὸς εὐφραίνει πατέρα, υἱὸς δὲ ἄφρων λύπη τῇ μητρί. οὐκ ὠφελήσουσιν θησαυροὶ ἀνόμους, δικαιοσύνη δὲ ῥύσεται ἐκ θανάτου. οὐ λιμοκτονήσει ΚΣ ψυχὴν δικαίαν, ζωὴν δὲ ἀσεβῶν ἀνατρέψει. πενία ἄνδρα ταπεινοῖ, χεῖρες δὲ ἀνδρείων πλουτίζουσιν. υἱὸς πεπαιδευμένος σοφὸς ἔσται, τῷ δὲ ἄφρονι διακόνῳ χρήσεται. διεσώθη ἀπὸ καύματος υἱὸς νοήμων, ἀνεμόφθορος δὲ γίνεται ἐν ἀμήτῳ υἱὸς παράνομος. εὐλογία ΚΥ ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν δικαίου, στόμα δὲ ἀσεβῶν καλύψει πένθος ἄωρον. μνήμη δικαίων μετ’ ἐγκωμίων, ὄνομα δὲ ἀσεβοῦς σβέννυται. σοφὸς καρδίᾳ δέξεται ἐντολάς, ὁ δὲ ἄστεγος χείλεσιν σκολιάζων ὑποσκελισθήσεται. ὃς πορεύεται ἁπλῶς, πορεύεται πεποιθώς, ὁ δὲ διαστρέφων τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ γνωσθήσεται. ὁ ἐννεύων ὀφθαλμοῖς μετὰ δόλου συνάγει ἀνδράσι λύπας, ὁ δὲ ἐλέγχων μετὰ παρρησίας εἰρηνοποιεῖ. πηγὴ ζωῆς ἐν χειρὶ δικαίου, στόμα δὲ ἀσεβοῦς καλύψει ἀπώλεια. μῖσος ἐγείρει νεῖκος, πάντας δὲ τοὺς μὴ φιλονεικοῦντας καλύπτει φιλία.

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18a No, run away, don’t linger in the place, and do not fix your eye on her, 18b for in that way you will pass through water belonging to another. 18c But stay away from water belonging to another, and do not drink from a spring belonging to another, 18d in order that you may live a long time, and years of life may be added to you.

Section 2: “Solomonic Sayings” (10:1–9:18d) Chapter 10 1 2 3 4 4a 5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

A wise son gladdens his father, and a foolish son is a grief to his mother. Treasures will not profit the lawless, but righteousness will deliver from death. The Lord will not starve a righteous soul, but he will ruin the life of the ungodly. Poverty brings a man low, but the hands of the industrious will make them rich. A son who has been disciplined will be wise, and he will employ the fool as his servant. A prudent son is saved from the heat, but a transgressing son becomes shriveled by the wind at harvest time. The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the righteous man, but untimely grief will cover the mouth of the ungodly. The remembering of the righteous is accompanied by eulogies, but the name of the ungodly man is extinguished. The wise in heart will receive the commandments, but the man who cannot keep his mouth shut will be tripped up on his crooked way. He who walks with integrity walks confidently, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out. He who signals deceptively with his eyes, reaps sorrows for men, but he who admonishes frankly is a peacemaker. The wellspring of life is in the hand of the righteous man, but destruction will cover the mouth of the ungodly. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all those who do not love strife.

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10:13 ῥάβδῳ τύπτει ἄνδρα ἀκάρδιον. 10:14 σοφοὶ κρύψουσιν αἴσθησιν, στόμα δὲ προπετοῦς ἐγγίζει συντριβῇ. 10:15 κτῆσις πλουσίων πόλις ὀχυρά, συντριβὴ δὲ ἀσεβῶν πενία. 10:16 ἔργα δικαίων ζωὴν ποιεῖ, καρποὶ δὲ ἀσεβῶν ἁμαρτίας. 10:17 ὁδοὺς δικαίας ζωῆς φυλάσσει παιδεία, παιδεία δὲ ἀνεξέλεγκτος πλανᾶται. 10:18 καλύπτουσιν ἔχθραν χείλη δίκαια, οἱ δὲ ἐκφέροντες λοιδορίας ἀφρονέστατοί εἰσιν. 10:19 ἐκ πολυλογίας οὐκ ἐκφεύξῃ ἁμαρτίαν, φειδόμενος δὲ χειλέων νοήμων ἔσῃ. 10:20 ἄργυρος πεπυρωμένος γλῶσσα δικαίου, καρδία δὲ ἀσεβοῦς ἐκλείψει. 10:21 χείλη δικαίων ἐπίσταται ὑψηλά, οἱ δὲ ἄφρονες ἐν ἐνδείᾳ τελευτῶσιν. 10:22 εὐλογία ΚΥ ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν δικαίου· αὕτη πλουτίζει, καὶ οὐ μὴ προστεθῇ αὐτῇ λύπη ἐν καρδίᾳ 10:23 ἐν γέλωτι ἄφρων πράσσει κακά, ἡ δὲ σοφία ἀνδρὶ τίκτει φρόνησιν. 10:24 ἐν ἀπωλείᾳ ἀσεβὴς περιφέρεται, ἐπιθυμία δὲ δικαίου δεκτή. 10:25 παραπορευομένης καταιγίδος ἀφανίζεται ἀσεβής, δίκαιος δὲ ἐκκλίνας σῴζεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. 10:26 ὤσπερ ὄμφαξ ὀδοῦσι βλαβερὸν καὶ καπνὸς ὄμμασιν, οὕτως παρανομία τοῖς χρωμένοις αὐτήν. 10:27 φόβος ΚΥ προστίθησιν ἡμέρας, ἔτη δὲ ἀσεβῶν ὀλιγωθήσεται. 10:28 ἐνχρονίζει δικαίοις εὐφροσύνη, ἐλπὶς δὲ ἀσεβῶν ἀπολεῖται. 10:29 ὀχύρωμα ὁσίου φόβος ΚΥ, συντριβὴ δὲ τοῖς ἐργαζομένοις κακά. 10:30 δίκαιος τὸν αἰῶνα οὐκ ἐνδώσει, ἀσεβεῖς δὲ οὐκ ἥκουσιν γῆν. 10:31 στόμα δικαίου ἀποστάζει σοφίαν, γλῶσσα δὲ ἀδίκου ἐξολεῖται. 10:32 χείλη ἀνδρῶν δικαίων ἀποστάζει χάριτας, στόμα δὲ ἀσεβῶν ἀποστρέφεται.

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13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

With a rod it strikes the man who has no heart. The wise will cover up their discernment, but the mouth of the rash man comes close to ruin. The possessions of the rich are a fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the ungodly. The deeds of the righteous produce life, but the fruits of the ungodly produce sins. Instruction preserves the righteous ways of life, but instruction that is above criticism goes astray. Righteous lips cover up enmity, but those who utter insults are most foolish. You will not escape sin by a lot of talk, but you will be prudent if you restrain your lips. The tongue of the righteous man is silver refined by fire, but the heart of the ungodly man will fail. The lips of the righteous understand lofty things, but the foolish die in poverty. The blessing of the Lord is on the head of the righteous man, it enriches him, and heartbreak will certainly not be added to it. In his laughter a fool does wrong, but Wisdom bears a man good sense. The ungodly man is whirled about by destruction, but the desire of the righteous man is pleasing. When a hurricane comes by, the ungodly man is destroyed, but the righteous man turns aside and is kept safe forever. Just as an unripe grape is harmful to the teeth, and smoke to the eyes, so transgression is harmful to those who engage in it. The fear of the Lord adds days, but the years of the ungodly will be diminished. Joy lingers with the righteous, but the hope of the ungodly will perish. The fear of the Lord is the stronghold of a holy man, but it is ruin for those who do wrong. The righteous man will never give in, but the ungodly have not come to the land. The mouth of the righteous man drips wisdom, but the tongue of the unrighteous one will perish. The lips of righteous men drip graciousness, but the mouth of the ungodly turns away.

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50

11:1 11:2 11:3 11:5 11:6 11:7 11:8 11:9 11:10 11:11 11:12 11:13 11:14 11:15 11:16

11:17 11:18 11:19

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ζυγοὶ δόλιοι βδέλυγμα ἐνώπιον ΚΥ, στάθμιον δὲ δίκαιον δεκτὸν αὐτῷ. οὗ ἐὰν εἰσέλθῃ ὕβρις, ἐκεῖ ἀτιμία· στόμα δὲ ταπεινῶν μελετᾷ σοφίαν. ἀποθανὼν δίκαιος ἔλιπεν μετάμελον, πρόχειρος δὲ γίνεται καὶ ἐπίχαρτος ἀσεβῶν ἀπώλεια. δικαιοσύνη ἀμώμους ὀρθοτομεῖ ὁδούς, ἀσέβεια δὲ περιπίπτει ἀδικίᾳ. δικαιοσύνη ἀνδρῶν ὀρθῶν ῥύεται αὐτούς, τῇ δὲ ἀπωλείᾳ αὐτῶν ἁλίσκονται παράνομοι. τελευτήσαντος ἀνδρὸς δικαίου οὐκ ὄλλυται ἐλπίς, τὸ δὲ καύχημα τῶν ἀσεβῶν ὄλλυται. δίκαιος ἐκ θήρας ἐκδύνει, ἀντ’ αὐτοῦ δὲ παραδίδοται ὁ ἀσεβής. ἐν στόματι ἀσεβῶν παγὶς πολίταις, αἴσθησις δὲ δικαίων εὔοδος ἐν ἀγαθοῖς δικαίων κατώρθωσεν πόλις, στόμασιν δὲ ἀσεβῶν κατεσκάφη. μυκτηρίζει πολίτας ἐνδεὴς φρενῶν, ἀνὴρ δὲ φρόνιμος ἡσυχίαν ἄγει. ἀνὴρ δίγλωσσος ἀποκαλύπτει βουλὰς ἐν συνεδρίῳ, πιστὸς δὲ πνοῇ κρύπτει πράγματα. οἷς μὴ ὑπάρχει κυβέρνησις, πίπτουσιν ὥσπερ φύλλα, σωτηρία δὲ ὑπάρχει ἐν πολλῇ βουλῇ. πονηρὸς κακοποιεῖ, ὅταν συμμείξῃ δικαίῳ, μισεῖ δὲ ἦχον ἀσφαλείας. γυνὴ εὐχάριστος ἐγείρει ἀνδρὶ δόξαν, θρόνος δὲ ἀτιμίας γυνὴ μισοῦσα δίκαια. πλούτου ὀκνηροὶ ἐνδεεῖς γίνονται, οἱ δὲ ἀνδρεῖοι ἐρείδονται πλούτῳ. τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτοῦ ἀγαθὸν ποιεῖ ἀνὴρ ἐλεήμων, ἐξολλύει δὲ αὐτοῦ σῶμα ὁ ἀνελεήων. ἀσεβὴς ποιεῖ ἔργα ἄδικα, σπέρμα δὲ δικαίων μισθὸς ἀληθείας. υἱὸς δίκαιος γεννᾶται εἰς ζωήν, διωγμὸς δὲ ἀσεβοῦς εἰς θάνατον.

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Chapter 11 1 2 3

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19

False scales are an abomination in the Lord’s sight, but a just weight is pleasing to him. Wherever pride enters in, there disgrace is also, but the mouth of the humble speaks wisdom. When a righteous man has died, he leaves behind regret, but the destruction of the ungodly is easy to take, and brings malicious joy. Righteousness makes straight its blameless ways, but ungodliness falls into unrighteousness. The righteousness of upright men rescues them, but transgressors are overcome by their destruction. When a righteous man dies, his hope does not perish, but the boast of the ungodly does perish. The righteous man escapes from the hunt, and the ungodly man is handed over in his stead. There is a snare for their fellow-citizens in the mouth of the ungodly, but the discernment of the righteous points the right way. By the good deeds of the righteous the city prospers, but by the mouths of the ungodly it is razed to the ground. A man devoid of sense sneers at his fellow-citizens, but a sensible man keeps quiet. A bilingual man makes known decrees in a council, and a trustworthy one hides things with his breath. Those who have no governance fall like leaves, but there is safety in much counsel. An evil man does wrong when he associates with a righteous man, and he hates the sound of security. A gracious wife promotes honor for her husband. but a wife who hates righteous deeds is a seat of disgrace. The indolent become destitute of wealth, but the industrious rely on wealth. The merciful man does good to his soul, but the merciless one destroys his body. The ungodly man does unrighteous deeds, but the offspring of the righteous is truth’s reward A righteous son is born for life, but the persecution of the ungodly man is for death.

52

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11:20 βδέλυγμα ΚΩ διεστραμμέναι ὁδοί, προσδεκτοὶ δὲ αὐτῷ πάντες ἄμωμοι ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν. 11:21 χειρὶ χεῖρας ἐμβαλὼν ἀδίκως οὐκ ἀτιμώρητος ἔσται, ὁ δὲ σπείρων δικαιοσύνην λήμψεται μισθὸν πιστόν. 11:22 ὥσπερ ἐνώτιον ἐν ῥινὶ ὑός, οὕτως γυναικὶ κακόφρονι κάλλος. 11:23 ἐπιθυμία δικαίων πᾶσα ἀγαθή, ἐλπὶς δὲ ἀσεβῶν ἀπολεῖται. 11:24 εἰσὶν οἳ τὰ ἴδια σπείροντες πλείονα ποιοῦσιν, εἰσὶν καὶ οἳ συνάγοντες ἐλαττονοῦνται. 11:25 ψυχὴ εὐλογουμένη πᾶσα ἁπλῆ, ἀνὴρ δὲ θυμώδης οὐκ εὐσχήμων. 11:26 ὁ συνέχων σῖτον ὑπολίποιτο αὐτὸν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, εὐλογία δὲ εἰς κεφαλὴν τοῦ μεταδιδόντος. 11:27 τεκταινόμενος ἀγαθὰ ζητεῖ χάριν ἀγαθήν· ἐκζητοῦντα δὲ κακὰ, καταλήμψεται αὐτόν. 11:28 ὁ πεποιθὼς ἐπὶ πλούτῳ, οὗτος πεσεῖται· ὁ δὲ ἀντιλαμβανόμενος δικαίων, οὗτος ἀνατελεῖ. 11:29 ὁ μὴ συμπεριφερόμενος τῷ ἑαυτοῦ οἴκῳ κληρονομήσει ἄνεμον, δουλεύσει δὲ ἄφρων φρονίμῳ. 11:30 ἐκ καρποῦ δικαιοσύνης φύεται δένδρον ζωῆς, ἀφαιροῦνται δὲ ἄωροι ψυχαὶ παρανόμων. 11:31 εἰ ὁ μὲν δίκαιος μόλις σῳζεται, ὁ ἀσεβὴς καὶ ἁμαρτωλὸς ποῦ φανεῖται;

12:1 12:2 12:3 12:4 12:5 12:6

ὁ ἀγαπῶν παιδείαν ἀγαπᾷ αἴσθησιν, ὁ δὲ μισῶν ἐλέγχους ἄφρων. κρείσσων ὁ εὑρὼν χάριν παρὰ ΚΩ, ἀνὴρ δὲ παράνομος παρασιωπηθήσεται. οὐ κατορθώσει ἄνθρωπος ἐξ ἀνόμου, αἱ δὲ ῥίζαι τῶν δικαίων οὐκ ἐξαρθήσονται. γυνὴ ἀνδρεία στέφανος τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς· ὥσπερ δὲ ἐν ξύλῳ σκώληξ, οὕτως ἄνδρα ἀπόλλυσιν γυνὴ κακοποιός. λογισμοὶ δικαίων κρίματα, κυβερνῶσιν δὲ ἀσεβεῖς δόλους. λόγοι ἀσεβῶν δόλιοι, στόμα δὲ ὀρθῶν ῥύσεται αὐτούς.

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Perverse ways are an abomination to the Lord, but pleasing to him are all who are blameless in their ways. He who has shaken hands dishonestly will not go unpunished, but he who sows righteousness will receive a sure reward. Like an earring in a pig’s snout, so is beauty in a foolish woman. Every desire of the righteous is good, but the hope of the ungodly will come to nothing. There are those who sow their own seed and make it more; there are also those who reap and are made less. Every undivided heart is blessed, but a hot-tempered man is not respectable. May he who binds grain leave it behind for the gentiles, and may blessing be on the head of him who shares it. He who devises good things seeks good favor, but as for him who seeks out evil things, they will catch up with him. He who relies on riches will fall, but he who helps the righteous will rise. He who does not accommodate himself to his own household will inherit the wind, and the fool will be a slave to the sensible one. The tree of life grows from the fruit of righteousness, but the souls of transgressors are taken away before their time. If the righteous man is kept safe with difficulty, where will the ungodly man and the sinner appear? Chapter 12

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He who loves instruction loves discernment, but he who hates admonitions is a fool. The man who has found favor with the Lord is better, but the transgressor will be passed over in silence. A man will not fare well from lawlessness, and the roots of the righteous will not be removed. A valiant woman is the pride of her husband, but just like a worm in wood, so a malicious woman ruins her husband. The thoughts of the righteous are judgments, but the ungodly are masters of deceit. The words of the ungodly are deceitful, but the mouth of the upright will rescue them.

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οὗ ἐὰν στραφῇ ἀσεβὴς, ἀφανίζεται, οἶκοι δὲ δικαίων παραμένουσιν. στόμα συνετοῦ ἐγκωμιάζεται ὑπὸ ἀνδρός, νωθροκάρδιος δὲ μυκτηρίζεται. κρείσσων ἀνὴρ ἐν ἀτιμίᾳ δουλεύων ἑαυτῷ ἢ τιμὴν ἑαυτῷ περιτιθεὶς καὶ προσδεόμενος ἄρτου. δίκαιος οἰκτίρει ψυχὰς κτηνῶν αὐτοῦ, τὰ δὲ σπλάγχνα τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνελεήμονα. ὁ ἐργαζόμενος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γῆν ἐμπληθήσεται ἄρτων, οἱ δὲ διώκοντες μάταια ἐνδεεῖς φρενῶν. ὅς ἐστιν ἡδὺς ἐν οἴνων διατριβαῖς, ἐν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ ὀχυρώμασιν καταλείψει ἀτιμίαν. ἐπιθυμίαι ἀσεβῶν κακαί, αἱ δὲ ῥίζαι τῶν εὐσεβῶν ἐν ὀχυρώμασιν. δι’ ἁμαρτίαν χειλέων ἐμπίπτει εἰς παγίδας ἁμαρτωλός, ἐκφεύγει δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν δίκαιος. ὁ βλέπων λεῖα ἐλεηθήσεται, ὁ δὲ συναντῶν ἐν πύλαις ἐκθλίψει ψυχάς. ἀπὸ καρπῶν στόματος ψυχὴ ἀνδρὸς πλησθήσεται ἀγαθῶν, ἀνταπόδομα δὲ χειλέων αὐτοῦ δοθήσεται αὐτῷ. ὁδοὶ ἀφρόνων ὀρθαὶ ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν, εἰσακούει δὲ συμβουλίας σοφός. ἄφρων αὐθήμερὸν ἐξαγγέλλει ὀργὴν αὐτοῦ, κρύπτει δὲ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀτιμίαν πανοῦργος. ἐπιδεικνυμένην πίστιν ἀπαγγέλλει δίκαιος, ὁ δὲ μάρτυς τῶν ἀδίκων δόλιος. εἰσὶν οἳ λέγοντες τιτρώσκουσιν μάχαιραι, γλῶσσαι δὲ σοφῶν ἰῶνται. χείλη ἀληθινὰ κατορθοῖ μαρτυρίαν, μάρτυς δὲ ταχὺς γλῶσσαν ἔχει ἄδικον. δόλος ἐν καρδίᾳ τεκταινομένου κακά, οἱ δὲ βουλόμενοι εἰρήνην εὐφρανθήσονται. οὐκ ἀρέσει τῷ δικαίῳ οὐδὲν ἄδικον, οἱ δὲ ἀσεβεῖς πλησθήσονται κακῶν. βδέλυγμα ΚΩ χείλη ψευδῆ, ὁ δὲ ποιῶν πίστεις δεκτὸς παρ’ αὐτῷ. ἀνὴρ συνετὸς θρόνος αἰσθήσεως, καρδία δὲ ἀφρόνων συναντήσεται ἀραῖς. χεὶρ ἐκλεκτῶν κρατήσει εὐχερῶς, δόλιοι δὲ ἔσονται ἐν προνομῇ.

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Wherever the ungodly man turns, he is destroyed, but the house of the righteous endures. 8 The mouth of the intelligent one is praised by a man, but the slow-witted one is sneered at. 9 Better is a man who, unhonored, does a slave’s work for himself than one who confers honor on himself and lacks bread besides. 10 The righteous man takes pity on the animals of his livestock, but the hearts of the ungodly are unmerciful. 11 He who works his own land will have plenty of bread, but those who pursue illusions are devoid of sense. 11a He who enjoys himself at drinking parties will leave behind dishonor in his strongholds. 12 The desires of the ungodly are wicked, but the roots of the godly are in their strongholds. 13 On account of the sin of his lips the sinner falls into snares, but the righteous man escapes from them. 13a The man with a gentle gaze will be shown mercy, but the man who meets in the gates will pressure people. 14 From the fruit of his lips a man’s soul will be filled with good things, and the retort of his lips will be given to him. 15 The ways of fools are right in their own eyes, but the wise man listens to advice. 16 The fool makes known his anger on the same day, but the shrewd man hides his disgrace. 17 A righteous man gives credible evidence that is aboveboard, but a witness for the unjust is deceitful. 18 There are those who, as swords, wound by their speaking, but the tongues of the wise bring healing. 19 True lips give their testimony straight, but a hasty witness has an unjust tongue. 20 There is deceit in the heart of him who devises evil, but those who want peace will rejoice. 21 Nothing unrighteous will please the righteous man, but the ungodly will be filled with evil. 22 False lips are an abomination to the Lord, but he who demonstrates good faith is pleasing to him. 23 An intelligent man is a seat of discernment, but the heart of fools will meet with curses. 24 The hand of the chosen will easily prevail, but the deceitful will be in captivity.

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12:25 φοβερὸς λόγος καρδίαν ταράσσει ἀνδρὸς δικαίου, ἀγγελία δὲ ἀγαθὴ εὐφραίνει αὐτόν. 12:26 ἐπιγνώμων δίκαιος ἑαυτοῦ φίλος ἔσται, ἁμαρτάνοντας δὲ καταδιώξεται κακά, ἡ δὲ ὁδὸς τῶν ἀσεβῶν πλανήσει αὐτούς. 12:27 οὐκ ἐπιτεύξεται δόλιος θήρας, κτῆμα δὲ τίμιον ἀνὴρ καθαρός. 12:28 ἐν ὁδοῖς δικαιοσύνης ζωή, ὁδοὶ δὲ μνησικάκων εἰς θάνατον.

13:1 13:2 13:3 13:4 13:5 13:7 13:8 13:9 13:9a 13:10 13:11

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υἱὸς πανοῦργος ὑπήκοος πατρί, υἱὸς δὲ ἀνήκοος ἐν ἀπωλείᾳ. ἀπὸ καρπῶν δικαιοσύνης φάγεται ἀγαθός, ψυχαὶ δὲ παρανόμων ὀλοῦνται ἄωροι. ὃς φυλάσσει τὸ έαυτοῦ στόμα, τηρεῖ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν· ὁ δὲ προπετὴς χείλεσιν πτοήσει ἑαυτόν. ἐν ἐπιθυμίαις ἐστιν πᾶς ἄεργος, χεῖρες δὲ ἀνδρείων ἐν ἐπιμελείᾳ. λόγον ἄδικον μισεῖ δίκαιος, ἀσεβὴς δὲ αἰσχύνεται καὶ οὐχ ἕξει παρρησίαν. εἰσὶν οἱ πλουτίζοντες ἑαυτοὺς μηδὲν ἔχοντες, καὶ εἰσὶν οἱ ταπεινοῦντες ἑαυτοὺς ἐν πολλῇ πλούτῳ. λύτρον ἀνδρὸς ψυχῆς ὁ ἴδιος πλοῦτος, πτωχὸς δὲ οὐχ ὑφίσταται ἀπειλήν. φῶς δικαίοις διὰ παντός, φῶς δὲ ἀσεβῶν σβέννυται. ψυχαὶ δόλιαι πλανῶνται ἐν ἁμαρτίαις, δίκαιοι δὲ οἰκτίρουσιν καὶ ἐλεῶσιν. κακὸς μεθ’ ὕβρεως πράσσει κακά, οἱ δὲ ἑαυτῶν ἐπιγνώμονες σοφοί. ὕπαρξις ἐπισπουδαζομένη μετὰ ἀνομίας ἐλάσσων γίνεται, ὁ δὲ συνάγων ἑαυτῷ μετ’ εὐσεβείας πληθυνήσεται· δίκαιος οἰκτίρει καὶ κιχρᾷ. κρείσσων ἐναρχομένοις βοηθῶν καρδίᾳ τοῦ ἐπαγγελλομένου καὶ εἰς ἐλπίδα ἄγοντος· δένδρον γὰρ ζωῆς ἐπιθυμία ἀγαθή. ὃς καταφρονεῖ πράγματος, καταφρονηθήσεται ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ· ὁ δὲ φοβούμενος ἐντολήν, οὗτος ὑγιαίνει.

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Terrible news upsets the heart of a righteous man, but a good report gladdens him. A righteous arbiter will be a friend to himself, but troubles will pursue sinners, and the way of the ungodly will lead them astray. The deceitful man will not succeed in hunting, but a pure-hearted man is a precious possession. In the ways of righteousness there is life, but the ways of the resentful lead to death. Chapter 13

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A shrewd son is obedient to his father, but a disobedient son ends in destruction. A good man will eat of the fruits of righteousness, but the souls of transgressors will perish before their time. He who guards his mouth preserves his soul, but the loose-lipped man will frighten himself. Every idler has aspirations, but the hands of the industrious take care of things. A righteous man hates unrighteous speech, but an ungodly man is ashamed, and will not speak freely. There are those who make themselves rich while having nothing, and there are those who make themselves humble amidst great wealth. A man’s own wealth is a ransom for his life, but a poor man is not subject to being threatened. The righteous always have light, but the light of the ungodly is being extinguished. Deceitful souls go astray in their sins, but the righteous show compassion and mercy. A wicked man does wicked things with arrogance, but those who are arbiters of themselves are wise. Wealth that is zealously pursued with lawlessness diminishes, but he who gathers for himself with godliness will be increased. The righteous man shows compassion and gives out loans. Better for beginners is he who helps the heart than he who makes promises and induces one to hope. For a good desire is a tree of life. He who treats a thing with contempt will be treated with contempt by it, but he who is in awe of the commandment is sound.

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13:13a υἱῷ δολίῳ οὐδὲν ἔσται ἀγαθόν, οἰκέτῃ δὲ σοφῷ εὔοδοι ἔσονται πράξεις, καὶ κατευθυνθήσεται ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτοῦ. 13:14 νόμος σοφοῦ πηγὴ ζωῆς, ὁ δὲ ἄνους ὑπὸ παγίδος θανεῖται. 13:15 σύνεσις ἀγαθὴ δίδωσιν χάριν, τὸ δὲ γνῶναι νόμον διανοίας ἐστὶν ἀγαθῆς, ὁδοὶ δὲ καταφρονούντων ἐν ἀπωλείᾳ. 13:16 πᾶς πανοῦργος πράσσει μετὰ γνώσεως, ὁ δὲ ἄφρων ἐξεπέτασεν ἑαυτοῦ κακίαν. 13:17 βασιλεὺς θρασὺς ἐμπεσεῖται εἰς κακά, ἄγγελος δὲ σοφὸς ῥύσεται αὐτόν. 13:18 πενίαν καὶ ἀτιμίαν ἀφαιρεῖται παιδεία, ὁ δὲ φυλάσσων ἐλέγχους δοξασθήσεται. 13:19 ἐπιθυμίαι εὐσεβῶν ἡδύνουσιν ψυχήν, ἔργα δὲ ἀσεβῶν μακρὰν ἀπὸ γνώσεως. 13:20 συμπορευόμενος σοφοῖς σοφὸς ἔσῃ, ὁ δὲ συμπορευόμενος ἄφροσι γνωσθήσεται. 13:21 ἁμαρτάνοντας καταδιώξεται κακά, τοὺς δὲ δικαίους καταλήμψεται ἀγαθά. 13:22 ἀγαθὸς ἀνὴρ κληρονομήσει υἱοὺς υἱῶν. θησαυρίζεται δὲ δικαίοις πλοῦτος ἀσεβῶν. 13:23 δίκαιοι ποιήσουσιν ἐν πλούτῳ ἔτη πολλά, ἄδικοι δὲ ἀπολοῦνται συντόμως. 13:24 ὃς φείδεται τῆς βακτηρίας, μισεῖ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ· ὁ δὲ ἀγαπῶν ἐπιμελῶς παιδεύει. 13:25 δίκαιος ἔσθων ἐμπιπλᾷ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, ψυχαὶ δὲ ἀσεβῶν ἐνδεεῖς.

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σοφαὶ γυναῖκες ᾠκοδόμησαν οἴκους, ἡ δὲ ἄφρων κατέσκαψεν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῆς. ὁ πορευόμενος ὀρθῶς φοβεῖται τὸν ΚΝ, ὁ δὲ σκολιάζων ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ ἀτιμασθήσεται. ἐκ στόματος ἀφρόνων βακτηρία ὕβρεως, χείλη δὲ σοφῶν φυλάσσει αὐτούς. οὗ μή εἰσιν βόες, φάτναι καθαραί· οὗ δὲ πολλὰ γενήματα, φανερὰ βοὸς ἰσχύς.

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13a Nothing will be good for a deceitful son, but for a wise servant his actions will go smoothly, and his way will prosper. 14 The law of a wise man is a wellspring of life, but a man without sense will die by means of a trap. 15 Good understanding gives favor, and to know the law is the mark of a good mind, but the ways of its despisers end in destruction. 16 Every shrewd man acts with knowledge, but the fool displays his own wickedness. 17 A rash king will fall into troubles, but a wise messenger will rescue him. 18 Instruction removes poverty and disgrace and he who heeds admonitions will be honored. 19 The desires of the godly please the soul, but the works of the ungodly are far from knowledge. 20 If you accompany the wise you will be wise, but he who accompanies the foolish will be found out. 21 Troubles will pursue sinners, but good things will overtake the righteous. 22 A good man will leave an inheritance to the sons of his sons, and the riches of the ungodly are being stored up for the righteous. 23 The righteous will spend many years in riches, but the unrighteous will shortly perish. 24 He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him applies discipline with care. 25 When a righteous man eats he fills his soul, but the souls of the ungodly are in want. Chapter 14 1 2 3 4

Wise women build houses, but a foolish woman tears them down with her hands. He who walks a straight path fears the Lord, but he who is crooked in his ways will be disgraced. Out of the mouth of fools comes a rod for beating, but the lips of the wise protect them. Where there are no oxen, the feeding troughs are clean, but where the harvest is plentiful, the strength of the ox is evident.

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μάρτυς πιστὸς οὐ ψεύδεται, ἐκκαίει δὲ ψεύδη μάρτυς ἄδικος. ζητήσεις σοφίαν παρὰ κακοῖς καὶ οὐχ εὑρήσεις, αἴσθησις δὲ παρὰ φρονίμοις εὐχερής. πάντα ἐναντία ἀνδρὶ ἄφρονι, ὅπλα δὲ αἰσθήσεως χείλη σοφά. σοφία πανούργων ἐπιγνώσεται τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτῶν, ἄνοια δὲ ἀφρόνων ἐν πλάνῃ. οἰκίαι παρανόμων ὀφειλήσουσιν καθαρισμόν, οἰκίαι δὲ δικαίων δεκταί. καρδία ἀνδρὸς αἰσθητική, λυπηρὰ ψυχὴ αὐτου· ὅταν δὲ εὐφραίνηται, οὐκ ἐπιμείγνυται ὕβρει. οἰκίαι ἀσεβῶν ἀφανισθήσονται, σκηναὶ δὲ κατορθούντων στήσονται. ἔστιν ὁδὸς ἣ δοκεῖ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις ὀρθὴ εἶναι, τὰ δὲ τελευταῖα αὐτῆς ἔρχεται εἰς πυθμένα ᾅδου. ἐν εὐφροσύναις οὐ προσμείγνυται λύπη, τελευταία δὲ χαρὰ εἰς πένθος ἔρχεται. τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ὁδῶν πλησθήσεται θρασυκάρδιος, ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν διανοημάτων αὐτοῦ ἀνὴρ ἀγαθός. ἄκακος πιστεύει παντὶ λόγῳ, πανοῦργος δὲ ἔρχεται εἰς μετάνοιαν. σοφὸς φοβηθεὶς ἐξέκλινεν ἀπὸ κακοῦ, ὁ δὲ ἄφρων ἑαυτῷ πεποιθὼς μείγνυται ἀνόμῳ. ὀξύθυμος πράσσει μετὰ ἀβουλίας, ἀνὴρ δὲ φρόνιμος πολλὰ ὑποφέρει. μεριοῦνται ἄφρονες κακίαν, οἱ δὲ πανοῦργοι κρατήσουσιν αἰσθήσεως. ὀλισθήσουσιν κακοὶ ἔναντι ἀγαθῶν, καὶ ἀσεβεῖς θεραπεύσουσιν θύρας δικαίων. φίλοι μισήσουσιν φίλους πτωχούς, φίλοι δὲ πλουσίων πολλοί. ὁ ἀτιμάζων πένητας ἁμαρτάνει, ἐλεῶν δὲ πτωχοὺς μακαριστός. πλανώμενοι τεκταίνουσι κακά, ἔλεον δὲ καὶ ἀλήθειαν τεκταίνουσιν ἀγαθοί. οὐκ ἐπίστανται ἔλεον καὶ πίστιν τέκτονες κακῶν, ἐλεημοσύναι δὲ καὶ πίστεις παρὰ τέκτοσιν ἀγαθοῖς. ἐν παντὶ μεριμνῶντι ἔνεστιν περισσόν. ὁ δὲ ἡδὺς καὶ ἀνάλγητος ἐν ἐνδείᾳ ἔσται.

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A reliable witness does not lie, but an unrighteous witness makes lies burn. You will seek wisdom among wicked men and not find it, but discernment is readily available among sensible ones. Everything is against a foolish man, but wise lips are the tools of discernment. The wisdom of the shrewd will recognize their ways, but the foolishness of the foolish has gone astray. The homes of transgressors will be liable to purification, but the homes of the righteous are pleasing. A man’s heart is sensitive, his soul hurting, but when it rejoices, it is unmixed with arrogance. The homes of the ungodly will be destroyed, but the tents of the upright will stand. There is a way which seems right among people, but its last stages reach to the bottom of Hades. Grief does not mix with merrymaking, and joy in the end turns to sorrow. A bold man will be filled with his own ways, but a good man by His thoughts. A guileless man believes every word, but a shrewd one comes to have second thoughts. A wise man fears evil and turns away from it, but a fool trusts in himself and gets mixed up with the lawless. A hothead acts with indiscretion, but a sensible man puts up with a lot. Fools will have their share of wickedness, but the shrewd will master discernment. The wicked will slip and fall before the good, and the ungodly will serve at the doors of the righteous. Friends will hate friends who are poor, but the friends of the rich are many. He who dishonors the needy sins, but he who takes pity on the poor is most blessed. The deluded devise evil things, but the good devise mercy and truth. The devisers of evil things don’t understand mercy and integrity, but acts of mercy and integrity are with the good devisers. There is an advantage in everyone who takes care, but the suave and unfeeling one will be in need.

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14:24 στέφανος σοφῶν πανοῦργος, ἡ δὲ διατριβὴ ἀφρόνων κακή. 14:25 ῥύσεται ἐκ κακῶν ψυχὴν μάρτυς πιστός, ἐκκαίει δὲ ψεύδη δόλιος. 14:26 ἐν φόβῳ ΚΥ ἐλπὶς ἰσχύος, τοῖς δὲ τέκνοις αὐτοῦ καταλείπει ἔρεισμα. 14:27 πρόσταγμα ΚΥ πηγὴ ζωῆς, ποιεῖ δὲ ἐκκλίνειν ἐκ παγίδος θανάτου. 14:28 ἐν πολλῷ ἔθνει δόξα βασιλέως, ἐν δὲ ἐκλείψει λαοῦ συντριβὴ δυνάστου. 14:29 μακρόθυμος ἀνὴρ πολὺς ἐν φρονήσει, ὁ δὲ ὀλιγόψυχος ἰσχυρὸς ἄφρων. 14:30 πραΰθυμος ἀνὴρ καρδίας ἰατρός, σὴς δὲ ὀστέων καρδία αἰσθητική. 14:31 ὁ συκοφαντῶν πένητα παροξύνει τὸν ποιήσαντα αὐτόν, ὁ δὲ τιμῶν αὐτὸν ἐλεᾷ πτωχόν. 14:32 ἐν κακίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἀπωσθήσεται ἀσεβής, ὁ δὲ πεποιθὼς τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ὁσιότητι δίκαιος. 14:33 ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀγαθῇ ἀνδρὸς σοφία, ἐν δὲ καρδίᾳ ἀφρόνων οὐ διαγινώσκεται. 14:34 δικαιοσύνη ὑψοῖ ἔθνος, ἐλασσονοῦσι δὲ φύλας ἁμαρτίαι, 14:35 δεκτὸς βασιλεῖ ὑπηρέτης νοήμων, τῇ δὲ ἑαυτοῦ εὐστροφίᾳ ἀφαιρεῖται ἀτιμίαν.

15:1

15:2 15:3 15:4 15:5

ὀργὴ ἀπόλλυσιν καὶ φρονίμους, ἀπόκρισις δὲ ὑποπίπτουσα ἀποστρέφει θυμόν. λόγος δὲ λυπηρὸς ἐγείρει ὀργάς. γλῶσσα σοφῶν καλὰ ἐπίσταται, στόμα δὲ ἀφρόνων ἀναγγελεῖ κακά, ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ ὀφθαλμοὶ ΚΥ, σκοπεύουσιν κακούς τε καὶ ἀγαθούς. ἴασις γλώσσης δένδρον ζωῆς, ὁ δὲ συντηρῶν αὐτὴν πλησθήσεται πνεύματος. ἄφρων μυκτηρίζει παιδείαν πατρός, ὁ δὲ φυλάσσων ἐντολὰς πανουργότερος.

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A shrewd man is the pride of the wise, but the pastime of fools is wicked. A reliable witness will save a life from wicked men, but a dishonest one makes lies burn. The hope of strength lies in the fear of the Lord, and He leaves a support for his children. The ordinance of the Lord is a spring of life, and it causes one to turn aside from the snare of death. The glory of a king lies in a mighty nation, but the ruin of a ruler lies in the failure of his people. A patient man is rich in good sense, but the impatient strong man is foolish. A mild tempered man is a healer of the heart, and a discerning heart is a moth to one’s bones. He who preys on the needy provokes his Maker, but the one who honors Him takes pity on the poor. In his wickedness an ungodly man will be rejected, but he who has confidence in his own holiness is righteous. Wisdom is in the good heart of a man, but it is not detected in the heart of fools. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sins diminish its tribes. A prudent servant is pleasing to the king, and by his own adroitness he removes his disgrace. Chapter 15

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Anger destroys even the sensible, but a deferential answer turns away wrath, whereas a hurtful word provokes anger. The tongue of the wise understands what is good, but the mouth of the foolish will proclaim what is bad. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, they keep a close watch on both the good and the bad. The healing of the tongue is a tree of life, and he who guards it will be filled with spirit. A fool sneers at his father’s instruction, but he who keeps his commandments is shrewder.

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64 15:6

15:7 15:8 15:9 15:10 15:11 15:12 15:13 15:14 15:15 15:16 15:17 15:18 15:18a 15:19 15:20 15:21 15:22

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ἐν πλεοναζούσῃ δικαιοσύνῃ ἰσχὺς πολλή, οἱ δὲ ἀσεβεῖς ὁλόρριζοι ἐκ γῆς ὀλοῦνται. οἴκοις δικαίων ἰσχὺς πολλή, καρποὶ δὲ ἀσεβῶν ἀπολοῦνται. χείλη σοφῶν δέδεται αἰσθήσει, καρδίαι δὲ ἀφρόνων οὐκ ἀσφαλεῖς. θυσίαι ἀσεβῶν βδέλυγμα ΚΩ, εὐχαὶ δὲ κατευθυνόντων δεκταὶ παρ’ αὐτῷ. βδέλυγμα ΚΩ ὁδοὶ ἀσεβοῦς, διώκοντας δὲ δικαιοσύνην ἀγαπᾷ. παιδεία ἀκάκου γνωρίζεται ὑπὸ τῶν παριόντων, οἱ δὲ μισοῦντες ἐλέγχους τελευτῶσιν αἰσχρῶς. ᾅδης καὶ ἀπώλεια φανερὰ παρὰ τῷ ΚΩ, πῶς οὐχὶ καὶ αἱ καρδίαι τῶν ἀνθρώπων; οὐκ ἀγαπήσει ἀπαίδευτος τοὺς ἐλέγχοντας αὐτόν, μετὰ δὲ σοφῶν οὐχ ὁμιλήσει. καρδίας εὐφραινομένης πρόσωπον θάλλει, ἐν δὲ λύπαις οὔσαις σκυθρωπάζει, καρδία ὀρθὴ ζητεῖ αἴσθησιν, στόμα δὲ ἀπαιδεύτων γνώσεται κακά. πάντα τὸν χρόνον οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τῶν κακῶν προσδέχονται κακά, οἱ δὲ ἀγαθοὶ ἡσυχάσουσιν διὰ παντός. κρείσσων μικρὰ μερὶς μετὰ φόβου ΚΥ ἢ θησαυροὶ μεγάλοι μετὰ ἀφοβίας. κρείσσων ξενισμὸς μετὰ λαχάνων πρὸς φιλίαν καὶ χάριν ἢ παράθεσις μόσχων μετὰ ἔχθρας. ἀνὴρ θυμώδης παρασκευάζει μάχας, μακρόθυμος δὲ καὶ τὴν μέλλουσαν καταπραΰνει. μακρόθυμος ἀνὴρ κατασβέσει κρίσεις, ὁ δὲ ἀσεβὴς ἐγείρει μᾶλλον. ὁδοὶ ἀεργῶν ἐστρωμμέναι ἀκάνθαις, αἱ δὲ τῶν ἀνδρείων τετριμμέναι. υἱὸς σοφὸς εὐφραίνει πατέρα, υἱὸς δὲ ἄφρων μυκτηρίζει μητέρα αὐτοῦ. ἀνοήτου τρίβοι ἐνδεεῖς φρενῶν, ἀνὴρ δὲ φρόνιμος κατευθύνων πορεύεται. ὑπερτίθενται λογισμοὺς οἱ μὴ τιμῶντες συνέδρια, ἐν δὲ καρδίαις βουλευομένων μένει βουλή.

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6

65

In abundant righteousness is great strength, but the ungodly are destroyed root and branch from the land. The houses of the righteous have great strength, but the products of the ungodly will perish. 7 The lips of the wise are bound by discernment, but the hearts of fools are not secure. 8 The sacrifices of the ungodly are an abomination to the Lord, but the prayers of those who go straight are pleasing in his sight. 9 The ways of an ungodly man are an abomination to the Lord, but he loves those who pursue righteousness. 10 The discipline of the guileless is made known by those who pass by, but those who hate admonitions come to a shameful end. 11 Hades and destruction lie open before the Lord, how shall not also the hearts of men? 12 An uninstructed man will not love those who admonish him, and he will not associate with the wise. 13 When the heart rejoices the face brightens, but in the afflictions of the present it frowns. 14 An upright heart seeks discernment, but the mouth of the uninstructed will know wicked things. 15 The eyes of the wicked look forward to wicked things all the time, but the good keep quiet throughout. 16 Better a small portion with the fear of the Lord than great treasures with no fear. 17 Better hospitality with only garden produce, to express friendship and kindness, than a spread of veal accompanied by enmity. 18 A hot-tempered man causes quarrels, but a patient man smooths over even an imminent one. 18a A patient man will put an end to disputes, but an ungodly man provokes them instead. 19 The ways of the idle are strewn with thorns, but those of the industrious are worn smooth. 20 A wise son gladdens his father, but a foolish son sneers at his mother. 21 The paths of a stupid man are devoid of sense, but a sensble man walks a straight path. 22 Those who do not respect councils put themselves above deliberations, but in the hearts of those who take counsel, counsel remains.

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15:23 οὐ μὴ ὑπακούσῃ ὁ κακὸς αὐτῇ οὐδὲ μὴ εἴπῃ καίριόν τι καὶ καλὸν τῷ κοινῷ. 15:24 ὁδοὶ ζωῆς διανοήματα συνετοῦ, ἵνα ἐκκλίνας ἐκ τοῦ ᾅδου σωθῇ. 15:25 οἴκους ὑβριστῶν κατασπᾷ ΚΣ, ἐστήρισεν δὲ ὅριον χήρας. 15:26 βδέλυγμα ΚΩ λογισμὸς ἄδικος, ἁγνῶν δὲ ῥήσεις σεμναί. 15:27 ἐξόλλυσιν ἑαυτὸν ὁ δωρολήμτης, ὁ δὲ μισῶν δώρων λήμψεις σῳζεται. 15:27a ἐλεημοσύναις καὶ πίστεσιν ἀποκαθαίρονται ἁμαρτίαι, τῷ δὲ φόβῳ ΚΥ ἐκκλίνει πᾶς ἀπὸ κακοῦ. 15:28 καρδίαι δικαίων μελετῶσιν πίστεις, στόμα δὲ ἀσεβῶν ἀποκρίνεται κακά. 15:28a δεκταὶ παρὰ ΚΩ ὁδοὶ ἀνθρώπων δικαίων, διὰ δὲ αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ ἐχθροὶ φίλοι γίνονται. 15:29 μακρὰν ἀπέχει ὁ ΘΣ ἀπὸ ἀσεβῶν, εὐχαῖς δὲ δικαίων ἐπακούει. 15:29a κρείσσων ὀλίγη λῆμψις μετὰ δικαιοσύνης ἢ πολλὰ γενήματα μετὰ ἀδικίας. 15:29b καρδία δὲ ἀνδρὸς λογιζέσθω δίκαια, ἵνα ὑπὸ τοῦ ΘΥ διορθωθῇ τὰ διαβήματα αὐτοῦ. 15:30 θεωρῶν ὀφθαλμὸς καλὰ εὐφραίνει καρδίαν, φήμη δὲ ἀγαθὴ πιαίνει ὀστᾶ. 15:32 ὃς ἀπωθεῖται παιδείαν, μισεῖ ἑαυτόν· ὁ δὲ τηρῶν ἐλέγχους ἀγαπᾷ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ. 15:33 φόβος ΘΥ παιδεία καὶ σοφία, καὶ ἀρχὴ δόξης ἀποκριθήσεται αὐτῇ.

16:2 16:5 16:7 16:8

πάντα τὰ ἔργα τοῦ ταπεινοῦ φανερὰ παρὰ τῷ ΘΩ, οἱ δὲ ἀσεβεῖς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κακῇ ὀλοῦνται. ἀκάθαρτος παρὰ ΘΩ πᾶς ὑψηλοκάρδιος, χειρὶ δὲ χεῖρας ἐμβαλὼν ἀδίκως οὐκ ἀθοωθήσεται. ἀρχὴ ὁδοῦ ἀγαθῆς τὸ ποιεῖν τὰ δίκαια, δεκταὶ δὲ παρὰ ΘΩ μᾶλλον ἢ θύειν θυσίας. ὁ ζητῶν τον ΚΝ εὑρήσει γνῶσιν μετὰ δικαιοσύνης, οἱ δὲ ὀρθῶς ζητοῦντες αὐτὸν εὑρήσουσιν εἰρήνην.

text and translation

23

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The wicked man will certainly not heed it, nor will he say anything appropriate to the occasion, or good for the community. The thoughts of an intelligent man are ways of life, so that he may turn aside and be saved from Hades. The Lord tears down the houses of the violent, but he strengthens the border of the widow. An unrighteous thought is an abomination to the Lord, but the utterances of the pure command respect. The taker of bribes destroys himself, but he who hates the taking of bribes is saved. By acts of mercy and good faith sins are purged away, and by the fear of the Lord everyone turns aside from evil. The hearts of the righteous ponder acts of good faith, but the mouth of the ungodly gives evil answers. The ways of righteous people are pleasing to the Lord, and by means of them even enemies become friends. God is far distant from the ungodly, but he hears the prayers of the righteous. Better is a small income with righteousness than abundant produce with unrighteousness. But let the heart of a man think righteous thoughts, so that his steps may be rightly directed by God. An eye beholding beautiful things gladdens the heart, and a good report fattens the bones. He who rejects discipline hates himself, but he who heeds admonitions loves his soul. The fear of the Lord is instruction and wisdom, and the beginning of honor will answer to it. Chapter 16

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All the works of a humble man are manifest before God, but the ungodly will perish in the evil day. Every proud-hearted man is unclean before God, and he who has shaken hands dishonestly will not go unpunished. To do the right thing is the beginning of a good road, and they are more pleasing before God than offering sacrifices. He who seeks the Lord will find knowledge along with righteousness, and they who seek him rightly will find peace.

68 16:9 16:10 16:11 16:12 16:13 16:14 16:15 16:16 16:17

16:18 16:19 16:20 16:21 16:22 16:23 16:24 16:25

text and translation

πάντα τὰ ἔργα τοῦ ΚΥ μετὰ δικαιοσύνης, φυλάσσεται δὲ ὁ ἀσεβὴς εἰς ἡμέραν κακήν. μαντεῖον ἐπὶ χείλεσιν βασιλέως, ἐν δὲ κρίσει οὐ μὴ πλανηθῇ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ. ῥοπὴ ζυγοῦ δικαιοσύνη παρὰ ΚΩ, τὰ δὲ ἔργα αὐτοῦ στάθμια δίκαια. βδέλυγμα βασιλεῖ ὁ ποιῶν κακά, μετὰ γὰρ δικαιοσύνης ἑτοιμάζεται θρόνος ἀρχῆς. δεκτὰ βασιλεῖ χείλη δίκαια, λόγους δὲ ὀρθοὺς ἀγαπᾷ. θυμὸς βασιλέως ἄγγελος θανάτου, ἀνὴρ δὲ σοφὸς ἐξιλάσεται αὐτόν. ἐν φωτὶ ζωῆς υἱὸς βασιλέως, οἱ δὲ προσδεκτοὶ αὐτῷ ὥσπερ νέφος ὄψιμον. νοσσιαὶ σοφίας αἱρετώτεραι χρυσίου, νοσσιαὶ δὲ φρονήσεως αἱρετώτεραι ὑπὲρ ἀργύριον. τρίβοι ζωῆς ἐκκλίνουσιν ἀπὸ κακῶν, μῆκος δὲ βίου ὁδοὶ δικαιοσύνης. ὁ δεχόμενος παιδείαν ἐν ἀγαθοῖς ἔσται, ὁ δὲ φυλάσσων ἐλέγχους σοφισθήσεται. ὃς φυλάσσει τὰς ἑαυτοῦ ὁδούς, τηρεῖ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν. ἀγαπῶν δὲ ζωὴν αὐτοῦ φείσεται στόματος αὐτοῦ. πρὸ συντριβῆς ἡγεῖται ὕβρις, πρὸ δὲ πτώματος κακοφροσύνη. κρείσσων πραΰθυμος μετὰ ταπεινώσεως ἢ ὃς διαιρεῖται σκῦλα μετὰ ὑβριστῶν. συνετὸς ἐν πράγμασιν εὑρετὴς ἀγαθῶν, πεποιθὼς δὲ ἐπὶ ΘΩ μακαριστός. τοὺς σοφοὺς καὶ συνετοὺς φαύλους καλοῦσιν, οἱ δὲ γλυκεῖς ἐν λόγῳ πλείονα ἀκούσονται. πηγὴ ζωῆς ἔννοια τοῖς κεκτημένοις, παιδεία δὲ ἀφρόνων κακή. καρδία σοφοῦ νοήσει τὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἰδίου στόματος, ἐπὶ δὲ χείλεσιν φορέσει ἐπιγνωμοσύνην. κηρία μέλιτος λόγοι καλοί, γλύκασμα δὲ αὐτοῦ ἴασις ψυχῆς. εἰσὶν ὁδοὶ δοκοῦσαι εἶναι ὀρθαὶ ἀνδρί, τὰ μέντοι τελευταῖα αὐτῶν βλέπει εἰς πυθμένα ᾅδου.

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69

All the works of the Lord are accompanied by righteousness, and the ungodly man is kept for the evil day. There is divination on the lips of the king, and his mouth will surely not err in passing judgment. The tipping of the scales is righteousness before God, and his works are just weights. The evildoer is an abomination to the king, for it is in conjunction with justice that the throne of his rule is established. Righteous lips are pleasing to the king, and he loves straight words. The anger of the king is a messenger of death, but a wise man will appease him. The king’s son is in the light of life, but his favorites are like an overdue cloud. The nests of wisdom are to be preferred to gold, and the nests of good sense are to be preferred above silver. The paths of life turn aside from evil, and the ways of righteousness are the length of life. He who welcomes instruction will be among the good, And he who pays heed to admonitions will be made wise. He who pays heed to his own ways preserves his life. and if he loves his life he will restrain his mouth. Pride goes before destruction, and maliciousness before a fall. Better a mild tempered man with humility than one who divides the spoils with the proud. A person intelligent in business is a finder of the good, but one who trusts God is happiest. They call the wise and intelligent inept, but those sweet in speech will hear more. Insight is a fountain of life to those who possess it, but the instruction of fools is bad. The heart of the sage will understand what his own mouth utters, and he will convey good judgment on his lips. Good words are honeycombs, and the honey’s sweetness is the soul’s healing. There are ways that seem to be right to a man, yet their last stages look into the bottom of Hades.

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16:26 ἀνὴρ ἐν πόνοις πονεῖ ἑαυτῷ καὶ ἐκβιάζεται ἑαυτοῦ τὴν ἀπώλειαν, ὁ μέντοι σκολιὸς ἐπὶ τῷ ἑαυτοῦ στόματι φορεῖ τὴν ἀπώλειαν. 16:27 ἀνὴρ ἄφρων ὀρύσσει ἑαυτῷ κακά, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ χειλέων θησαυρίζει πῦρ. 16:28 ἀνὴρ σκολιὸς διαπέμπεται κακά, καὶ λαμπτῆρα δόλου πυρσεύσει κακοῖς καὶ διαχωρίζει φίλους. 16:29 ἀνὴρ παράνομος ἀποπειρᾶται φίλων καὶ ἀπάγει αὐτοὺς ὁδοὺς οὐκ ἀγαθάς. 16:30 στηρίζων δὲ ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ λογίζεται διεστραμμένα, ὁρίζει δὲ τοῖς χείλεσιν αὐτοῦ πάντα τὰ κακά, οὗτος κάμινός ἐστιν κακίας. 16:31 στέφανος καυχήσεως γῆρας, ἐν δὲ ὁδοῖς δικαιοσύνης εὑρίσκεται. 16:32 κρείσσων ἀνὴρ μακρόθυμος ἰσχυροῦ, ὁ δὲ κρατῶν ὀργῆς κρείσσων καταλαμβανομένου πόλιν. 16:33 εἰς κόλπους ἐπέρχεται πάντα τοῖς ἀδίκοις, παρὰ δὲ ΚΥ πάντα τὰ δίκαια.

κρείσσων ψωμὸς μεθ’ ἡδονῆς ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἢ οἶκος πολλῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ ἀδίκων θυμάτων μετὰ μάχης. 17:2 οἰκέτης νοήμων κρατήσει δεσποτῶν ἀφρόνων, ἐν δὲ ἀδελφοῖς διελεῖται μέρη. 17:3 ὥσπερ δοκιμάζεται ἐν καμίνῳ ἀργυρὸς καὶ χρυσός, οὕτως ἐκλεκταὶ καρδίαι παρὰ ΚΩ. 17:4 κακὸς ὑπακούει γλώσσης παρανόμων, δίκαιος δὲ οὐ προσέχει χείλεσι ψευδέσιν. 17:5 ὁ καταγελῶν πτωχοῦ παροξύνει τὸν ποιήσαντα αὐτόν, ὁ δὲ ἐπιχαίρων ἀπολλυμένῳ οὐκ ἀθῳωθήσεται· ὁ δὲ ἐπισπλαγχνιζόμενος ἐλεηθήσεται. 17:6 στέφανος γερόντων τέκνα τέκνων, καύχημα δὲ τέκνων πατέρες αὐτῶν. 17:6a τοῦ πιστοῦ ὅλος ὁ κόσμος τῶν χρημάτων, τοῦ δὲ ἀπίστου οὐδὲ ὀβολός. 17:7 οὐχ ἁρμόσει ἄφρονι χείλη πιστά οὐδὲ δικαίῳ χείλη ψευδῆ. 17:1

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A man who is hard at work works hard for himself, and keeps his ruin at bay. Yet the crooked man brings ruin on his own mouth. A foolish man digs up troubles for himself, and on his own lips stores up fire. A crooked man spreads evil, and with evil will light a lantern of deceit, and separates friends. A transgressor leads his friends into temptation, and draws them away on ways not good. And he who ogles with his eyes has perverse things in mind, and with his lips ordains all kinds of evil. This man is a furnace of wickedness. Old age is an honor to take pride in, but it is found in the ways of righteousness. A patient man is better than a strong one, and a man who controls his anger is better than one who takes a city. For the unrighteous, all kinds of things come into their pockets, but everything righteous comes from the Lord. Chapter 17

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Better a morsel of bread enjoyed in peace than a house of many delicacies and of unrighteous sacrificial meat with strife. A prudent servant will control foolish masters, and will divide portions among brothers. As silver and gold are tried in a furnace, so are hearts chosen before the Lord. A bad man listens to the tongue of transgressors, but a righteous one pays no attention to lying lips. He who laughs at the poor provokes his Maker, and he who gloats over the perishing will not escape punishment, but the compassionate one will be shown mercy. The pride of the elderly is their children’s children, but the boast of children is their fathers. To the faithful one belongs the whole world of possessions, but to the faithless one not so much as a penny. Faithful lips will not be suitable for a fool, nor lying lips for a righteous man.

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17:18 17:19 17:20 17:21

17:22 17:23 17:24 17:25

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μισθὸς χαρίτων παιδεία τοῖς χρωμένοις, οὗ δ’ ἂν ἐπιστρέψῃ, εὐοδωθήσεται. ὃς κρύπτει ἀδικήματα, ζητεῖ φιλίαν· ὃς δὲ μισεῖ κρύπτειν, διίστησι φίλους καὶ οἰκείους. συντρίβει ἀπειλὴ καρδίαν φρονίμου, ἄφρων δὲ μαστιγωθεὶς οὐκ αἰσθάνεται. ἀντιλογίας ἐγείρει πᾶς κακός, ὁ δὲ ΚΣ ἄγγελον ἀνελεήμονα ἐκπέμψει αὐτῷ. ἐμπεσεῖται μέριμνα ἀνδρὶ νοήμονι, οἱ δὲ ἄφρονες διαλογιοῦνται κακά. ὃς ἀποδίδωσιν κακὰ ἀντὶ ἀγαθῶν, οὐ κινηθήσεται κακὰ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ. ἐξουσίαν δίδωσιν λόγοις ἀρχὴ δικαιοσύνης, προηγεῖται δὲ τῆς ἐνδείας στάσις καὶ μάχη. ὃς δίκαιον κρίνει τὸν ἄδικον, ἄδικον δὲ τὸν δίκαιον, ἀκάθαρτος καὶ βδελυκτὸς παρὰ ΘΩ. ἵνα τί ὑπῆρξεν χρήματα ἄφρονι; κτήσασθαι γὰρ σοφίαν ἀκάρδιος οὐ δυνήσεται. ὃς ὑψηλὸν ποιεῖ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ οἶκον, ζητεῖ συντριβήν· ὁ δὲ σκολιάζων τοῦ μαθεῖν ἐμπεσεῖται εἰς κακά. εἰς πάντα καιρὸν φίλος ὑπαρχέτω σοι, ἀδελφοὶ δὲ ἐν ἀνάγκαις χρήσιμοι ἔστωσαν· τούτου γὰρ χάριν γεννῶνται. ἀνὴρ ἄφρων ἐπικροτεῖ καὶ ἐπιχαίρει ἑαυτῷ ὡς καὶ ὁ ἐγγυώμενος ἐγγύην τῶν ἑαυτοῦ φίλων. φιλαμαρτήμων χαίρει μάχαις, ὁ δὲ σκληροκάρδιος οὐ συναντᾷ ἀγαθοῖς. ἀνὴρ εὐμετάβολος γλώσσῃ ἐμπεσεῖται εἰς κακά, καρδία δὲ ἄφρονος ὀδύνη τῷ κεκτημένῳ αὐτήν. οὐκ εὐφραίνεται πατὴρ ἐπὶ υἱῷ ἀπαιδεύτῳ, υἱὸς δὲ φρόνιμος εὐφραίνει μητέρα αὐτοῦ. καρδία εὐφραινομένη εὐεκτεῖν ποιεῖ, ἀνδρὸς δὲ λυπηροῦ ξηραίνεται τὰ ὀστᾶ. λαμβάνοντος δῶρα ἐν κόλποις ἀδίκως οὐ κατευοδοῦνται ὁδοί, ἀσεβὴς δὲ ἐκκλίνει ὁδοὺς δικαιοσύνης. πρόσωπον συνετὸν ἀνδρὸς σοφοῦ, οἱ δὲ ὀφθαλμοὶ τοῦ ἄφρονος ἐπ’ ἄκρα γῆς. ὀργὴ πατρί ἐστιν υἱὸς ἄφρων καὶ ὀδύνη τῇ τεκούσῃ αὐτοῦ.

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8

Instruction to those who make use of it is a gracious recompense, wherever it turns them, it will be prospered. 9 He who hides injustices is looking for friendship, but he who hates to hide them drives apart friends and relatives. 10 A threat breaks a sensible man’s heart, but a fool, though whipped, doesn’t feel it. 11 Every scoundrel provokes disputes, but the Lord will send him an unmerciful messenger. 12 Anxiety will befall a prudent man, but fools have evil schemes in mind. 13 He who repays good with evil— evil will not be removed from his house. 14 Righteous rule gives authority to words, but rebellion and strife precede scarcity. 15 He who acquits the unrighteous and condemns the righteous is unclean and loathsome before God. 16 Why does a fool have money? Because a man who has no heart will not be able to acquire wisdom. 16a He who exalts his own house is courting disaster, and he who goes astray in learning will come to grief. 17 At any time let a friend be there for you, and let brothers be helpful in distress, for that is why they are born. 18 A foolish man applauds and congratulates himself, just like him who gives a guarantee for his own friends. 19 A lover of sin delights in quarrels, 20 but the hardhearted man does not meet with the good; a man of fickle tongue will come to grief, 21 and the heart of a fool is a pain to its owner. A father does not take delight in an uninstructed son, but a sensible son delights his mother. 22 A delighted heart promotes wellbeing, but the bones of a hurting man dry up. 23 The ways of a man who pockets gifts unjustly do not prosper, and an ungodly man avoids the ways of righteousness. 24 The face of a wise man is intelligent, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. 25 A foolish son means anger for his father, and pain for the mother who bore him.

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17:26 ζημιοῦν ἄνδρα δίκαιον οὐ καλόν, οὐδὲ ὅσιον ἐπιβουλεύειν δυνάσταις δικαίοις. 17:27 ὃς φείδεται ῥῆμα προελέσθαι σκληρόν, ἐπιγνώμων· μακρόθυμος δὲ ἀνὴρ φρόνιμος. 17:28 ἀνοήτῳ ἐπερωτήσαντι σοφίαν σοφία λογισθήσεται, ἐνεὸν δέ τις ἑαυτὸν ποιήσας δόξει φρόνιμος εἶναι.

18:1 18:2 18:3 18:4 18:5 18:6 18:7 18:8 18:9 18:10 18:11 18:12 18:13 18:14 18:15

προφάσεις ζητεῖ ἀνὴρ βουλόμενος χωρίζεσθαι ἀπὸ φίλων, ἐν παντὶ δὲ καιρῷ ἐπονείδιστος ἔσται. οὐ χρείαν ἔχει σοφίας ἐνδεὴς φρενῶν· μᾶλλον γὰρ ἄγεται ἀφροσύνῃ. ὅταν ἔλθῃ ἀσεβὴς εἰς βάθος κακῶν, καταφρονεῖ, ἐπέρχεται δὲ αὐτῷ ἀτιμία καὶ ὄνειδος. ὕδωρ βάθυ λόγος ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀνδρός, ποταμὸς δὲ ἀναπηδύει καὶ πηγὴ ζωῆς. θαυμάσαι πρόσωπον ἀσεβοῦς οὐ καλόν, οὐδὲ ὅσιον ἐκκλίνειν τὸ δίκαιον ἐν κρίσει. χείλη ἄφρονος ἄγουσιν αὐτὸν εἰς κακά, τὸ δὲ στόμα αὐτοῦ τὸ θρασὺ θάνατον ἐπικαλεῖται. στόμα ἄφρονος συντριβὴ αὐτῷ, τὰ δὲ χείλη αὐτοῦ παγὶς τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτοῦ. ὀκνηροὺς καταβάλλει φόβος, ψυχαὶ δὲ ἀνδρογύνων πεινάσουσιν. ὁ μὴ ἰώμενος αὑτὸν ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ ἀδελφός ἐστιν τοῦ λυμαινομένου ἑαυτόν. ἐκ μεγαλωσύνης ἰσχύος ὄνομα ΚΥ, αὐτῷ δὲ προσδραμόντες δίκαιοι ὑψοῦνται. ὕπαρξις πλουσίου ἀνδρὸς πόλις ὀχυρά, ἡ δὲ δόξα αὐτῆς μέγα ἐπισκιάζει. πρὸ συντριβῆς ὑψοῦται καρδία ἀνδρός, καὶ πρὸ δόξης ταπεινοῦται. ὃς ἀποκρίνεται λόγον πρὶν ἀκοῦσαι, ἀφροσύνη αὐτῷ ἐστιν καὶ ὄνειδος. θυμὸν ἀνδρὸς πραΰνει θεράπων φρόνιμος· ὀλιγόψυχον δὲ ἄνδρα τίς ὑποίσει; καρδία φρονίμου κτᾶται αἴσθησιν, ὦτα δὲ σοφῶν ζητεῖ ἔννοαν.

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26 27 28

75

It is not a good thing to punish a righteous man. nor something holy to plot against righteous rulers. He who refrains from choosing a harsh word is judicious, and a sensible man is patient. Wisdom will be ascribed to an unintelligent man who asks for wisdom, and someone who keeps quiet will appear to be sensible. Chapter 18

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4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

A man who wishes to separate from friends looks for excuses, but he will always be an object of reproach. A man devoid of sense has no need of wisdom, for he is led by folly instead. When an ungodly man comes to the depth of his troubles, he is contemptuous, and dishonor and reproach come upon him. The word in a man’s heart is deep water, and a river gushes up, and a spring of life. It is not a good thing to respect an ungodly man, nor is it a holy thing to avoid what is right in passing judgment. The lips of a fool lead him into troubles, and his insolent mouth invites death. The mouth of a fool is his downfall, and his lips are a snare to his soul. Fear lays low the timid, and the souls of sissies will suffer hunger. He who does not heal himself by his deeds is a brother to him who ruins himself. The name of the Lord arises from the greatness of his strength, and the righteous who run to him are exalted. The possessions of a wealthy man are a fortified city, and their glory gives much shade. A man’s heart is exalted before his downfall, but it is humbled before glory. He who answers a word before listening— to him belongs folly and reproach. A prudent servant calms a man’s anger, but who will put up with a coward? The heart of a sensible man acquires discernment, and the ears of the wise seek insight.

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18:16 δόμα ἀνθρώπου ἐμπλατύνει αὐτόν καὶ παρὰ δυνάσταις καθιζάνει αὐτόν. 18:17 δίκαιος ἑαυτοῦ κατήγορος ἐν πρωτολογίᾳ· ὡς δ’ ἂν ἐπιβάλῃ ὁ ἀντίδικος, ἐλέγχεται, 18:18 ἀντιλογίας παύει σιγηρός, ἐν δὲ δυναστείαις ὁρίζει. 18:19 ἀδελφὸς ὑπὸ ἀδελφοῦ βοηθούμενος ὡς πόλις ὀχυρὰ καὶ ὑψηλή, ἰσχύει δὲ ὥσπερ τεθεμελιωμένον βασίλειον. 18:20 ἀπὸ δὲ καρπῶν στόματος ἀνὴρ πίμπλησιν κοιλίαν αὐτοῦ, ἀπὸ δὲ καρπῶν χειλέων αὐτοῦ ἐμπλησθήσεται. 18:21 θάνατος καὶ ζωὴ ἐν χειρὶ γλώσσης, οἱ δὲ κρατοῦντες αὐτῆς ἔδονται τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτῆς. 18:22 ὃς εὗρεν γυναῖκα ἀγαθήν, εὗρεν χάριτας, ἔλαβεν δὲ παρὰ ΘΥ ἱλαρότητα. 18:22a ὃς ἐκβάλλει γυναῖκα ἀγαθήν, ἐκβάλλει τὰ ἀγαθά· ὁ δὲ κατέχων μοιχαλίδα ἄφρων καὶ ἀσεβής.

19:3

ἀφροσύνη ἀνδρὸς λυμαίνεται τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ, τὸν δὲ ΘΝ αἰτιᾶται τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ. 19:4 πλοῦτος προστίθησιν φίλους πολλούς, ὁ δὲ πτωχὸς καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑπάρχοντος φίλου λείπεται. 19:5 μάρτυς ψευδὴς οὐκ ἀτιμώρητος ἔσται, ὁ δὲ ἐγκαλῶν ἀδίκως οὐ διαφεύξεται. 19:6 πολλοὶ θεραπεύουσιν πρόσωπα βασιλέων, πᾶς δὲ ὁ κακὸς γίνεται ὄνειδος ἀνδρί. 19:7 πᾶς ὃς ἀδελφὸν πτωχὸν μισεῖ, καὶ φιλίας μακρὰν ἔσται. ἔννοια ἀγαθὴ τοῖς εἰδόσιν αὐτὴν ἐγγιεῖ, ἀνὴρ δὲ φρόνιμος εὑρήσει αὐτήν. ὁ πολλὰ κακοποιῶν τελεσιουργεῖ κακίαν· ὃς δὲ ἐρεθίζει λόγους, οὐ σωθήσεται. 19:8 ὁ κτώμενος φρόνησιν ἀγαπᾷ ἑαυτόν· ὃς δὲ φυλάσσει φρόνησιν, εὑρήσει ἀγαθά. 19:9 μάρτυς ψευδὴς οὐκ ἀτιμώρητος ἔσται· ὃς δ’ ἂν ἐκκαύσῃ κακίαν, ἀπολεῖται ὑπ’ αὐτῆς. 19:10 οὐ συμφέρει ἄφρονι τρυφή, καὶ ἐὰν οἰκέτης ἄρξηται μεθ’ ὕβρεως δυναστεύειν.

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16

The gift of a man enlarges him, and gives him a seat with rulers. 17 In his opening speech, a righteous man is his own accuser, but when the opposing party attacks, he is shown to be wrong. 18 A silent man puts an end to disputes, and establishes boundaries among sovereignties. 19 A brother helped by a brother is like a fortified and towering city, and he is strong, like a palace built on a firm foundation. 20 But a man fills his belly with the fruits of his mouth, and he will be filled with the fruits of his lips. 21 Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who control it will eat its fruits. 22 He who finds a good wife finds favor, and has received joy from God. 22a He who sends away a good wife, sends away the good, but he who keeps an adulteress is foolish and ungodly. Chapter 19 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10

A man’s folly ruins his ways, but in his heart he blames God. Wealth adds many friends, but the poor man is abandoned even by the friend he has. A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who makes an unjust accusation will not escape. Many wait on kings, but every scoundrel is to a man’s discredit. Everyone who hates a poor brother will also be far from friendship. Good insight will come near to those who know it, and a sensible man will find it. He who often acts wickedly perfects wickedness, and he who provokes words will not be saved. He who acquires good sense loves himself, and he who keeps good sense shall find good things. A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever makes wickedness burn will be destroyed by it. Luxury does a fool no good, even if a servant begins to rule proudly.

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19:11 ἐλεήμων ἀνὴρ μακροθυμεῖ, τὸ δὲ καύχημα αὐτοῦ ἐπέρχεται παρανόμοις. 19:12 βασιλέως ἀπειλὴ ὁμοία βρυγμῷ λέοντος· ὥσπερ δὲ δρόσος ἐπὶ χόρτῳ, οὕτως τὸ ἱλαρὸν αὐτοῦ. 19:13 αἰσχύνη πατρὶ υἱὸς ἄφρων, οὐχ ἁγναὶ εὐχαὶ ἀπὸ μισθώματος ἑταίρας. 19:14 οἶκον καὶ ὕπαρξιν μερίζουσιν πατέρες παισίν, παρὰ δὲ ΘΥ ἁρμόζεται γυνὴ ἀνδρί. 19:15 δειλία κατέχει ἀνδρογύναιον, ψυχὴ δὲ ἀεργοῦ πεινάσει. 19:16 ὃς φυλάσσει ἐντολήν, τηρεῖ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν· ὁ δὲ καταφρονῶν τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ὁδῶν ἀπολεῖται. 19:17 δανίζει ΘΩ ὁ ἐλεῶν πτωχόν, κατὰ δὲ τὸ δόμα αὐτοῦ ἀνταποδοθήσεται αὐτῷ. 19:18 παίδευε υἱόν σου, οὕτως γὰρ ἔσται εὔελπις· εἰς δὲ ὕβριν μὴ ἐπαίρου τῇ ψυχῇ σου. 19:19 κακόφρων ἀνὴρ ζημιωθήσεται· ἐὰν δὲ λοιμεύηται, καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ προσθήσει. 19:20 ἄκουε, υἱέ, παιδείαν πατρός σου, ἵνα σοφὸς γένῃ ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων σου. 19:21 πολλοὶ λογισμοὶ ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀνδρός, ἡ δὲ βουλὴ τοῦ ΚΥ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μένει. 19:22 καρπὸς ἀνδρὶ ἐλεημοσύνη, κρείσσων δὲ πτωχὸς δίκαιος ἢ πλούσιος ψευδής. 19:23 φόβος ΚΥ εἰς ζωὴν ἀνδρί, ὁ δὲ ἄφοβος αὐλισθήσεται ἐν τόποις, οὗ οὐκ ἐπισκοπεῖται γνῶσις. 19:24 ὁ ἐγκρύπτων εἰς τὸν κόλπον αὐτοῦ χεῖρας ἀδίκως, οὐδὲ τῷ στόματι οὐ μὴ προσενέγκῃ αὐτάς. 19:25 λοιμοῦ μαστιγουμένου ἄφρων πανουργότερος γίνεται· ἐὰν δὲ ἐλέγχῃς ἄνδρα φρόνιμον, νοήσει αἴσθησιν. 19:26 ὁ ἀτιμάζων πατέρα καὶ ἀπωθούμενος μητέρα αὐτοῦ καταισχυνθήσεται καὶ ἐπονείδιστος ἔσται. 19:27 υἱὸς ἀπολειπόμενος φυλάξαι παιδείαν πατρός μελετήσει ῥήσεις κακάς. 19:28 ὁ ἐγγυώμενος παῖδα ἄφρονα καθυβρίζει δικαίωμα, στόμα δὲ ἀσεβῶν καταπίεται κρίσεις. 19:29 ἑτοιμάζονται ἀκολάστοις μάστιγες καὶ τιμωρίαι ὁμοίως ἄφροσιν.

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11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

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79

A merciful man is patient, but his boast comes upon transgressors. The king’s threat is similar to a lion’s roar, but like dew on the grass, so is his good mood. A foolish son is an embarrassment to his father, votary offerings from a courtesan’s earnings are unholy. Fathers divide their house and possessions among their children, but a woman is betrothed to a man by God. Cowardice holds back the sissy, and the soul of an idler will suffer hunger. He who keeps a commandment preserves his own soul, but he who treats his own ways with contempt will perish. He who takes pity on a poor man gives a loan to God, and he will be repaid according to his donation. Discipline your son, for that way he will have good prospects, but do not be stirred up in your soul to the point of violence. A malicious man will be punished, and if he contracts the plague, he will add his life as well. Listen, my son, to the instruction of your father, so that you may be wise later in your life. There are many thoughts in a man’s heart, but the counsel of the Lord remains forever. Mercy is fruit to a man, and a righteous poor man is better than a lying rich man. The fear of the Lord means life for a man, but the one without fear will dwell in places where knowledge is not regarded. He who unjustly hides his hands in his clothes will certainly not bring them to his mouth either. When a troublemaker is flogged a fool becomes shrewder, but if you admonish a sensible man he will understand discernment. He who dishonors his father and rejects his mother will be disgraced, and the object of reproach. A son who stops keeping his father’s instruction will speak wicked sayings. He who pledges security for a foolish child violates the statute, and the mouth of the ungodly will devour judicial decisions. Whips are prepared for the incorrigible, and punishments likewise for fools.

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20:1 20:2 20:3 20:4 20:5 20:6 20:7 20:8 20:9 20:9a 20:9b 20:9c 20:10 20:11 20:12 20:13 20:23

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ἀκόλαστον οἶνος καὶ ὑβριστικὸν μέθη, πᾶς δὲ ἄφρων τοιούτοις συμπλέκεται. οὐ διαφέρει ἀπειλὴ βασιλέως θυμοῦ λέοντος, ὁ δὲ παροξύνων αὐτὸν ἁμαρτάνει εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν. δόξα ἀνδρὶ ἀποστρέφεσθαι λοιδορίας, πᾶς δὲ ἄφρων τοιούτοις συμπλέκεται. ὁνειδιζόμενος ὀκνηρὸς οὐκ αἰσχύνεται, ὡσαύτως καὶ ὁ δανιζόμενος σῖτον ἐν ἀμήτῳ. ὕδωρ βαθὺ βουλὴ ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀνδρός, ἀνὴρ δὲ φρόνιμος ἐξαντλήσει αὐτήν. μέγα ἄνθρωπος καὶ τίμιον ἀνὴρ ἐλεήμων, ἄνδρα δὲ πιστὸν ἔργον εὑρεῖν. ὃς ἀναστρέφεται ἄμωμος ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, μακαρίους τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ καταλείψει. ὅταν βασιλεὺς δίκαιος καθίσῃ ἐπὶ θρόνου, οὐκ ἐναντιοῦται ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ πᾶν πονηρόν. τίς καυχήσεται ἁγνὴν ἔχειν τὴν καρδίαν; ἢ τίς παρρησιάσεται καθαρὸς εἶναι ἀπὸ ἁμαρτιῶν; κακολογοῦντος πατέρα ἢ μητέρα σβεσθήσεται λαμπτήρ, αἱ δὲ κόραι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ ὄψονται σκότος. μερὶς ἐπισπουδαζομένη ἐν πρώτοις ἐν τοῖς τελευταίοις οὐκ εὐλογηθήσεται. μὴ εἴπῃς Τείσομα τὸν ἐχθρόν· ἀλλὰ ὑπόμεινον τὸν ΚΝ, ἵνα σοι βοηθήσῃ. στάθμιον μέγα καὶ μικρὸν καὶ μέτρα δισσά, ἀκάθαρτα ἐνώπιον κυρίου καὶ ἀμφότερα. καὶ ὁ ποιῶν αὐτὰ ἐν τοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασιν αὐτοῦ συνποδισθήσεται, νεανίσκος μετὰ ὁσίου, καὶ εὐθεῖα ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτοῦ. οὖς ἀκούει καὶ ὀφθαλμὸς ὁρᾷ· ΚΥ ἔργα καὶ ἀμφότερα. μὴ ἀγάπα καταλαλεῖν, ἵνα μὴ ἐξαρθῇς· διάνοιξον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου καὶ ἐμπλήσθητι ἄρτων. βδέλυγμα ΚΩ δισσὸν στάθμιον, καὶ ζυγὸς δόλιος οὐ καλὸν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ.

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Chapter 20 1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 9a

9b 9c 10 11

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Wine is a wild thing, and liquor violent, and every fool is involved with such things. The menace of a king is no different from the rage of a lion, and he who provokes him commits a sin against his own life. It is the glory of a man to refrain from insults, but every fool is involved with such things. An idler is not ashamed when reproached, likewise also he who borrows grain at harvest time. Counsel in a man’s heart is a deep water, but a sensible man will draw it up (as from a well). A human being is something great, and a merciful man something precious, but it is difficult to find a faithful man. He who lives a blameless life in righteousness will leave his children blessed. When a righteous king sits on the throne, nothing evil offers resistance before him. Who will boast that he keeps his heart pure? Or who will be so bold as to claim that he is untainted by sins? The lantern of him who speaks ill of his father or mother will be extinguished, and the pupils of his eyes will see darkness. A portion which is zealously pursued at the start will not be blessed at the end. Do not say, ‘I will pay back my enemy,’ but wait for the Lord, so that he may help you. A large and small weight, and a twofold measure— both alike are unclean in the Lord’s eyes. And he who manufactures them will be forcibly restrained in his practices. A young man with a holy one—and straight will be his way. The ear hears, the eye sees— both alike are works of the Lord. Do not love to disparage, lest you be removed, open your eyes, and be filled with bread. A double weight is an abomination to the Lord, and a dishonest pair of scales is no good thing in his sight.

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20:24 παρὰ ΚΥ εὐθύνεται τὰ διαβήματα ἀνδρί· θνητὸς δὲ πῶς ἂν νοήσαι τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ; 20:25 παγὶς ἀνδρὶ τάχυ τι τῶν ἰδίων ἁγιάσαι· μετὰ γὰρ τὸ εὔξασθαι μετανοεῖν γίνεται. 20:26 λικμήτωρ ἀσεβῶν βασιλεὺς σοφός καὶ ἐπιβαλεῖ αὐτοῖς τροχόν. 20:27 φῶς ΚΥ πνοὴ ἀνθρώπων, ὃς ἐραυνᾷ ταμιεῖα κοιλίας. 20:28 ἐλεημοσύνη καὶ ἀλήθεια φυλακὴ βασιλεῖ καὶ περικυκλώσουσιν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ. 20:29 κόσμος νεανίαις σοφία, δόξα δὲ πρεσβυτέρων πολιαί. 20:30 ὑπώπια καὶ συντρίμματα συναντᾷ κακοῖς, πληγαὶ δὲ εἰς ταμιεῖα κοιλίας.

ὥσπερ ὁρμὴ ὕδατος, οὕτως καρδία βασιλέως ἐν χειρὶ ΘΥ· οὗ ἐὰν θέλων νεύσαι, ἐκεῖ ἔκλινεν αὐτήν. 21:2 πᾶς ἀνὴρ φαίνεται ἑαυτῷ δίκαιος, κατευθύνει δὲ καρδίας ΚΣ. 21:3 ποιεῖν δίκαια καὶ ἀληθεύειν ἀρεστὰ παρὰ ΘΩ μᾶλλον ἢ θυσιῶν αἷμα. 21:4 μεγαλόφρων ἐφ’ ὕβρει θρασυκάρδιος, λαμπτὴρ δὲ ἀσεβῶν ἁμαρτία. 21:6 ὁ ἐνεργῶν θησαυρίσματα γλώσσῃ ψευδεῖ μάταια διώκει ἐπὶ παγίδας θανάτου. 21:7 ὄλεθρος ἀσεβέσιν ἐπιξενωθήσεται· οὐ γὰρ βούλονται πράσσειν τὰ δίκαια. 21:8 πρὸς τοὺς σκολιοὺς σκολιὰς ὁδοὺς ἀποστέλλει ὁ ΘΣ· ἁγνὰ γὰρ καὶ ὀρθὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ. 21:9 κρεῖσσον οἰκεῖν ἐπὶ γωνίας ὑπαίθρου ἢ ἐν κεκονιαμένοις μετὰ ἀδικίας καὶ ἐν οἴκῳ κοινῷ. 21:10 ψυχὴ ἀσεβοῦς οὐκ ἐλεηθήσεται ὑπ’ οὐδενὸς τῶν ἀνθρώπων. 21:11 ζημιουμένου ἀκολάστου πανουργότερος γίνεται ἄκακος, συνιὼν δὲ σοφὸς δέξεται γνῶσιν. 21:12 συνίει δίκαιος καρδίας ἀσεβῶν καὶ φαυλίζει ἀσεβεῖς ἐν κακοῖς. 21:1

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A man’s steps are made straight by the Lord, but how could a mortal understand his ways? It is a snare for a man quickly to consecrate something of his own, for after making a vow one can have second thoughts. A wise king is a winnower of the ungodly, and he will put a wheel on them. The breath of people is the light of the Lord, who searches the chambers of the belly. Mercy and truth are a guard for the king, and they will surround his throne with justice. Wisdom is an adornment for young men, and gray hair is the glory of the elderly. Shiners and bruises come upon the wicked, and blows to the chambers of the belly. Chapter 21

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Like the onrush of water, so is the king’s heart in God’s hand; wherever in his good pleasure he gives the nod, there he diverts it. Every man seems righteous to himself, but the Lord directs hearts. To do the right and to speak the truth are more pleasing in God’s eyes than the blood of sacrifices. A bold man is haughty in his pride, and the lantern of the ungodly is sin. He who makes a fortune with a lying tongue is pursuing illusions into the snares of death. Destruction will be a guest of the ungodly, for they refuse to do what is right. To the crooked God sends crooked ways, for pure and right are his works. Better to live on a corner in the open air than in plastered halls with unrighteousness, and in a shared home. The soul of an ungodly man will not be shown mercy by any person. When an incorrigible man is punished the bad one becomes shrewder, but a wise man, in the process of understanding, will receive knowledge. A righteous man understands the hearts of the ungodly, and he despises the ungodly in their wickedness.

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21:13 ὃς φράσσει τὰ ὦτα τοῦ μὴ ἐπακοῦσαι ἀσθενοῦς, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπικαλέσεται, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ὁ εἰσακούων. 21:14 δόσις λάθριος ἀνατρέπει ὀργάς, δώρων δὲ ὁ φειδόμενος θυμὸν ἐγείρει ἰσχυρόν. 21:15 εὐφροσύνη δικαίων ποιεῖ κρίμα, ὅσιος δὲ ἀκάθαρτος παρὰ κακούργοις. 21:16 ἀνὴρ πλανώμενος ἐξ ὁδοῦ δικαιοσύνης ἐν συναγωγῇ γιγάντων ἀναπαύσεται. 21:17 ἀνὴρ ἐνδεὴς ἀγαπᾷ εὐφροσύνην φιλῶν οἶνον καὶ ἔλαιον εἰς πλοῦτον· 21:18 περικάθαρμα δὲ δικαίου ἄνομος. 21:19 κρεῖσσον οἰκεῖν ἐν γῇ ἐρήμῳ ἢ μετὰ γυναικὸς γλωσσώδους καὶ μαχίμου καὶ ὀργίλου. 21:20 θησαυρὸς ἐπιθυμητὸς ἀναπαύσεται ἐπὶ στόματος σοφοῦ. ἄφρονες δὲ ἄνδρες καταπίονται αὐτόν. 21:21 ὁδὸς δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἐλεημοσύνης εὑρήσει ζωὴν καὶ δόξαν. 21:22 πόλεις ὀχυρὰς ἐπέβη σοφός, καὶ καθεῖλεν τὸ ὀχύρωμα, ἐφ’ ᾧ ἐπεποίθεισαν οἱ ἀσεβεῖς. 21:23 ὃς φυλάσσει τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν γλῶσσαν, διατηρεῖ ἐκ θλίψεως τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ. 21:24 θρασὺς καὶ αὐθάδης καὶ ἀλαζὼν λοιμὸς καλεῖται· ὃς δὲ μνησικακεῖ, παράνομος. 21:25 ἐπιθυμίαι ὀκνηρὸν ἀποκτείνουσιν· οὐ γὰρ προαιροῦνται αἱ χεῖρες αὐτοῦ ποιεῖν τι. 21:26 ἀσεβὴς ἐπιθυμεῖ ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ἐπιθυμίας κακάς, ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐλεᾷ καὶ οἰκτίρει ἀφειδῶς. 21:27 θυσίαι ἀσεβῶν βδέλυγμα ΚΩ· καὶ γὰρ παρανόμως προσφέρουσιν αὐτάς. 21:28 μάρτυς ψευδὴς ἀπολεῖται, ἀνὴρ δὲ ὑπήκοος φυλασσόμενος λαλήσει. 21:29 ἀσεβὴς ἀνὴρ ἀναιδῶς ὑφίσταται προσώπῳ, ὁ δὲ εὐθὴς αὐτὸς συνίει τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ. 21:30 οὐκ ἔστιν σοφία, οὐκ ἔστιν ἀνδρεία, οὐκ ἔστιν βουλὴ πρὸς τὸν ἀσεβῆ. 21:31 ἵππος ἑτοιμάζεται εἰς ἡμέραν πολέμου, παρὰ δὲ ΚΥ ἡ βοήθεια.

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He who stops his ears so as not to hear the weak will himself also make an appeal, and there will be no one to hear. A secret gift turns anger around, and he who is sparing with gifts arouses strong displeasure. The joy of the righteous does justice, but a holy man is unclean in the eyes of evildoers. A man who strays from the path of righteousness will find rest in the assembly of giants. A needy man loves a good time, being fond of wine and oil as his riches. A lawless man is the offscouring of a righteous one. Better to live in the wilderness than with a talkative, quarrelsome, and short-tempered wife. A desirable treasure will come to rest on the mouth of a wise man, but foolish men will devour it. The way of righteousness and mercy will find life and honor. A wise man attacks fortified cities, and destroys the fortress in which the ungodly had trusted. He who guards his mouth and tongue preserves his life from trouble. A rash, headstrong and boastful man is called a troublemaker, and one who nurses grievances a transgressor. Desires are the death of an idler, for his hands do not choose to do a thing. An ungodly man has wicked desires all day long, but a righteous one has mercy and compassion unstintingly. The sacrifices of the ungodly are an abomination to the Lord, for they offer them unlawfully. A false witness will perish, but an obedient man will speak, albeit guardedly. An ungodly man submits himself to a person without showing reverence, but an upright one understands his ways himself. There is no wisdom, there is no courage, there is no counsel against the ungodly man. A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but help is from the Lord.

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22:1 22:2 22:3

22:4 22:5 22:7 22:8 22:8a 22:9 22:9a 22:10 22:11

22:12 22:13 22:14 22:14a

22:15

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αἱρετώτερον ὄνομα καλὸν ἢ πλοῦτος πολύς, ὑπὲρ δὲ ἀργύριον καὶ χρυσίον χάρις ἀγαθή. πλούσιος καὶ πτωχὸς συνήντησαν ἀλλήλοις, ἀμφοτέρους δὲ ὁ ΚΣ ἐποίησεν. πανοῦργος ἰδὼν πονηρὸν τιμωρούμενον κραταιῶς αὐτὸς παιδεύεται, οἱ δὲ ἄφρονες παρελθόντες ἐζημιώθησαν. γενεὰ σοφίας φόβος ΚΥ καὶ πλοῦτος καὶ δόξα καὶ ζωή. τρίβολοι καὶ παγίδες ἐν ὁδοῖς σκολιαῖς, ὁ δὲ φυλάσσων τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν ἀφέξεται αὐτῶν. πλούσιοι πτωχῶν ἄρξουσιν, καὶ οἰκέται ἰδίοις δεσπόταις δανιοῦσιν. ὁ σπείρων φαῦλα θερίσει κακά, πληγὴν δὲ ἔργων αὐτοῦ συντελέσει. ἄνδρα ἱλαρὸν καὶ δότην εὐλογεῖ ὁ ΘΣ, ματαιότητα δὲ ἔργων αὐτοῦ συντελέσει. ὁ ἐλεῶν πτωχὸν αὐτὸς διατραφήσεται· τῶν γὰρ ἑαυτοῦ ἄρτων ἔδωκεν τῷ πτωχῷ. νίκην καὶ τιμὴν περιποιεῖται ὁ δῶρα δούς, τὴν μέντοι ψυχὴν ἀφαιρεῖται τῶν κεκτημένων. ἔκβαλε ἐκ συνεδρίου λοιμόν, καὶ συνεξελεύσεται αὐτῷ νεῖκος· ὅταν γὰρ καθίσῃ ἐν συνεδρίῳ, πάντας ἀτιμάζει. ἀγαπᾷ ΚΣ ὁσίας καρδίας, δεκτοὶ δὲ αὐτῷ πάντες ἄμωμοι· χείλεσιν ποιμαίνει βασιλεύς. οἱ δὲ ὀφθαλμοὶ ΚΥ διατηροῦσιν αἴσθησιν, φαυλίζει δὲ λόγους παράνομος. προφασίζεται καὶ λέγει ὀκνηρός Λέων ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς, ἐν δὲ ταῖς πλατείαις φονευταί. βόθρος βαθὺς στόμα παρανόμου, ὁ δὲ μισηθεὶς ὑπὸ ΚΥ ἐμπεσεῖται εἰς αὐτόν. εἰσὶν ὁδοὶ κακαὶ ἐνώπιον ἀνδρός, καὶ οὐκ ἀγαπᾷ τοῦ ἀποστρέψαι ἀπ’ αὐτῶν· ἀποστρέφειν δὲ δεῖ ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ σκολιᾶς καὶ κακῆς. ἄνοια ἐξῆπται καρδίας νέου, ῥάβδος δὲ καὶ παιδεία μακρὰν ἀπ’ αυτοῦ.

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Chapter 22 1

A good name is to be preferred over great riches, and good favor above silver and gold. 2 Rich and poor meet each other, but the Lord made them both. 3 The shrewd man, after seeing a malefactor severely punished, is himself instructed, but fools pass by and pay the price. 4 The offspring of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, as well as riches, honor, and life. 5 There are thistles and snares in crooked ways, but he who guards his own soul will stay clear of them. 7 The rich will rule over the poor, and servants will lend to their own masters. 8 He who sows bad seed will have a poor harvest, and will bring to completion the impact of his actions. 8a God blesses a cheerful and generous man, and will bring to an end the futility of his actions. 9 He who has compassion for a poor man will himself be provided for, for he has given of his own bread to the poor man. 9a He who gives gifts acquires victory and honor, yet he takes away the soul of those who have possessions. 10 Expel the troublemaker from the council, and strife will leave with him, for when he sits in the council he dishonors them all. 11 The Lord loves holy hearts, and all the blameless are pleasing to him. The king tends his flock with his lips. 12 And the eyes of the Lord preserve discernment, but the transgressor despises words. 13 The idler makes excuses, and says, “A lion on the roads!” and “Murderers in the streets!” 14 The mouth of a transgressor is a deep pit, and the one hated by the Lord will fall into it. 14a There are wicked ways in front of a man, and he does not like to turn away from them. But it is necessary for him to turn away from the crooked and wicked way. 15 Folly sticks fast to the heart of a youngster, but a rod and discipline are far from him.

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22:16 ὁ συκοφαντῶν πένητα πολλὰ ποιεῖ τὰ ἑαυτοῦ· δίδωσιν δὲ πλουσίῳ ἐπ’ ἐλάσσονι.

22:17 λόγοις σοφῶν παράβαλλε σὸν οὖς καὶ ἄκουε ἐμὸν λόγον, τὴν δὲ σὴν καρδίαν ἐπίστησον, ἵνα γνῷς ὅτι καλοί εἰσιν· 22:18 καὶ ἐὰν ἐμβάλῃς αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν καρδίαν σου, εὐφρανοῦσίν σε ἅμα ἐπὶ σοῖς χειλεσιν, 22:19 ἵνα σου γένηται ἐπὶ ΚΝ ἡ ἐλπὶς καὶ γνωρίσῃ σοι τὴν ὁδὸν σου. 22:20 καὶ σὺ δὲ ἀπόγραψαι αὐτὰ σεαυτῷ τρισσῶς εἰς βουλὴν καὶ γνῶσιν ἐπὶ τὸ πλάτος τῆς ψυχῆς σου. 22:21 διδάσκω οὖν σε ἀληθῆ λόγον καὶ γνῶσιν ἀγαθὴν ὑπακούειν τοῦ ἀποκρίνεσθαι λόγους ἀληθείας τοῖς προβαλλομένοις σοι. 22:22 μη ἀποβιάζου πένητα, πτωχὸς γάρ ἐστιν, καὶ μὴ ἀτιμάσῃς ἀσθενῆ ἐν πύλαις· 22:23 ὁ γὰρ ΚΣ κρινεῖ αὐτοῦ τὴν κρίσιν, καὶ ῥύσῃ σὴν ἄσυλον ψυχήν. 22:24 μὴ ἴσθι ἑταῖρος ἀνδρὶ θυμώδει, φίλῳ δὲ ὀργίλῳ μὴ συναυλίζου, 22:25 μήποτε μάθῃς τῶν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ λάβῃς βρόχους τῇ σῇ ψυχῇ. 22:26 μὴ δίδου σεαυτὸν εἰς ἐγγύην αἰσχυνόμενος πρόσωπον· 22:27 ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ ἔχῃ πόθεν ἀποτείσῃ λήμψονται τὸ στρῶμα τὸ ὑπὸ τὰς πλευράς σου. 22:28 μὴ μέταιρε ὅρια αἰώνια, ἃ ἔθεντο οἱ πατέρες σου. 22:29 ὁρατικὸν ἄνδρα καὶ ὀξὺν ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ βασιλεῦσι δεῖ παρεστάναι καὶ μὴ παρεστάναι ἀνδράσι νωθροῖς.

23:1

ἐὰν καθίσῃς δειπνεῖν ἐπὶ τραπέζης δυναστῶν, νοητῶς νόει τὰ παρατιθέμενά σοι [23:2] καὶ ἐπίβαλλε τὴν χεῖρά σου εἰδὼς ὅτι τοιαῦτά σε δεῖ παρασκευάσαι·

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The man who preys on the needy increases his own possessions, and he gives to the rich for less.

Section 3: “The Words of the Wise” (22:17–31:9) 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

Turn your ear to the words of the wise, and listen to my word, and apply your heart, so that you may know that these words are good. And if you put them into your heart they will gladden you on your lips as well, so that your hope may be in the Lord, and he may make your way known to you. And as for you, write them out for yourself three times on the surface of your soul, for counsel and knowledge. Therefore I am teaching you a true word, and knowledge good to hear, so that you may answer words of truth to those who challenge you. Do not assault a needy man, for he is poor, and do not dishonor a frail man in the gates. For the Lord will adjudicate his case, and you will rescue your soul intact. Do not be a comrade to a hot-tempered man, and do not associate with a short-tempered friend, lest you learn his ways, and ensnare your soul in his toils. Do not offer yourself as guarantor out of respect for a person, for if he does not have the wherewithal to repay, they will take the bed that is under your side. Do not move the age-old boundaries, which your forefathers established. A clear-eyed man, and keen in his work, must stand before kings, and not before listless men. Chapter 23

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If you sit down to dine at the table of rulers, attend attentively to the dishes set before you, (2) and stretch out your hand to them, knowing that you must prepare such things.

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εἰ δὲ ἀπληστότερος εἶ, μὴ ἐπιθύμει τῶν ἐδεσμάτων αὐτοῦ, ταῦτα γὰρ ἔχεται ζωῆς ψευδοῦς. μὴ παρεκτείνου πένης ὢν πλουσίῳ, τῇ δὲ σῇ ἐννοίᾳ ἀπόσχου· ἐὰν ἐπιστήσῃς τὸ σὸν ὄμμα πρὸς αὐτόν, οὐδαμοῦ πεσεῖται, κατεσκεύασται γὰρ αὐτῷ πτέρυγες ὥσπερ ἀετοῦ, καὶ ὑποστρέφει εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ προεστηκότος αὐτοῦ. μὴ συνδείπνει ἀνδρὶ βασκάνῳ μηδὲ ἐπιθύμει τῶν βρωμάτων αὐτοῦ· ὃν τρόπον γὰρ εἴ τις καταπίοι τρίχα, οὕτως ἐσθίει καὶ πίνει. μηδὲ πρὸς σὲ εἰσαγάγῃς αὐτὸν καὶ φάγῃς τὸν ψωμόν σου μετ’ αὐτοῦ ἐξεμέσει γὰρ αὐτὸν καὶ λυμανεῖται τοὺς λόγους σου τοὺς καλούς. εἰς ὦτα ἄφρονος μηδὲν λέγε, μήποτε μυκτηρίσῃ τοὺς συνετοὺς λόγους σου. μὴ μεταθῇς ὅρια αἰώνια, εἰς δὲ κτῆμα ὀρφανῶν μὴ εἰσέλθῃς· ὁ γὰρ λυτρούμενος αὐτοὺς ΚΣ κραταιός ἐστιν καὶ κρινεῖ τὴν κρίσιν αὐτῶν μετὰ σοῦ. δὸς εἰς παιδείαν τὴν καρδίαν σου, τὰ δὲ ὦτά σου ἑτοίμασον λόγοις αἰσθήσεως. μὴ ἀπόσχῃ νήπιον παιδεύειν, ὅτι ἐὰν πατάξῃς αὐτὸν ῥάβδῳ, οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ· σὺ μὲν γὰρ πατάξεις αὐτὸν ῥάβδῳ, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐκ θανάτου ῥύσῃ. υἱέ, ἐὰν σοφὴ γένηταί σου ἡ καρδία, εὐφρανεῖς καὶ τὴν ἐμὴν καρδίαν. καὶ ἐνδιατρίψει λόγοις τὰ σὰ χείλη πρὸς τὰ ἐμὰ χείλη, ἐὰν ὀρθὰ ὦσιν. μὴ ζηλώτου ἡ καρδία σου ἁμαρτωλούς, ἀλλὰ ἐν φόβῳ ΚΥ ἴσθι ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν· ἐὰν γὰρ τηρήσῃς αὐτά, ἔσται σοι ἔκγονα, ἡ δὲ ἐλπίς σου οὐκ ἀποστήσεται. ἄκουε, υἱέ, καὶ σοφὸς γένου καὶ κατεύθυνε ἐννοίας σῆς καρδίας· μὴ ἴσθι οἰνοπότης μηδὲ ἐκτείνου συμβολαῖς, κρεῶν ἀγορασμοῖς· πᾶς γὰρ μέθυσος καὶ πορνοκόπος πτωχεύσει, καὶ ἐνδύσεται διερρηγμένα καὶ ῥακώδη πᾶς ὑπνώδης.

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But if you are rather famished, do not covet the foods he eats, for these things are associated with a false life. If you are poor, do not compare yourself with a rich man, but restrain yourself in your thinking. If you fix your eye on him, he will in no way fall, for wings like those of an eagle have been made for him, and he returns to the house of his superior. Do not dine with a man who has the evil eye, nor covet his foods, for he eats and drinks the way someone does who gulps down a hair, and do not bring him into your home, and eat with him your piece of bread, for he will vomit it up, and ruin your fine words. Say nothing into a fool’s ears, lest he sneer at your intelligent words. Do not move the age-old boundaries; do not encroach on the property of orphans, for the Lord who redeems them is powerful, and he will adjudicate their case with you. Apply your heart to discipline, and prepare your ears for words of discernment. Do not refrain from disciplining a child, for if you beat him with a rod he will certainly not die; for it is you who will beat him with a rod, and you will rescue his soul from death. My son, if your heart becomes wise you will also gladden my heart. And your lips, provided they are honest, will be engaged in conversation with my lips. Not your zealot’s heart sinners [sic], but be in the fear of the Lord all day long. If you take care of them, you will have children, and your hope will not leave you. Listen, my son, and be wise, and steer the thoughts of your heart in the right direction. Don’t be a drunkard, nor linger at dinner parties, meat auctions, for every drunk and fornicator will be reduced to poverty, and every sleepyhead will be dressed in tatters and rags.

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23:22 ἄκουε, υἱέ, πατρὸς τοῦ γεννήσαντός σε καὶ μὴ καταφρόνει ὅτι γεγήρακέν σου ἡ μήτηρ. 23:24 καλῶς ἐκτρέφει πατὴρ δίκαιος, ἐπὶ δὲ υἱῷ σοφῷ εὐφραίνεται ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ· 23:25 εὐφραινέσθω ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ἡ μήτηρ ἐπὶ σοί, καὶ χαιρέτω ἡ τεκοῦσά σε. 23:26 δός μοι, υἱέ, σὴν καρδίαν, οἱ δὲ σοὶ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἐμὰς ὁδοὺς τηρείτωσαν· 23:27 πίθος γὰρ τετρημένος ἐστὶν ἀλλότριος οἶκος, κὰι φρέαρ στενὸν ἀλλότριον· 23:28 οὗτος γὰρ συντόμως ἀπολεῖται, καὶ πᾶς παράνομος ἀναλωθήσεται. 23:29 τίνι οὐαί; τίνι θόρυβος; τίνι κρίσις; τίνι δὲ ἀηδία καὶ λέσχαι; τίνι συντρίμματα διὰ κενῆς; τίνος πέλειοι οἱ ὀφθαλμοί; 23:30 οὐ τῶν ἐγχρονιζόντων ἐν οἴνοις; οὐ τῶν ἰχνευόντων ποῦ πότου γίνονται; 23:31 μὴ μεθύσκεσθε ἐν οἴνοις, ἀλλὰ ὁμιλεῖτε ἀνθρώποις δικαίοις καὶ ὁμιλεῖτε ἐν περιπάτοις· ἐὰν γὰρ εἰς τὰς φιάλας καὶ τὰ ποτήρια δῷς τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου, ὕστερον περιπατήσεις γυμνότερος ὑπέρου, 23:32 τὸ δὲ ἔσχατον ὥσπερ ὑπὸ ὄφεως πεπληγὼς ἐκτείνεται καὶ ὥσπερ ὑπὸ κεράστου διαχεῖται αὐτῷ ὁ ἰός. 23:33 οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου ὅταν ἴδωσιν ἀλλοτρίαν, τὸ στόμα σου τότε λαλήσει σκολιά, 23:34 καὶ κατακείσῃ ὥσπερ ἐν καρδίᾳ θαλάσσης καὶ ὥσπερ κυβερνήτης ἐν πολλῷ κλύδωνι· 23:35 ἐρεῖς δὲ Τύπτουσίν με, καὶ οὐκ ἐπόνεσα, καὶ ἐνέπαιξάν μοι, ἐγὼ δὲ οὐκ ᾔδειν· πότε ὄρθρος ἔσται, ἵνα ἐλθὼν ζητήσω μεθ’ ὧν συνελεύσομαι;

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υἱέ, μὴ ζηλώσῃς κακοὺς ἄνδρας μηδὲ ἐπιθυμήσῃς εἶναι μετ’ αὐτῶν· ψεύδη γὰρ μελετᾷ ἡ καρδία αὐτῶν, καὶ πόνους τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν λαλεῖ.

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Listen, my son, to the father who begot you, and do not show contempt because your mother has grown old. A righteous father provides a good upbringing, and his soul takes delight in a wise son. Let your father and your mother take delight in you, and let her be glad who bore you. My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways. For someone else’s house is a perforated wine jar, and someone else’s well is narrow. For this man will perish quickly, and every transgressor will be consumed. Who has woe? Who has trouble? Who has disputes? And who suffers from nausea and malicious gossip? Who has bruises for no reason? Whose eyes are black and blue? Is it not those who linger over wine, who seek out places where drinking happens? Do not be drunk with wine, but converse with righteous people, and converse with them in (philosophical) strolls. For if you fix your eyes on bowls and wine-cups you will walk around afterwards more naked than a pestle. But in the end he is stretched out as though struck by a snake, and venom is spread through him as though by a horned viper. When your eyes see another man’s wife, then your mouth will speak perversities. And you will lie sick as though in the midst of the sea, like a helmsman in a heavy swell. And you will say, “They hit me and I wasn’t hurt, and they mocked me but I had no idea. When will it be morning, so that I can go and look for companions to go with?” Chapter 24

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My son, do not emulate wicked men, and do not desire to be with them. For their hearts ponder falsehoods, and their lips speak of afflictions.

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μετὰ σοφίας οἰκοδομεῖται οἶκος καὶ μετὰ συνέσεως ἀνορθοῦται· μετὰ αἰσθήσεως ἐμπίμπλανται ταμιεῖα ἐκ παντὸς πλούτου τιμίου καὶ καλοῦ. κρείσσων σοφὸς ἰσχυροῦ καὶ ἀνὴρ φρόνησιν ἔχων γεωργίου μεγάλου· μετὰ κυβερνήσεως γίνεται πόλεμος, βοήθεια δὲ μετὰ καρδίας βουλευτικῆς. σοφία καὶ ἔννοια ἀγαθὴ ἐν πύλαις σοφῶν· σοφοὶ οὐκ ἐκκλίνουσιν ἐκ στόματος ΚΥ, ἀλλὰ λογίζονται ἐν συνεδρίοις. ἀπαιδεύτοις συναντᾷ θάνατος, ἀποθνῄσκει δὲ ἄφρων ἐν ἁμαρτίαις· ἀκαθαρσία δὲ ἀνδρὶ λοιμῷ ἐμμολυνθησεται ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κακῇ καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ θλίψεως, ἕως ἂν ἐκλίπῃ. ῥῦσαι ἀγομένους εἰς θάνατον καὶ ἐκπριοῦ κτεινομένους, μὴ φείσῃ· ἐὰν δὲ εἴπῃς Οὐκ οἶδα τοῦτον, γίνωσκε ὅτι ΚΣ καρδίας πάντων γινώσκει, καὶ ὁ πλάσας πνοὴν πᾶσιν αὐτὸς οἶδεν πάντα, ὃς ἀποδίδωσιν ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ. φάγε μέλι, υἱέ, ἀγαθὸν γὰρ κηρίον, ἵνα γλυκανθῇ σου ὁ φάρυγξ· οὕτως αἰσθηθήσῃ σοφίαν τῇ σῇ ψυχῇ· ἐὰν γὰρ εὕρῃς, ἔσται καλὴ ἡ τελευτή σου, καὶ ἐλπίς σε οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψει. μὴ προσαγαγῇς ἀσεβῆ νομὴν δικαίων μηδὲ ἀπατηθῇς χορτασίᾳ κοιλίας· ἑπτάκι γὰρ πεσεῖται δίκαιος καὶ ἀναστήσεται, οἱ δὲ ἀσεβεῖς ἀσθενήσουσιν ἐν κακοῖς. ἐὰν πέσῃ ὁ ἐχθρός σου, μὴ ἐπιχαρῇς αὐτῷ, ἐν δὲ τῷ ὑποσκελίσματι αὐτοῦ μὴ ἐπαίρου· ὅτι ὄψεται ΚΣ, καὶ οὐκ ἀρέσει αὐτῷ, καὶ ἀποστρέψει τὸν θυμὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ. μὴ χαῖρε ἐπὶ κακοποιοῖς μηδὲ ζήλου ἁμαρτωλούς· οὐ γὰρ μὴ γένηται ἔκγονα πονηρῷ, λαμπτὴρ δὲ ἀσεβῶν σβεσθήσεται.

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With wisdom a house is built, and with understanding it is erected. With discernment storerooms are filled from all precious and excellent riches. A wise man is better than a strong one, and a man with good sense than one with a large estate. War is conducted with leadership, and help with a councillor’s heart. Wisdom and good insight are in the gates of the wise. The wise do not turn away from the mouth of the Lord, but they are esteemed in councils. Death meets with the uninstructed, and a fool dies in his sins. But impurity will be (further) defiled by a troublemaker in the evil day, and in the day of affliction, until he passes away. Rescue those who are being led to their death, and ransom those who are being killed; don’t hold back. But if you say, “I do not know him,” be aware that the Lord knows the hearts of all, and he who formed breath for all, the one who rewards each one according to his deeds— he himself knows all things. My son, eat honey, for the honeycomb is good, so that your throat may be sweetened. In this way you will perceive wisdom with your soul, for if you find it your end will be good, and hope will not abandon you. Do not bring on the ungodly pasture of the righteous, and do not be deceived by the filling of your belly. For a righteous man will fall seven times and get up, but the ungodly will be powerless in their troubles. If your enemy falls do not gloat over him, do not exalt yourself over his downfall, because the Lord will see it, and he will be displeased, and will avert his anger from him. Do not rejoice over evildoers, or emulate sinners, for the evil man will surely have no offspring, and the lantern of the ungodly will be extinguished.

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24:21 φοβοῦ τὸν ΘΝ, υἱέ, καὶ βασιλέα καὶ μηθετέρῳ αὐτῶν ἀπειθήσῃς· 24:22 ἐξαίφνης γὰρ τείσονται τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς, τὰς δὲ τιμωρίας ἀμφοτέρων τίς γνώσεται; 24:22a λόγον φυλασσόμενος υἱὸς ἀπωλείας ἐκτὸς ἔσται, δεχόμενος δὲ ἐδέξατο αὐτόν. 24:22b μηδὲν ψεῦδος ἀπὸ γλώσσης βασιλεῖ λεγέσθω, καὶ οὐδὲν ψεῦδος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ γλώσσης μὴ ἐξέλθῃ. 24:22c μάχαιρα γλῶσσα βασιλέως καὶ οὐ σαρκίνη, ὃς δ’ ἂν παραδοθῇ, συντριβήσεται· 24:22d ἐὰν γὰρ ὀξυνθῇ ὁ θυμὸς αὐτοῦ, σὺν νεύροις ἀνθρώπους ἀναλίσκει 24:22e καὶ ὀστᾶ ἀνθρώπων κατατρώγει καὶ συγκαίει ὥσπερ φλόξ ὥστε ἄβρωτα εἶναι νεοσσοῖς ἀετῶν.

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τοὺς ἐμοὺς λόγους, υἱέ, φοβήθητι καὶ δεξάμενος αὐτοὺς μετανόει· τάδε λέγει ὁ ἀνὴρ τοῖς πιστεύουσιν ΘΩ, καὶ παύομαι· ἀφρονέστατος γάρ εἰμι πάντων ἀνθρώπων, καὶ φρόνησις ἀνθρώπων οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἐμοί. ΘΣ δεδίδαχέν με σοφίαν, καὶ γνῶσιν ἁγίων ἔγνωκα. τίς ἀνέβη εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ κατέβη; τίς συνήγαγεν ἀνέμους ἐν κόλπῳ; τίς συνέστρεψεν ὕδωρ ἐν ἱματίῳ; τίς ἐκράτησεν τῶν ἄκρων τῆς γῆς; τί ὄνομα αὐτῷ, ἢ τί ὄνομα τοῖς τέκνοις αὐτοῦ; πάντες γὰρ λόγοι ΘΥ πεπυρωμένοι, ὑπερασπίζει δὲ αὐτὸς τῶν εὐλαβουμένων αὐτόν. μὴ προσθῇς τοῖς λόγοις αὐτοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἐλέγξῃ σε καὶ ψευδὴς γένῃ. δύο αἰτοῦμαι παρὰ σοῦ, μὴ ἀφέλῃς μου χάριν πρὸ τοῦ ἀποθανεῖν με· μάταιον λόγον καὶ ψευδῆ μακράν μου ποίησον, πλοῦτον δὲ καὶ πενίαν μή μοι δῷς, σύνταξον δέ μοι τὰ δέοντα καὶ τὰ αὐτάρκη,

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My son, fear God and the king, and do not disobey either one of them, for they will suddenly punish the ungodly, and who will know the penalty imposed by either one? A son who keeps the word will be immune from destruction, and he has received the word while receiving it. Let no falsehood be spoken from tongue to king, and let no falsehood of his proceed from the tongue. The king’s tongue is a sword, and not of flesh, and whoever is handed over will be destroyed, for if his anger is provoked it destroys men by means of sinews, and it eats up men’s bones and burns them like a flame, so that they are inedible to the young of eagles. Chapter 30

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My son, hold my words in awe, and repent when you have received them. This is what the man says to those who believe in God, and I stop, for I am the most foolish of all men, and the good sense of men is not in me. God has taught me wisdom, and I have come to know the knowledge of the holy. Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the winds in the fold of his robe? Who has wrapped up water in a garment? Who has taken control of the ends of the earth? What is his name, or what is the name of his children? For all the words of God are refined by fire, and he himself shields those who revere him. Do not add to his words, lest he admonish you, and you prove untrue. Two things I ask of you: do not deprive me of your favor before I die. Remove far from me empty talk and lies, and do not give me wealth and poverty, but ordain for me what is necessary and sufficient,

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ἵνα μὴ πλησθεὶς ψευδὴς γένωμαι καὶ εἴπω Τίς με ὁρᾷ; ἢ πενηθεὶς κλέψω καὶ ὀμόσω τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ ΘΥ. μὴ παραδῷς οἰκέτην εἰς χεῖρας δεσπότου, μήποτε καταράσηταί σε καὶ ἀφανισθῇς. ἔκγονον κακὸν πατέρα καταρᾶται, τὴν δὲ μητέρα οὐκ εὐλογεῖ· ἔκγονον κακὸν δίκαιον ἑαυτὸν κρίνει, τὴν δὲ ἔξοδον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀπένιψεν· ἔκγονον κακὸν ὑψηλοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχει, τοῖς δὲ βλεφάροις αὐτοῦ ἐπαίρεται· ἔκγονον κακὸν μαχαίρας τοὺς ὀδόντας ἔχει καὶ τὰς μύλας τομίδας, ὥστε ἀναλίσκειν καὶ κατεσθίειν τοὺς ταπεινοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ τοὺς πένητας αὐτῶν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων.

24:23 ταῦτα δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν τοῖς σοφοῖς ἐπιγινώσκειν· αἰδεῖσθαι πρόσωπον ἐν κρίσει οὐ καλόν· 24:24 ὁ εἰπὼν τὸν ἀσεβῆ Δίκαιός ἐστιν, ἐπικατάρατος λαοῖς ἔσται καὶ μισητὸς εἰς ἔθνη· 24:25 οἱ δὲ ἐλέγχοντες βελτίους φανοῦνται, ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς δὲ ἥξει εὐλογία· 24:26 χείλη δὲ φιλήσουσιν ἀποκρινόμενα λόγους ἀγαθούς. 24:27 ἑτοίμαζε εἰς τὴν ἔξοδον τὰ ἔργα σου καὶ παρασκευάζου εἰς τὸν ἀγρόν καὶ πορεύου κατόπισθέν μου καὶ ἀνοικοδομήσεις τὸν οἶκόν σου. 24:28 μὴ ἴσθι ψευδὴς μάρτυς ἐπὶ σὸν πολίτην μηδὲ πλατύνου σοῖς χείλεσιν· 24:29 μὴ εἴπῃς Ὃν τρόπον ἐχρήσατό μοι χρήσομαι αὐτῷ, τείσομαι δὲ αὐτὸν ἅ με ἠδίκησεν. 24:30 ὥσπερ γεώργιον ἀνὴρ ἄφρων, καὶ ὥσπερ ἀμπελὼν ἄνθρωπος ἐνδεὴς φρενῶν· 24:31 ἐὰν ἀφῇς αὐτόν, χερσωθήσεται καὶ χορτομανήσει ὅλος καὶ γίνεται ἐκλελειμμένος, οἱ δὲ φραγμοὶ τῶν λίθων αὐτοῦ κατασκάπτονται. 24:32 ὕστερον ἐγὼ μετενόησα, ἀπέβλεψα τοῦ ἐκλέξασθαι παιδείαν.

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lest, being full, I should prove untrue, and say, “Who sees me?” or, being poor, I should steal and swear by God’s name. Do not deliver a servant into the hands of his master, lest he curse you and you be destroyed. A wicked child curses his father, and does not bless his mother. A wicked child judges himself righteous, but does not wash clean his exit. A wicked child has haughty eyes, and exalts himself with his eyelids. A wicked child has swords for teeth and knives for molars, so that he kills and devours the lowly from the earth, and the needy from humanity itself. Chapter 24

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But I am telling you, the wise, to know these things: it is not good to stand in awe of a person in passing judgment. He who says of an ungodly man, “He is righteous,” will be accursed to the peoples and hateful to the nations. But those who admonish him will manifestly be better, and a blessing will come on them. And they will kiss the lips that answer good words. Prepare your tasks for going out, and get ready for the field. And follow me, and you will rebuild your house. Do not be a false witness against your fellow citizen, and do not be expansive with your lips. Do not say, “I will treat him the way he treated me, and I will pay him back for the wrongs he did to me.” A foolish man is like a farmer’s field, and someone devoid of sense is like a vineyard. If you leave it alone it will become unproductive, and all covered with weeds, and it becomes derelict, and its stone fences are razed to the ground. Later I had second thoughts, and focused on choosing instruction.

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24:33 ὀλίγον νυστάζω, ὀλίγον δὲ καθυπνῶ, ὀλίγον δὲ ἐναγκαλίζομαι χερσὶν στήθη· 24:34 ἐὰν δὲ τοῦτο ποιῇς, ἥξει προπορευομένη ἡ πενία σου καὶ ἡ ἔνδειά σου ὥσπερ ἀγαθὸς δρομεύς.

30:15 τῇ βδέλλῃ τρεῖς θυγατέρες ἦσαν άγαπήσει ἀγαπώμεναι, καὶ αἱ τρεῖς αὗται οὐκ ἐνεπίμπλασαν αὐτήν, καὶ ἡ τετάρτη οὐκ ἠρκέσθη εἰπεῖν Ἱκανόν· 30:16 ᾅδης καὶ ἔρως γυναικὸς καὶ τάρταρος καὶ γῆ οὐκ ἐμπιπλαμένη ὕδατος καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ πῦρ οὐ μὴ εἴπωσιν Ἀρκεῖ. 30:17 ὀφθαλμὸν καταγελῶντα πατρὸς καὶ ἀτιμάζοντα γῆρας μητρός, ἐκκόψεσαν αὐτὸν κόρακες ἐκ τῶν φαράγγων, καὶ καταφάγοισαν αὐτὸ[ν] νεοσσοὶ ἀετῶν. 30:18 τρία δὲ ἐστιν ἀδύνατά μοι νοῆσαι, καὶ τὸ τέταρτον οὐκ ἐπιγινώσκω· 30:19 ἴχνη άετοῦ πετομένου καὶ ὁδοὺς ὄφεως ἐπὶ πέτρας καὶ τρίβους νηὸς ποντοπορούσης καὶ ὁδοὺς ἀνδρὸς ἐν νεότητι. 30:20 τοιαύτη ὁδὸς γυναικὸς μοιχαλίδος, ἥ, ὅταν πράξῃ, ἀπονιψαμένη οὐδέν φησιν πεπραχέναι ἄτοπον. 30:21 διὰ τριῶν σείεται ἡ γῆ, τὸ δὲ τέταρτον οὐ δύναται φέρειν· 30:22 ἐὰν οἰκέτης βασιλεύσῃ, καὶ ἄφρων πλησθῇ σιτίων, 30:23 καὶ οἰκέτις ἐὰν ἐκβάλῃ τὴν ἑαυτῆς κυρίαν, καὶ μισητὴ γυνὴ ἐὰν τύχῃ ἀνδρὸς ἀγαθοῦ. 30:24 τέσσαρα δὲ ἐλάχιστα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ταῦτα δέ ἐστιν σοφώτερα τῶν σοφῶν· 30:25 οἱ μύρμηκες, οἷς μὴ ἔστιν ἰσχύς καὶ ἑτοιμάζονται θέρους τὴν τροφήν. 30:26 καὶ οἱ χοιρογρύλλιοι, ἔθνος οὐκ ἰσχυρόν, οἳ ἐποιήσαντο ἐν πέτραις τοὺς ἑαυτῶν οἴκους. 30:27 ἀβασίλευτόν ἐστιν ἡ ἀκρὶς καὶ στρατεύει ἀφ’ ἑνὸς κελεύσματος εὐτάκτως·

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I doze a little, I sleep a little, I hug my chest with my arms a little. But if you do this, your poverty will arrive ahead of its time, as will your penury, like a good runner. Chapter 30

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The leech had three daughters, beloved with love. But these three did not satisfy it, and the fourth was not content to say, “Enough.” Hades and the love of a woman, and Tartarus, and land not flooded with water, as well as water and fire, will never say, “It is enough.” The eye that mocks a father and dishonors a mother’s old age— may the ravens from the ravines gouge it out, and may the young of eagles devour it. There are three things impossible for me to understand, and the fourth I have no knowledge of: the tracks of an eagle on the wing, the ways of a snake on a rock, the paths of a seagoing ship, and the ways of a man in his youth. Such is the way of an adulterous woman, who, when she has done the deed, washes herself, and says she has done nothing wrong. By three things the earth is shaken, and the fourth it cannot bear: if a servant becomes king, a fool is filled with food, and if a maidservant throws out her own mistress, and if a hateful woman acquires a good man. And four very small things are on the earth, but these are wiser than the wise: the ants, who have no strength, but prepare provisions for themselves in summer, and the pig-grunters, a nation without strength, who make their homes in the rocks. The locust is a kingless creature, and marches in good order at a single command.

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30:28 καὶ καλαβώτης χερσὶν ἐρειδόμενος καὶ εὐάλωτος ὦν κατοικεῖ ἐν ὀχυρώμασιν βασιλέων. 30:29 τρία δέ ἐστιν, ἃ εὐόδως πορεύεται, καὶ τέταρτον, ὃ καλῶς διαβαίνει· 30:30 σκύμνος λέοντος ἰσχυρότερος κτηνῶν, ὃς οὐκ ἀποστρέφεται οὐδὲ καταπτήσσει κτῆνος, 30:31 καὶ ἀλέκτωρ ἐμπεριπατῶν θηλείαις εὔψυχος καὶ τράγος ἡγούμενος αἰπολίου καὶ βασιλεὺς δημηγορῶν ἐν ἔθνει. 30:32 ἐὰν πρόῃ σεαυτὸν ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ καὶ ἐκτείνῃς τὴν χεῖρά σου μετὰ μάχης, ἀτιμασθήσῃ. 30:33 ἄμελγε γάλα, καὶ ἔσται βούτυρον· ἐὰν δὲ ἐκπιέζῃς μυκτῆρας, ἐξελεύσεται αἷμα· ἐὰν δὲ ἐξέλκῃς λόγους, ἐξελεύσονται κρίσεις καὶ μάχαι.

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οἱ ἐμοὶ λόγοι εἴρηνται ὑπὸ ΘΥ, βασιλέως χρηματισμός, ὃν ἐπαίδευσεν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ. τί, τέκνον, τηρήσεις; τί; ῥήσεις ΘΥ· πρωτογενές, σοὶ λέγω, υἱέ· τί, τέκνον ἐμῆς κοιλίας; τί, τέκνον ἐμῶν εὐχῶν; μὴ δῷς γυναιξὶ σὸν πλοῦτον καὶ τὸν σὸν νοῦν καὶ βίον εἰς ὑστεροβουλίαν. μετὰ βουλῆς πάντα ποίει, μετὰ βουλῆς οἰνοπότει· οἱ δυνάσται θυμώδεις εἰσίν, οἶνον δὲ μὴ πινέτωσαν, ἵνα μὴ πίοντες ἐπιλάθωνται τῆς σοφίας καὶ ὀρθὰ κρῖναι οὐ μὴ δύνωνται τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς. δίδοτε μέθην τοῖς ἐν λύπαις καὶ οἶνον πίνειν τοῖς ἐν ὀδύναις, ἵνα ἐπιλάθωνται τῆς πενίας καὶ τῶν πόνων μὴ μνησθῶσιν ἔτι. ἄνοιγε σον στόμα λόγῳ ΘΥ καὶ κρῖνε πάντας ὑγιῶς· ἄνοιγε σὸν στόμα καὶ κρῖνε δικαίως, διάκρινε δὲ πένητα καὶ ἀσθενῆ.

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And the gecko, which relies on its feet and is easily taken, dwells in the fortresses of kings. And there are three things which move easily and a fourth which strides along nobly: a lion’s whelp, stronger than one’s livestock, which does not avoid or fear an animal from the herd; and a rooster strutting undaunted among the hens, and a billy-goat leading the herd, and a king giving a speech before his people. If you abandon yourself to merrymaking, and stretch out your hand with hostility, you will be disgraced. Press out milk and there will be butter, but if you squeeze nostrils, blood will come out, and if you elicit words, disputes and fights will emerge. Chapter 31

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My words have been spoken by God— the oracle of a king, which his mother taught him. What will you keep, my son? What? The utterances of God. I speak to you, my firstborn son. What, son of my womb? What, son of my prayers? Do not give your wealth to women, as well as your mind and life—only to regret it in the end. Do all things with discretion; drink wine with discretion. Rulers are hot-tempered, and they had better not drink wine, lest they drink and forget wisdom, and be quite unable to make right rulings for the powerless. Give the wretched beer, and the suffering wine to drink, so that they may forget their poverty, and remember their troubles no more. Open your mouth with the word of God, and pass sound judgments on all. Open your mouth and pass just judgments, give justice to the needy and powerless.

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25:1 25:2 25:3 25:4 25:5 25:6 25:7

25:8

25:9 25:10

25:10a

25:11 25:12 25:13

25:14 25:15

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αὗται αἱ παιδεῖαι Σαλωμῶντος αἱ ἀδιάκριτοι, ἃς ἐξεγράψαντο οἱ φίλοι Ἐζεκίου τοῦ βασιλέως τῆς Ἰουδαίας. δόξα ΘΥ κρύπτει λόγον, δόξα δὲ βασιλέως τιμᾷ πράγματα. οὐρανὸς ὑψηλός, γῆ δὲ βαθεῖα, καρδία δὲ βασιλέως ἀνεξέλεγκτος. τύπτε ἀδόκιμον ἀργύριον, καὶ καθαρισθήσεται καθαρὸν ἅπαν· κτεῖνε ἀσεβεῖς ἐκ προσώπου βασιλέως, καὶ κατορθώσει ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ ὁ θρόνος αὐτοῦ. μὴ ἀλαζονεύου ἐνώπιον βασιλέως μηδὲ ἐν τόποις δυναστῶν ὑφίστασο· κρεῖσσον γάρ σοι τὸ ῥηθῆναι Ἀνάβαινε πρός με, ἢ ταπεινῶσαί σε ἐν προσώπῳ δυνάστου. ἃ εἶδον οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου, λέγε. μὴ πρόσπιπτε εἰς μάχην ταχέως, ἵνα μὴ μεταμεληθῇς ἐπ’ ἐσχάτῳ. ἡνίκα ἄν σε ὀνειδίσῃ ὁ σὸς φίλος, ἀναχώρει εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω, μὴ καταφρόνει, μή σε ὀνειδίσῃ μὲν ὁ φίλος, ἡ δὲ μάχη σου καὶ ἡ ἔχθρα οὐκ ἀπέσται, ἀλλ’ ἔσται σοι ἴση θανάτῳ. χάρις καὶ φιλία ἐλευθεροῖ, ἃς τήρησον σεαυτῷ, ἵνα μὴ ἐπονείδιστος γένῃ, ἀλλὰ φύλαξον τὰς ὁδούς σου εὐσυναλλάκτως. μῆλον χρυσοῦν ἐν ὁρμίσκῳ σαρδίου, οὕτως εἰπεῖν λόγον. εἰς ἐνώτιον χρυσοῦν καὶ σάρδιον πολυτελὲς δέδεται, λόγος σοφὸς εἰς εὐήκοον οὖς. ὥσπερ ἔξοδος ἐν ἀμήτῳ κατὰ καῦμα ὠφελεῖ, οὕτως ἄγγελος πιστὸς τοὺς ἀποστείλαντας αὐτόν· ψυχὰς γὰρ τῶν αὐτῷ χρωμένων ὠφελεῖ. ὥσπερ ἄνεμοι καὶ νέφη καὶ ὑετοὶ ἐπιφανέστατα οὕτως ὁ καυχώμενος ἐπὶ δόσει ψευδεῖ. ἐν μακροθυμίᾳ εὐοδία βασιλεῦσιν, γλῶσσα δὲ μαλακὴ συντρίβει ὀστᾶ.

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Section 4: “The Unseparated Words of the Wise” (25:1–29:27) Chapter 25 1

These are the unseparated teachings of Solomon, which the friends of Hezekiah, king of Judea, copied out. 2 The glory of God conceals a word, but the glory of a king honors things. 3 Heaven is high, and the earth is deep, and the heart of the king is above criticism. 4 Strike substandard silver, and it will be made pure in its entirety. 5 Kill the ungodly from out of the king’s sight, and with justice his throne will fare well. 6 Do not boast in front of the king, and make no promises in the halls of the mighty. 7 For it is better for you that it should be said, “Come up to me,” than that someone should humiliate you in front of the mighty one. Say what your eyes have seen. 8 Do not be quick to plunge into a fight, lest you regret it in the end. Whenever your friend insults you, 9 take a step backwards. Do not despise him. 10 Your friend should not insult you, but your fight and hostility should not be absent. Instead, it will be like death to you. 10a Grace and love give freedom: keep these for yourself, so that you may be free of reproach, but guard your ways through effective negotiation. 11 A golden apple in a necklace of carnelian gemstones: that’s what it’s like to speak a word. 12 A costly carnelian gemstone is also attached to a golden ear-ring: a wise word to a receptive ear. 13 Just as an exodus at harvest time brings benefit in the heat, so does a reliable messenger benefit his senders, for he benefits the souls of his employers. 14 Just as winds, clouds and rain are very obvious things, so is he who boasts of a phony donation. 15 Success for kings lies in patience, and a soft tongue breaks bones.

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25:16 μέλι εὑρὼν φάγε τὸ ἱκανόν, μήποτε πλησθεὶς ἐξεμέσῃς. 25:17 σπάνιον εἴσαγε σὸν πόδα πρὸς σεαυτοῦ φίλον, μήποτε πλησθείς σου μισήσῃ σε. 25:18 ῥόπαλον καὶ μάχαιρα καὶ τόξευμα ἀκιδωτόν, οὕτως καὶ ἀνὴρ ὁ καταμαρτυρῶν τοῦ φίλου αὐτοῦ μαρτυρίαν ψευδῆ. 25:19 ὁδὸς κακοῦ καὶ ποὺς παρανόμου ὀλεῖται ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κακῇ. 25:20 ὥσπερ ὄξος ἕλκει ἀσύμφορον, οὕτως προσπεσὸν πάθος ἐν σώματι καρδίαν λυπεῖ. 25:20a ὥσπερ σὴς ἐν ἱματίῳ καὶ σκώληξ ξύλῳ, οὕτως λύπη ἀνδρὸς βλάπτει καρδίαν. 25:21 ἐὰν πεινᾷ ὁ ἐχθρός σου, ψώμιζε αὐτόν, ἐὰν διψᾷ, πότιζε αὐτόν· 25:22 τοῦτο γὰρ ποιῶν ἄνθρακας πυρὸς σωρεύσεις ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ, ὁ δὲ ΚΣ ἀνταποδώσει σοι ἀγαθά. 25:23 ἄνεμος βορέας ἐξεγείρει νέφη, πρόσωπον δὲ ἀναιδὲς γλῶσσαν ἐρεθίζει. 25:24 κρεῖττον οἰκεῖν ἐπὶ γωνίας δώματος ἢ μετὰ γυναικὸς λοιδόρου ἐν οἰκίᾳ κοινῇ. 25:25 ὥσπερ ὕδωρ ψυχρὸν ψυχῇ διψώσῃ προσηνές, οὕτως ἀγγελία ἀγαθὴ ἐκ γῆς μακρόθεν. 25:26 ὥσπερ εἴ τις πηγὴν φράσσοι καὶ ὕδατος ἔξοδον λυμαίνοιτο, οὕτως ἄκοσμον δίκαιον πεπτωκέναι ἐνώπιον ἀσεβοῦς. 25:27 ἐσθίειν μέλι πολὺ οὐ καλόν, τιμᾶν δὲ χρὴ λόγους ἐνδόξους. 25:28 ὥσπερ πόλις τὰ τείχη καταβεβλημένη καὶ ἀτείχιστος, οὕτως ἀνὴρ ὃς οὐ μετὰ βουλῆς τι πράσσει.

26:1 26:2 26:3 26:4

ὥσπερ δρόσος ἐν άμήτῳ καὶ ὥσπερ ὑετὸς ἐν θέρει, οὕτως οὐκ ἔστιν ἄφρονι τιμή. ὥσπερ ὄρνεα πέταται καὶ στρουθοί, οὕτως ἀρὰ ματαία οὐκ ἐπελεύσεται οὐδενί. ὥσπερ μάστιξ ἵππῳ καὶ κέντρον ὄνῳ, οὕτως ῥάβδος ἔθνει παρανόμῳ. μὴ ἀποκρίνου ἄφρονι πρὸς τὴν ἐκείνου ἀφροσύνην, ἵνα μὴ ὅμοιος γένῃ αὐτῷ·

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When you have found honey, eat what suffices, lest you eat your fill and throw it up. 17 Rarely set foot in your friend’s house, lest he get his fill of you and hate you. 18 A club, a sword, and a pointed arrow, so also is the man who gives false testimony against his friend. 19 The way of the scoundrel and the foot of the transgressor will perish on the evil day. 20 Just as vinegar draws up what is harmful, so an aggressive affliction in the body pains the heart. 20a Like a moth in a garment and a worm for wood, so a man’s grief hurts his heart. 21 If your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him to drink, 22 for by so doing you will heap coal-fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you with good things. 23 The north wind raises up clouds, and an impudent face provokes the tongue. 24 It is better to live in the corner of a rooftop than with a scolding wife in a shared house. 25 Just as cold water is refreshing to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far-off land. 26 As in the case of someone stopping up a spring and ruining the outflow of water, so it is not right for a righteous man to lie prostrate before an ungodly one. 27 It is not good to eat a great deal of honey, but one ought to honor splendid words. 28 Like a city with its walls razed, or with no walls at all, so is a man who does anything without discretion. Chapter 26 1 2 3 4

Like dew in harvest time and like rain in summer, so there is no honor for a fool. Just as birds and sparrows take wing, so a baseless curse will not alight on anyone. Like a whip for the horse and a goad for the donkey, so is a rod for the lawless nation. Do not answer a fool in response to his folly, lest you become like him.

108 26:5 26:6 26:7 26:8 26:9 26:10 26:11 26:11a 26:12 26:13 26:14 26:15 26:16 26:17 26:18 26:19 26:20 26:21 26:22

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ἀλλὰ ἀποκρίνου ἄφρονι κατὰ τὴν ἀφροσύνην αὐτοῦ, ἵνα μὴ φαίνηται σοφὸς παρ’ ἑαυτῷ. ἐκ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ὁδῶν ὄνειδος ποιεῖται ὁ ἀποστείλας δι’ ἀγγέλου ἄφρονος λόγον. ἀφελοῦ πορείαν σκελῶν καὶ παρανομίαν ἐκ στόματος ἀφρόνων. ὃς ἀποδεσμεύει λίθον ἐν σφενδόνῃ, ὅμοιός ἐστιν τῷ διδόντι ἄφρονι δόξαν. ἄκανθαι φύονται ἐν χειρὶ μεθύσου, δουλεία δὲ ἐν χειρὶ τῶν ἀφρόνων. πολλὰ χειμάζεται πᾶσα σάρξ ἀφρόνων· συντρίβεται γὰρ ἡ ἔστασις αὐτῶν. ὥσπερ κύων ὅταν ἐπέλθῃ ἐπὶ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ ἔμετον καὶ μισητὸς γένηται, οὕτως ἄφρων τῇ ἑαυτοῦ κακίᾳ ἀναστρέψας ἐπὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἁμαρτίαν. ἔστιν αἰσχύνη ἐπάγουσα ἁμαρτίαν, καὶ ἔστιν αἰσχύνη δόξα καὶ χάρις. εἶδον ἄνδρα δόξαντα παρ’ ἑαυτῷ σοφὸν εἶναι, ἐλπίδα μέντοι ἔσχεν μᾶλλον ἄφρων αὐτοῦ. λέγει ὀκνηρὸς ἀποστελλόμενος εἰς ὁδόν Λέων ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς, ἐν δὲ ταῖς πλατείαις φονευταί. ὥσπερ θύρα στρέφεται ἐπὶ τοῦ στρόφιγγος, οὕτως ὀκνηρὸς ἐπὶ τῆς κλίνης αὐτοῦ. κρύψας ὀκνηρὸς τὴν χεῖρα ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ αὐτοῦ οὐ δυνήσεται ἐπενεγκεῖν ἐπὶ στόμα. σοφώτερος ἑαυτῷ ὀκνηρὸς φαίνεται τοῦ ἐν πλησμονῇ ἀποκομίζοντος ἀγγελίαν. ὥσπερ ὁ κρατῶν κέρκου κυνός, οὕτως ὁ προεστὼς ἀλλοτρίας κρίσεως. ὥσπερ οἱ ἰώμενοι προβάλλουσι λόγους εἰς ἀνθρώπους, ὁ δὲ ἀπαντήσας τῷ λόγῳ πρῶτος ὑποσκελισθήσεται. οὕτω πάντες οἱ ἐνεδρεύοντες τοὺς ἑαυτῶν φίλους, ὅταν δὲ ὁραθῶσιν, λέγουσιν ὅτι Παίζων ἔπραξα. ἐν πολλοῖς ξύλοις θάλλει πῦρ, ὅπου δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν δίθυμος, ἡσυχάζει μάχη. ἐσχάρα ἄνθραξιν καὶ ξύλα πυρί, ἀνὴρ δὲ λοίδορος εἰς ταραχὴν μάχης. λόγοι κερκώπων μαλακοί, οὗτοι δὲ τύπτουσιν εἰς ταμιεῖα σπλάγχνων.

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5

But do answer a fool in accordance with his folly, lest he appear wise in his own eyes. 6 He who sends word through a foolish messenger finds fault out of his own ways. 7 Take away walking from legs, and transgression from the mouth of fools. 8 The person who ties up a stone in a sling is like one who gives honor to a fool. 9 Thorns grow by the hand of a drunkard, and slavery by the hand of fools. 10 Everyone of the fools is severely battered, for their illusion is shattered. 11 Like a dog when it goes to its own vomit and becomes disgusting, so is a fool who by his own wickedness returns to his own sin. 11a Shame is bringing on sin, and shame is glory and grace. 12 I have seen a man who seemed to himself to be wise, yet a fool has a better hope than he. 13 The lazy person, as he is being sent on the road, says, “A lion on the roads!” and “Murderers in the streets!” 14 As a door turns on its pivot, so does the lazy person on his bed. 15 The lazy person, having hidden his hand in his clothes, will not be able to bring it to his mouth. 16 A lazy person seems wiser to himself than the one who brings back a message in fullness. 17 Like one who seizes a dog by the tail, so is he who champions another’s dispute. 18 Just as those who heal utter words to people, and the one who has encountered the word will be tripped up first, 19 so are all who plot against their own friends, but when they are observed say, “Just kidding!” 20 With an abundance of wood a fire thrives, and where there is no hothead, conflict dies down. 21 A fireplace is for coals and wood for fire, but a verbally abusive man makes for the stirring up of conflict. 22 The words of cunning rogues are soft, but they strike to the inmost recesses of the heart.

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26:23 ἀργύριον διδόμενον μετὰ δόλου ὥσπερ ὄστρακον ἡγητέον. χείλη λεῖα καρδίαν καλύπτει λυπηράν. 26:24 χείλεσιν πάντα ἐπινεύει ἀποκλαιόμενος ἐχθρούς, ἐν δὲ τῇ καρδίᾳ τεκταίνεται λόγους. 26:25 ἐάν σου δέηται ὁ ἐχθρὸς μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ, μὴ πεισθῇς· ἑπτὰ γὰρ πονηρίαι ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτοῦ. 26:26 ὁ κρύπτων ἔχθραν συνίστησιν δόλον, ἐνκαλύπτει δὲ τὰς ἑαυτοῦ ἁμαρτίας εὔγνωστος ἐν συνεδρίοις. 26:27 ὁ ὀρύσσων βόθρον τῷ πλησίον ἐμπεσεῖται εἰς αὐτόν. ὁ δὲ κυλίων λίθον ἐφ’ ἑαυτὸν κυλίει. 26:28 γλῶσσα ψευδὴς μισεῖ ἀλήθειαν, στόμα δὲ ἄστεγον ποιεῖ ἀκαταστασίας.

μη καυχῶ τὰ εἰς αὔριον· οὐ γὰρ γινώσκεις τί τέξεται ἡ ἐπιοῦσα. 27:2 ἐγκωμιαζέτω σε ὁ πέλας καὶ μὴ τὸ σὸν στόμα, ἀλλότριος καὶ μὴ τὰ σὰ χείλη. 27:3 βαρὺ λίθος καὶ δυσβάστακτον ἄμμος, ὀργὴ δὲ ἄφρονος βαρυτέρα ἀμφοτέρων. 27:4 ἀνελεήμων θυμὸς καὶ ὀξεῖα ὀργή, ἀλλ’ οὐδένα ὑφίσταται ζῆλος. 27:5 κρείσσους ἔλεγχοι ἀποκεκαλυμμένοι κρυπτομένης φιλίας, 27:6 ἀξιοπιστότερά ἐστιν τραύματα φίλου ἢ ἑκούσια φιλήματα ἐχθροῦ. 27:7 ψυχὴ ἐν πλησμονῇ οὖσα κηρίοις ἐμπαίζει, ψυχὴ δὲ ἐν ἐνδεεῖ καὶ τὰ πικρὰ γλυκεῖα φαίνεται. 27:8 ὥσπερ ὅταν ὄρνεον καταπετασθῇ ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας νοσσιᾶς, οὕτως ἄνθρωπος δουλοῦται, ὅταν ἀποξενωθῇ ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων τόπων. 27:9 μύροις καὶ οἴνοις καὶ θυμιάμασιν τέρπεται καρδία, καταρργήνυται δὲ ὑπὸ συμπτωμάτων ψυχή. 27:10 φίλον σὸν ἢ φίλον πατρῷον μὴ ἐγκαταλίπῃς, εἰς δὲ τὸν οἶκον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου μὴ εἰσέλθῃς ἀτυχῶν· κρείσσων φίλος ἐγγὺς ἢ ἀδελφὸς μακρὰν οἰκῶν. 27:11 σοφὸς γίνου, υἱέ, ἵνα σου εὐφραίνηται ἡ καρδία, καὶ ἀπόστρεψον ἀπὸ σοῦ ἐπονειδίστους λόγους. 27:1

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24 25 26 27 28

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Silver that is given with trickery must be regarded as a piece of broken pottery. Smooth lips conceal a hurting heart. He who bewails his enemies agrees to anything with his lips, but in his heart he is devising words. If your enemy implores you in a loud voice, do not be won over, for there are seven iniquities in his heart. He who hides enmity is preparing trickery, and he who is well known in councils conceals his own sins. He who digs a pit for his neighbor will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone rolls it on himself. A lying tongue hates the truth, and the mouth that cannot be shut up causes riots. Chapter 27

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Don’t boast about your plans for tomorrow, for you don’t know what the next day will bring forth. Let your neighbor praise you, and not your mouth, someone else, and not your lips. A stone is a heavy thing, and sand something hard to carry, but the anger of a fool is heavier than both. Wrath is unmerciful and anger sharp, and envy endures no one. Open admonitions are better than hidden love. The wounds caused by a friend are more trustworthy than the willing kisses of an enemy. The soul when sated scoffs at honeycombs, but to the soul in need even the bitter things seem sweet. As when a bird flies down from its own nest, so a person becomes a slave when he is banished from his own surroundings. The heart delights in ointments, wines and perfumes, but the soul is devastated by random events. Do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend, and do not enter your brother’s house when you are down on your luck; a friend nearby is better than a brother living far away. Be wise, my son, so that your heart may rejoice, and rid yourself of reprehensible words.

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27:12 πανοῦργος κακῶν ἐπερχομένων ἀπεκρύβη, ἄφρονες δὲ ἐπελθόντες ζημίαν τείσουσιν. 27:13 ἀφελοῦ τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτοῦ, παρῆλθεν γάρὑβριστὴς ὅστις τὰ ἀλλότρια λυμαίνεται. 27:14 ὃς ἂν εὐλογῇ φίλον τὸ πρωὶ μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ, καταρωμένου οὐδὲν διαφέρειν δόξει. 27:15 σταγόνες ἐκβάλλουσιν ἄνθρωπον ἐν ἡμέρᾳ χειμερινῇ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου, ὡσαύτως καὶ γυνὴ λοίδορος ἐκ τοῦ ἰδίου οἴκου. 27:16 βορέας σκληρὸς ἄνεμος, ὀνόματι δὲ ἐπιδέξιος καλεῖται. 27:17 σίδηρος σίδηρον ὀξύνει, ἀνὴρ δὲ παροξύνει πρόσωπον ἑταίρου. 27:18 ὃς φυτεύει συκῆν, φάγεται τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτῆς· ὃς δὲ φυλάσσει τὸν ἑαυτοῦ ΚΝ, τιμηθήσεται. 27:19 ὥσπερ οὐχ ὅμοια πρόσωπα προσώποις, οὕτως οὐδὲ αἱ διάνοιαι τῶν ἀνθρώπων. 27:20 ᾅδης καὶ ἀπώλεια οὐκ ἐμπίμπλανται, ὡσαύτως καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἄπληστοι. 27:20a βδέλυγμα ΚΩ στηρίζων ὀφθαλμόν, καὶ οἱ ἀπαίδευτοι ἀκρατεῖς γλώσσῃ. 27:21 δοκίμιον ἀργύρῳ καὶ χρυσῷ πύρωσις, ἀνὴρ δὲ δοκιμάζεται διά στόματος ἐγκωμιαζόντων αὐτόν. 27:21a καρδία ἀνόμου ἐκζητεῖ κακά, καρδία δὲ εὐθὴς ζητεῖ γνῶσιν. 27:22 ἐὰν μαστιγοῖς ἄφρονα ἐν μέσῳ συνεδρίου ἀτιμάζων, οὐ μὴ περιέλῃς τὴν ἀφροσύνην αὐτοῦ. 27:23 γνωστῶς ἐπιγνώσῃ ψυχὰς ποιμνίου σου, καὶ ἐπιστήσεις καρδίαν σου σαῖς ἀγέλαις· 27:24 ὅτι οὐ τὸν αἰῶνα ἀνδρὶ κράτος καὶ ἰσχύς, οὐδὲ παραδίδωσιν ἐκ γενεᾶς εἰς γενεάν. 27:25 ἐπιμελοῦ τῶν ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ χλωρῶν καὶ κερεῖς πόαν καὶ σύναγε χόρτον ὀρεινόν [27:26] ἵνα ἔχῃς πρόβατα εἰς ἱματισμόν. τίμα πεδίον, ἵνα ὦσίν σοι ἄρνες. 27:27 υἱέ, παρ’ ἐμοῦ ἔχεις ῥήσεις ἰσχυρὰς εἰς τὴν ζωήν σου καὶ εἰς τὴν ζωὴν σῶν θεραπόντων.

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A shrewd man hides himself when the wicked approach, but fools will approach them and pay the penalty. 13 Take the garment from him, for he has crossed a line— a violent man who ruins what belongs to others. 14 Whoever blesses a friend early in the morning with a loud voice will seem no different than a curser. 15 On a stormy day raindrops drive a man out of the house, in the same way a scolding wife—out of his own house! 16 The north wind is a stiff wind, but it goes by the name “Lucky.” 17 Iron sharpens iron, and a man stimulates his fellow. 18 He who plants a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who guards his own Lord will be honored. 19 Just as faces are not alike, so people’s thoughts aren’t either. 20 Hades and Destruction are not being filled, in the same way people’s eyes, too, are insatiable. 20a He who ogles with his eye is an abomination to the Lord, and the uninstructed do not control their tongue. 21 Testing is for silver and proving by fire for gold, but a man is tested by the mouth of those who praise him. 21a The heart of a lawless man seeks out trouble, but an upright heart looks for knowledge. 22 If you should whip a fool, disgracing him in the midst of the council, you will certainly not rid him of his folly. 23 You must knowingly know the animals of your flock, and apply your heart to your herds. 24 Because a man does not have power and strength forever nor does he hand it down from generation to generation. 25 Take care of the green growth on the plain, and cut the grass, and harvest the mountain hay, (26) so that you will have sheep for clothing. Value the plain, so that you will have lambs. 27 My son, from me you have sayings that have power for your life, and for the life of your servants.

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28:1 28:2 28:3 28:4 28:5 28:6 28:7 28:8 28:9 28:10

28:11 28:12 28:13 28:14 28:15 28:16 28:17 28:17a

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φεύγει ἀσεβὴς μηδενὸς διώκοντος, δίκαιος δὲ ὥσπερ λέων πέποιθεν. δι’ ἁμαρτίας ἀσεβῶν κρίσεις ἐγείρονται, ἀνὴρ δὲ πανοῦργος κατασβέσει αὐτάς. ἀνδρεῖος ἐν ἀσεβείαις συκοφαντεῖ πτωχούς. ὥσπερ ὑετὸς λάβρος καὶ ἀνωφελής, οὕτως οἱ ἐγκαταλιπόντες τὸν νόμον ἐγκωμιάζουσιν ἀσέβειαν. οἱ δὲ ἀγαπῶντες τὸν νόμον περιβάλλουσιν ἑαυτοῖς τεῖχος. ἄνδρες κακοὶ οὐ συνήσουσιν κρίμα, οἱ δὲ ζητοῦντες τὸν ΚΝ συνήσουσιν ἐν παντί. κρείσσων πτωχὸς πορευόμενος ἐν ἀληθείᾳ πλουσίου ψευδοῦς. φυλάσσει νόμον υἱὸς συνετός· ὃς δὲ ποιμαίνει ἀσωτίαν, ἀτιμάζει πατέρα. ὁ πληθύνων τὸν πλοῦτον αὐτοῦ μετὰ τόκων καὶ πλεονασμῶν τῷ ἐλεῶντι πτωχοὺς συνάγει αὐτόν. ὁ ἐκκλίνων τὸ οὖς αὐτοῦ μὴ εἰσακοῦσαι νόμου καὶ αὐτὸς τὴν προσευχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐβδέλυκται. ὃς πλανᾷ εὐθεῖς ἐν ὁδῷ κακῇ, εἰς διαφθορὰν αὐτὸς ἐμπεσεῖται· οἱ δὲ ἄνομοι διελεύσονται ἀγαθά καὶ οὐκ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς αὐτά. σοφὸς παρ’ ἑαυτῷ ἀνὴρ πλούσιος, πένης δὲ νοήμων καταγνώσεται αὐτοῦ. διὰ βοήθειαν δικαίων πολλὴ γίνεται δόξα, ἐν δὲ τόποις ἀσεβῶν ἁλίσκονται ἄνθρωποι. ὁ ἐπικαλύπτων ἀσέβειαν ἑαυτοῦ οὐκ εὐοδωθήσεται, ὁ δὲ ἐξηγούμενος ἐλέγχους ἀγαπηθήσεται. μακάριος ἀνήρ ὃς καταπτήσσει πάντα δι’ εὐλάβειαν, ὁ δὲ σκληρὸς τὴν καρδίαν ἐμπεσεῖται κακοῖς. λέων πεινῶν καὶ λύκος διψῶν ὃς τυραννεῖ πτωχὸς ὦν ἔθνους πενιχροῦ. βασιλεὺς ἐνδεὴς προσόδων μέγας συκοφάντης, ὁ δὲ μισῶν ἀδικίαν μακρὸν χρόνον ζήσεται. ἄνδρα τὸν ἐν αἰτίᾳ φόνου ὁ ἐγγυώμενος φυγὰς ἔσται καὶ οὐκ ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ. παίδευε υἱόν, καὶ ἀγαπήσει σε καὶ δώσει κόσμον τῇ σῇ ψυχῇ· οὐ μὴ ὑπακούσῃς ἔθνει παρανόμῳ.

text and translation

Chapter 28 1

The ungodly man flees when no one is pursuing him, but the righteous man is as confident as a lion. 2 On account of the sins of the ungodly disputes arise, but a shrewd man will extinguish them. 3 A man bold in ungodliness preys on the poor. Like a torrential rain that does no good, 4 so those who have forsaken the law praise ungodliness. But those who love the law surround themselves with a wall. 5 Wicked men will not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord will have understanding in everything. 6 Better a poor man walking in the truth than a lying rich man. 7 An intelligent son keeps the law, but the one who leads an immoral life disgraces his father. 8 He who increases his wealth by means of interest and usury gathers it for him who shows mercy to the poor. 9 He who averts his ear from hearing the law— he too has made his prayer an abomination. 10 He who leads the upright astray in the evil way will himself fall into perdition. And the lawless will pass through good things, but will not enter into them. 11 A rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a prudent poor man will think light of him. 12 Thanks to the help of the righteous honor becomes great, but in the places of the ungodly people are arrested. 13 He who covers up his own ungodliness will not prosper, but he who tells of admonitions will be loved. 14 Blessed is the man who stands in awe of all things out of reverence, but he who is hard of heart will fall into troubles. 15 A hungry lion and a thirsty wolf is he who, being poor, rules an impoverished nation. 16 A king in need of revenues is a great oppressor, but he who hates unrighteousness will live a long time. 17 He who pledges security for a man charged with murder will be a fugitive, and not in safety. 17a Discipline your son, and he will love you, and he will be a credit to your soul. Never obey a lawless nation.

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28:18 ὁ πορευόμενος δικαίως βεβοήθηται, ὁ δὲ σκολιαῖς ὁδοῖς πορευόμενος ἐμπλακήσεται. 28:19 ὁ ἐργαζόμενος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γῆν πλησθήσεται ἄρτων, ὁ δὲ διώκων σχολὴν πλησθήσεται πενίας. 28:20 ἀνὴρ ἀξιόπιστος πολλὰ εὐλογήσεται, ὁ δὲ κακὸς οὐκ ἀτιμώρητος ἔσται. 28:21 ὃς οὐκ αἰσχύνεται πρόσωπα δικαίων, οὐκ ἀγαθός· ὁ τοιοῦτος ψωμοῦ ἄρτου ἀποδώσεται ἄνδρα. 28:22 σπεύδει πλουτεῖν ἀνὴρ βάσκανος, καὶ οὐκ οἶδεν ὅτι ἐλεήμων κρατήσει αὐτοῦ. 28:23 ὁ ἐλέγχων ἀνθρώπου ὁδούς χάριτας ἕξει μᾶλλον τοῦ γλωσσοχαριτοῦντος. 28:24 ὃς ἀποβάλλεται πατέρα ἢ μητέρα καὶ δοκεῖ μὴ ἁμαρτάνειν, οὗτος κοινωνός ἐστιν ἀνδρὸς ἀσεβοῦς. 28:25 ἄπιστος ἀνὴρ κρίνει εἰκῇ· ὃς δὲ πέποιθεν ἐπὶ ΚΝ, ἐν ἐπιμελείᾳ ἔσται. 28:26 ὃς πέποιθεν θρασείᾳ καρδίᾳ, ὁ τοιοῦτος ἄφρων· ὃς δὲ πορεύεται σοφίᾳ, σωθήσεται. 28:27 ὃς δίδωσιν πτωχοῖς, οὐκ ἐνδεηθήσεται· ὃς δὲ ἀποστρέφει τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν αὐτοῦ, ἐν πολλῆ ἀπορίᾳ ἔσται. 28:28 ἐν τόποις ἀσεβῶν στένουσι δίκαιοι, ἐν δὲ τῇ ἐκείνων ἀπωλείᾳ πληθυνθήσονται δίκαιοι.

29:1 29:2 29:3 29:4 29:5 29:6 29:7

κρείσσων ἀνὴρ ἐλέγχων ἀνδρὸς σκληροτραχήλου· ἐξαπίνης γὰρ φλεγομένου αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἴασις. ἐγκωμιαζομένων δικαίων εὐφρανθήσονται λαοί, ἀρχόντων δὲ ἀσεβῶν στένουσιν ἄνδρες. ἀνδρὸς φιλοῦντος σοφίαν εὐφραίνεται πατὴρ αὐτοῦ· ὃς δὲ ποιμαίνει πόρνας, ἀπολεῖ πλοῦτον. βασιλεὺς δίκαιος ἀνίστησιν χώραν, ἀνὴρ δὲ παράνομος κατασκάπτει. ὃς παρασκευάζεται ἐπὶ πρόσωπον τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ φίλου δίκτυον, περιβάλλει αὐτὸ τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ ποσίν. ἁμαρτάνοντι ἀνδρὶ μεγάλη παγίς, δίκαιος δὲ ἐν χαρᾷ καὶ ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ ἔσται. ἐπίσταται δίκαιος κρίνειν πενιχροῖς, ὁ δὲ ἀσεβὴς οὐ νοεῖ γνῶσιν, καὶ πτωχῷ οὐχ ὑπάρχει νοῦς ἐπιγνώμων.

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18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

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He who walks in righteousness has received help, but he who walks in crooked ways will be entangled. He who works his own land will have his fill of food, but he that pursues leisure will have his fill of poverty. A trustworthy man will be greatly blessed, and the wicked man will not go unpunished. He who has no respect for the righteous is not good, someone like that will sell a man for a piece of bread. A man with the evil eye of envy is in a hurry to be wealthy, but he doesn’t know that a merciful man will get the better of him. He who challenges a person’s ways will enjoy greater favor than the flatterer. He who casts off his father or mother, and thinks he is not sinning— he is the partner of an ungodly man. An unfaithful man makes judgments at random, but he who puts his trust in the Lord will be taken care of. He who puts his trust in a bold heart—such a man is a fool, but he who walks with wisdom will be saved. He who gives to the poor will not be in want, but he who averts his eye will be in dire straits. In the places of the ungodly the righteous groan, but with the destruction of the former the righteous will increase. Chapter 29

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Better is a man who admonishes than one who is stubborn, for when he suddenly flares up there is no remedy. When the righteous are praised the nations will rejoice, but when the ungodly rule men groan. When a man loves wisdom his father rejoices, but he who entertains prostitutes will squander his wealth. A righteous king builds up a country, but a lawless man tears it down. He who prepares a net against his own friend wraps it around his own feet. There is a great snare for the sinner, but the righteous man will have joy and happiness. A righteous man knows how to administer justice to the impoverished, but the ungodly man does not understand knowledge, and a poor man does not have a judicious mind.

118 29:8 29:9 29:10 29:11 29:12 29:13 29:14 29:15 29:16 29:17 29:18 29:19 29:20 29:21 29:22 29:23 29:24 29:25

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ἄνδρες ἄνομοι ἐξέκαυσαν πόλιν, σοφοὶ δὲ ἀπέστρεψαν ὀργήν. ἀνὴρ σοφὸς κρίνει ἔθνη, ἀνὴρ δὲ φαῦλος ὀργιζόμενος καταγελᾶται καὶ οὐ καταπτήσσει. ἄνδρες αἱμάτων μέτοχοι μισοῦσιν ὅσιον, οἱ δὲ εὐθεῖς ἐκζητήσουσιν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ. ὅλον τὸν θυμὸν αὐτοῦ ἐκφέρει ἄφρων, σοφὸς δὲ ταμιεύεται κατὰ μέρος. βασιλέως ἐπακούοντος λόγον ἄδικον πάντες οἱ ὑπ’ αὐτὸν παράνομοι. δανιστοῦ καὶ χρεοφειλέτου ἀλλήλοις συνελθόντων ἐπισκοπὴν ἀμφοτέρων ποιεῖται ὁ ΚΣ. βασιλέως ἐν ἀληθείᾳ κρίνοντος πτωχοὺς ὁ θρόνος αὐτοῦ εἰς μαρτύριον κατασταθήσεται. πληγαὶ καὶ ἔλεγχοι διδόασιν σοφίαν, παῖς δὲ πλανώμενος αἰσχύνει γονεῖς αὐτοῦ. πολλῶν ὄντων ἀσεβῶν πολλαὶ γίνονται ἁμαρτίαι, οἱ δὲ δίκαιοι ἐκείνων πιπτόντων κατάφοβοι γίνονται. παίδευε υἱόν σου, καὶ ἀναπαύσει σε καὶ δώσει κόσμον τῇ ψυχῇ σου. οὐ μὴ ὑπάρξῃ ἐξηγητὴς ἔθνει παρανόμῳ, ὁ δὲ φυλάσσων τὸν νόμον μακαριστός. λόγοις οὐ παιδευθήσεται οἰκέτης σκληρός· ἐὰν γὰρ καὶ νοήσῃ, ἀλλ’ οὐχ ὑπακούσεται. ἐὰν ἴδῃς ἄνδρα ταχὺν ἐν λόγοις, γίνωσκε ὅτι ἐλπίδα ἔχει μᾶλλον ἄφρων αὐτοῦ. ὃς κατασπαταλᾷ ἐκ παιδός, οἰκέτης ἔσται, ἔσχατον δὲ ὀδυνηθήσεται ἐφ’ ἑαυτῷ. ἀνὴρ θυμώδης ἐγείρει νεῖκος, ἀνὴρ δὲ ὀργίλος ἐξώρυξεν ἁμαρτίας. ὕβρις ἄνδρα ταπεινοῖ, τοὺς δὲ ταπεινόφρονας ἐρίζει δοξῃ ΚΣ. ὃς μερίζεται κλέπτῃ, μισεῖ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν, ἐὰν δὲ ὅρκου προτεθέντος ἀκούσαντες μὴ ἀναγγείλωσιν φοβηθέντες καὶ αἰσχυνθέντες ἀνθρώπους ὑπεσκελίσθησαν· ὁ δὲ πεποιθὼς ἐπὶ ΚΩ εὐφρανθήσεται. ἀσέβεια ἀνδρὶ δίδωσιν σφάλμα· ὃς δὲ πέποιθεν ἐπὶ τῷ δεσπότῃ, σωθήσεται.

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8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25

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Lawless men burn down a city, but the wise avert anger. A wise man administers justice to the nations, but an inept man is laughed at when he gets angry, and yet is undaunted. Men who participate in bloodshed hate a holy man, but the upright will seek out his soul. The fool gives vent to all his rage, but the wise man pays it out bit by bit. When the king listens to unfair talk all his subjects are transgressors. When creditor and debtor have come together the Lord visits them both. When the king truly administers justice to the poor his throne will be established as a testimony. Blows and admonitions impart wisdom, but a wayward child puts his parents to shame. When the godless are many, sins become many, and at the downfall of the former the righteous become fearful. Discipline your son, and he will give you peace and be a credit to your soul. A lawless nation will certainly have no interpreter, but he who keeps the law is most blessed. It is not by words that a recalcitrant servant will disciplined, for even though he understands, yet he will not obey. If you see a man quick to speak, know that a fool has a better hope than he. He who has lived in luxury from childhood will be a servant, and in the end he will suffer pain over himself. A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, and a short-tempered one dredges up sins. Pride humbles a man, and the Lord challenges the humble with his glory. He who goes shares with a thief hates his own soul. But if, when an oath has been taken beforehand, those who have heard (something) do not report it out of fear and respect for people, they trip and fall. But he who puts his trust in the Lord will rejoice. Ungodliness causes a man to stumble, but he who puts his trust in the Master will be saved.

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29:26 πολλοὶ θεραπεύουσιν πρόσωπα ἡγουμένων. παρὰ δὲ ΚΥ γίνεται τὸ δίκαιον ἀνδρί. 29:27 βδέλυγμα δίκαιος ἀνὴρ ἀδίκῳ, βδέλυγμα δὲ ἀνόμῳ κατευθύνουσα ὁδός.

31:10 γυναῖκα ἀνδρείαν τίς εὑρήσει; τιμιωτέρα δέ ἐστιν λίθων πολυτελῶν ἡ τοιαύτη. 31:11 θάρσει ἐπ’ αὐτῇ ἡ καρδία τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς, ἡ τοιαύτη καλῶν σκύλων οὐκ ἀπορήσει· 31:12 ἐνεργεῖ γὰρ τῷ ἀνδρὶ ἀγαθὰ πάντα τὸν βίον. 31:13 μηρυομένη ἔρια καὶ λίνον ἐποίησεν εὔχρηστον ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῆς. 31:14 ἐγένετο ὡσεὶ ναῦς ἐμπορευομένη μακρόθεν, συνάγει δὲ αὐτὴ τὸν βίον [31:15] καὶ ἀνίσταται ἐκ νυκτῶν καὶ ἔδωκεν βρώματα τῷ οἴκῳ καὶ ἔργα ταῖς θεραπαίναις. 31:16 θεωρήσασα γεώργιον ἐπρίατο, ἀπὸ δὲ καρπῶν χειρῶν αὐτἠς καταφύτευσεν κτῆμα. 31:17 ἀναζωσαμένη ἰσχυρῶς τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτῆς ἤρεισεν τοὺς βραχίονας αὐτῆς εἰς ἔργον. 31:18 καὶ ἐγεύσατο ὅτι καλόν ἐστιν τὸ ἐργάζεσθαι, καὶ οὐκ ἀποσβέννυται ὁ λύχνος αὐτῆς ὅλην τὴν νύκτα. 31:19 τοὺς πήχεις αὐτῆς ἐκτείνει ἐπὶ τὰ συμφέροντα, τὰς δὲ χεῖρας αὐτῆς ἐρείδει εἰς ἄτρακτον. 31:20 χεῖρας δὲ αὐτῆς διήνοιξεν πένητι, καρπὸν δὲ ἐξέτεινεν πτωχῷ. 31:21 οὐ φροντίζει τῶν ἐν οἴκῳ ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς, ὅταν που χρονίζει· πάντες γὰρ οἱ παρ’ αὐτῆς ἐνδιδύσκονται. 31:22 δισσὰς χλαίνας ἐποίησεν τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς, ἐκ δὲ βύσσου καὶ πορφύρας ἑαυτῇ ἐνδύματα. 31:23 περίβλεπτος δὲ γίνεται ἐν πύλαις ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς, ἡνίκα ἂν καθίσῃ ἐν συνεδρίῳ μετὰ τῶν γερόντων κατοίκων τῆς γῆς. 31:24 σινδόνας ἐποίησεν καὶ ἀπέδοτο περιζώματα τοῖς Χαναναίοις.

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26 27

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Many wait on leaders, but justice comes to a man from the Lord. A righteous man is an abomination to an unrighteous one, and a straight way is an abomination to a lawless man.

Section 5: “A Valiant Woman” (31:10–31) Chapter 31 10 11 12 13 14

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A valiant woman who will find? Such a woman is more valuable than precious stones. The heart of her husband has confidence in her, such a woman will not lack for fine spoils, for she works for the good of her husband all her life. By spinning wool and flax she makes something useful with her hands. She is like a ship bringing merchandise from afar, and she herself gathers her livelihood (15) and gets up at night. And she gives food to her household, and chores to her servant girls. She looks over a field and buys it, and from the fruit of her hands she plants her property. She girds up her loins with power, she applies her arms to the work. And she feels that working is good, and her lamp does not go out all night. She stretches out her arms to what is useful, and applies her hands to the spindle. She opens her hands to the needy, and stretches out a hand to the poor. Her husband is not concerned about the members of his household when he is delayed somewhere, for all her people are being clothed. She makes two cloaks for her husband, and clothes for herself out of fine linen and purple. And her husband is admired in the gates, whenever he takes his seat in the council with the resident elders of the land. She makes linen garments, and sells loincloths to the Canaanites.

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31:25 στόμα αὐτῆς διήνοιξεν προσεχόντως καὶ ἐννόμως καὶ τάξιν ἐστείλατο τῇ γλώσσῃ αὐτῆς. 31:26 ἰσχὺν καὶ εὐπρέπειαν ἐνεδύσατο καὶ εὐφράνθη ἐν ἡμέραις ἐσχάταις. 31:27 στεγναὶ διατριβαὶ οἴκων αὐτῆς, σῖτα δὲ ὀκνηρὰ οὐκ ἔφαγεν. 31:28 τὸ στόμα δὲ ἀνοίγει σοφοῖς νομοθέσμως, ἡ δὲ ἐλεημοσύνη αὐτῆς ἀνέστησεν τὰ τέκνα αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐπλούτησαν, καὶ ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς ᾔνεσεν αὐτήν. 31:29 Πολλαὶ θυγατέρες ἐκτήσαντο πλοῦτον, πολλαὶ ἐποίησαν δυνατά, σὺ δὲ ὑπέρκεισαι καὶ ὑπερῆρας πάσας. 31:30 ψευδεῖς ἀρέσκειαι καὶ μάταιον κάλλος γυναικός· γυνὴ γὰρ συνετὴ εὐλογεῖται, φόβον δὲ ΚΥ αὕτη αἰνείτω. 31:31 δότε αὐτῇ ἀπὸ καρπῶν χειλέων αὐτῆς, καὶ αἰνείσθω ἐν πύλαις ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς. Παροιμίαι

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25 26 27 28

29

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She opens her mouth carefully and lawfully, and establishes order with her tongue. She clothes herself with strength and beauty, and rejoices in the last days. The activities of her household are covered, and she does not eat lazy bread. She opens her mouth to the wise in a law-abiding way. And her mercy raises up her children, and they become rich, and her husband praises her: “Many daughters acquire wealth, many do mighty deeds, but you rank above them, you surpass them all.” A woman’s charms are deceitful, and her beauty vain, for an intelligent woman is extolled, and it is she who must praise the fear of the Lord. Give her of the fruit of her lips, and let her husband be praised in the gates.

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Commentary Initial glossary. In manuscript B the original scribe left a blank space between the end of the book of Psalms and the beginning of the book of Proverbs. A later hand has filled this space with the following glosses on ten words found in the early chapters of Proverbs. -----παραινέσεις παραμύθειαι· παρηγορίαι· νουθεσίαι· ὠφέλιμοι τῶ βίῳ· ἠθῶν ἔχουσα[ι], καὶ παθῶν ἐπανόρθ ωσιν: ----ἐπιστήμη θείων καὶ ἀνθρω σοφία πίνων πραγμάτων:---παιδείαν ἀγωγὴν ὠφέλιμον· φρονήσεως· τῆς ἀκριβοῦς καταλήμψεως τῶν πραττομένων: δέξασθαι· ὑποδέξασθαι· ὑποστῆναι· στροφάς· διαστροφὰς ἀντιλογίας· ἀκάκοις. ἀφελεστέροις·---πανουργίαν· πάντων μάθησιν· ἢ πάντων ἐρ γασίαν· ἤτοι καλῶν ἤτοι φαύλων περιλάβῃ· περιφράξῃ φυλάξῃ:---ἐράσθητι· ἐπιπόθησον:---παροιμίαι:

These are clearly explanatory notes on eight words taken from Prov 1:1–4 and one word each from Prov 4:8 and 4:6. The glosses may be translated as follows: παροιμίαι:

σοφία: παιδείαν

----exhortations consolations, encouragements, admonitions, useful for life, containing correction of morals and affections, ---knowledge of divine and human matters, ---useful guidance,

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004425590_004

commentary

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φρονήσεως:

the accurate comprehension of behaviors δέξασθαι: to receive, to support, στροφάς: distortions of contradiction, rather simple ones,---ἀκάκοις: πανουργίαν: learning of all things, or working of all things, either good or bad περιλάβῃ: may fence around, protect,---ἐράσθητι: long for, ---The following observations are pertinent here. 1. With the exception of σοφία, which occurs in the accusative form σοφίαν in vs 2, the ten words are cited in the inflected form in which they are found in Prov 1:1–4 and 4:6, 8. 2. The gloss on σοφία echoes the standard Stoic definition of σοφία. See LSJ s.v. 3. 3. The gloss on φρονήσεως uses the term κατάλημψις, a variant spelling of κατάληψις. The latter was a technical term in Stoic epistemology, referring to the direct apprehension of objects (see LSJ s.v. I,4). 4. The gloss on στροφάς shows that this word already puzzled Byzantine scribes (see note on 1:3 below). Note that the gloss could also be interpreted to mean “distortions, contradictions” (taking ἀντιλογίας as accusative plural in apposition to διαστροφάς). 5. The gloss on πανουργία relies heavily on the etymology of the word (πᾶν and ἔργο-). It also shows awareness of the fact that πανουργία can be used in a positive sense, which is a peculiarity of the usage of LXX Proverbs (see note on 1:4 below). The word μάθησιν is written with an epsilon written over the eta, indicating the scribe’s uncertainty about the correct spelling. 6. The gloss on ἐράσθητι downplays the erotic connotation of the word (see note on 4:6 below). 7. It is not clear what the purpose of the glossary is, or why these specific ten items were chosen for elucidation. 8. The glossary, as is generally the case for the occasional marginal notes found elsewhere in manuscript B of Proverbs, is not recorded in the apparatus of the editions of Swete and Rahlfs. Section 1: “The Proverbs of Solomon” (1:1–9:18d). After an introductory purpose declaration ascribing what follows to Solomon (1:1–7), this section is dominated by the “instruction” genre, largely consisting of discrete words of moral advice addressed to “my son” (the vocative υἱέ occurs 16 times). Prominent

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among these words of advice are continuous passages warning against adultery (see especially 5:3–23, 6:25–35, 7:4–27). Occasionally these ethical exhortations are put in the mouth of personified Wisdom (see 1:20–33, 8:2–36, 9:1–6). 1:2. γνῶναι σοφίαν καὶ παιδείαν νοῆσαί τε λόγους φρονήσεως, “to know wisdom and instruction, and to understand words of good sense.” Gerleman claims that the terms σοφία and φρόνησις, here and elsewhere in Proverbs, reflect Greek philosophical usage, in which σοφία is the broader term, and φρόνησις refers to “prudence in practical affairs” (1956:52, n. 3). This view is rightly rejected by Dick (1991:45–46). In Proverbs σοφία generally translates ‫( חכמה‬so here), and φρόνησις generally translates either ‫( בינה‬so here) or ‫תבונה‬, and the terms have no technically precise philosophical sense. 1:31. στροφὰς λόγων, “‘windings of words’.” There is a great variety in the translations of this enigmatic phrase. Consider the following proposals: “the interpretation of sentences” (so Thomson), “hard sayings” (Brenton), “the subtlety of words” (NETS), “i cavilli [sophistries] verbali” (Moro), “digresiones de palabras” (BG), “twistings of words” (Fox), and “byways of words” (King). A similar variety is found in the lexica, for example “flexus verborum, fallaciae sermonum” (so Schleusner, Novus Thesaurus, s.v. στροφή), “subtlety, literary craft (of words)” (so GELS s.v., citing Larcher), and “(twists) of words” (so MGELS s.v.). In his discussion of the phrase Cook gives the translation “the inventive dealing of (in) words” (1997:46). He suggests that it is a technical term by which the translator is “stressing the nuance of ‘problematic, complicated.’” He connects this with the hypothesis that the translator took the underlying Hebrew word ‫ מוסר‬to be based on the root ‫ סור‬rather than ‫( יסר‬1997:49, 50; endorsed by Fox 2015:84). This explanation is improbable, however, since the translator normally connected ‫ מוסר‬with the root ‫( יסר‬witness his regular rendering παιδεία). The phrase occurs again in Wis 8:8, where it is probably an echo of its use here, and in that verse too it has been translated in a wide variety of ways. Winston in his commentary on Wisdom adopts the translation “the intricacies of argument” (see Winston 1979:194), and Larcher argues for the rendering “les subtilités des sentences” (see Larcher 1984:524, 532–533). Here King has the translation “turns of phrase.” A search of the phrase στροφαὶ [-ῶν, -αῖς, ὰς] λόγων in the TLG yields some interesting results. Apart from the two biblical examples, the phrase occurs some 29 times. The vast majority of these are patristic and medieval citations of, or allusions to, these two biblical texts, especially Prov 1:3. The non-patristic examples generally occur in the writings of late Byzantine writers who were steeped in the language of the LXX, and may therefore be reflecting it. With

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one exception, there is no evidence that the phrase was ever used in secular Greek that was not subject to the influence of the LXX. However, that exception is of great interest for our purposes. It is the only attested example of the phrase which can be dated before the time of LXX Proverbs, being found in one of the monostichoi or “Sentences” attributed to the Attic dramatist Menander, whose dates are ca. 342–ca. 290 BCE, that is, well over a century before the translation of Proverbs. According to Giuseppe Pompella, it originally occurred in Menander’s now largely lost play Γεωργός (Pompella 1996:243). Since Menander’s works were widely read in Egypt (most of what survives of his plays was discovered in the sands of Egypt), it is likely that the literate translator of Proverbs would have been acquainted with his work. In fact, given the rarity of the phrase στροφὰς λόγων in Greek elsewhere, it is a plausible assumption that its occurrence in our verse is a deliberate allusion to its occurrence in Menander. Accordingly, I have put it in quotes in my translation. The “sentence” or maxim in question is the one numbered 793 in the edition published by Siegfried Jäkel (1964:79). It reads as follows: ὕφασμ’ ὑφαίνειν μάνθανε στροφὰς λόγων, “Learn to weave the windings of (your) words as a woven cloth.” On the use of the double accusative with verbs of making and the like (here ὑφαίνω), see Kühner-Gerth 1898:1.318–319. Like almost all Menander’s sentences, it is a single poetic line composed in iambic trimeter. Although it is an isolated maxim without known literary context, it is clear that this sentence is to be understood as a piece of literary advice. The work of the literary artist is compared to weaving a piece of cloth, in which “the windings of (your) words” are likened to the threads of the weft which on the weaver’s shuttle passes back and forth through the threads of the warp on the loom, thereby creating a patterned piece of woven cloth. The στροφαί or “turnings” are therefore a reference to the back-and-forth movement of the weft thread, metaphorically representing the work of writers as they craft their works of verbal art. Weaving as a metaphor for literary creation (a metaphor still embedded in our word “text”) was a common one in the ancient world (see LSJ s.v. ὑφαίνω ΙΙΙ,2, and FanfaniHarlow-Nosch 2016:12, 46, 60, 78, 89, 90, 95, 251, 285, 336). If therefore the Proverbs translator, like the apostle Paul in 1 Cor 15:33, is quoting a saying from Menander’s Sentences, then it is likely that the enigmatic phrase refers to literary artistry, and reinforces the impression we have on other grounds that the translator was conscious of the aesthetic dimensions of the book of Proverbs, and by implication his own translation of it. 1:41. ἵνα δῷ ἀκάκοις πανουργίαν, “in order that he may impart shrewdness to the guileless.” In general Greek usage the word πανουργία, as well as the related adjective πανοῦργος, has a negative connotation, suggesting dishonest slyness

128

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and cunning (see LSJ s.v.). This is also true of biblical Greek outside of the book of Proverbs (see for example Num 24:22; Sir 19:23; Lk 20:23; Eph 4:14). It is a peculiarity of the Greek of Proverbs, however, that it uses these words in a positive sense, suggesting godly wisdom. This positive connotation is clearly illustrated for πανουργία in the present verse (see also 8:5), and for πανοῦργος in the thirteen places where it occurs elsewhere in Proverbs (12:16; 13:1; 13:16; 14:8; 15:15; 14:18; 14:24; 15:5; 19:25; 21:11; 22:3; 27:12; 28:2). On this feature of Proverbs usage, see Bauernfeind in TDNT 5.724–725, the note in BAP on this verse, and SDEK 1971. 1:72. σύνεσις δὲ ἀγαθὴ πᾶσι τοῖς ποιοῦσιν αὐτήν, “and good understanding comes to all who practice it.” This colon, which has no Hebrew Vorlage in Proverbs, appears to be taken from Ps 110[111]:10, where it follows the statement ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος κυρίου, just as it here follows ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος θεοῦ. 1:81. ἄκουε, υἱέ, “hear, my son.” This is the first of 31 places in LXX Proverbs where the recipient of the book’s instruction is addressed as υἱέ, “(my) son.” There are also three places where the recipient is addressed as τέκνον (once in 30:4 and twice in 31:2). This distribution of the vocative of these two words runs counter to that found in the Pentateuch and contemporary papyri, where τέκνον is far more common for vocative use than υἱός (see Lee 2018:168–171). 1:91. στέφανον … χαρίτων, “a graceful wreath.” The same phrase occurs in 4:9. It should be borne in mind that a στέφανος is not so much a “crown” (pace Thomson, Brenton, NETS, King), which suggests a royal headpiece made of gold or silver, as a “garland” or “wreath,” made of leaves or flowers (see TWNT 7.615– 635). For its metaphorical meaning see note on 12:4. 1:16. Note that B has nothing corresponding to vs 16 in the MT, although it is found in other Greek manuscripts and in Rahlfs. 1:192. τῇ γὰρ ἀσεβείᾳ τὴν ἑαυτῶν ψυχὴν ἀφαιροῦνται, “for by their ungodliness they are taking away their own life.” The phrase τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν is the first of 45 examples in LXX Proverbs of the reflexive pronoun in attributive position used to express possession. See also 1:31 bis, 5:22, 5:23, 8:27, 8:36, 9:2 ter, 9:3, 9:12b, 9:14, 12:11, 12:11a, 12:16, 13:3 bis, 14:14, 14:32, 14:35, 16:17 bis, 16:27, 17:6a, 17:18, 19:16 bis, 20:2, 22:5, 22:9, 30:23, 30:26, 25:17, 26:6, 26:11 bis, 26:19, 26:26, 27:18, 28:19, 29:5 bis, 29:24. To these may be added occasional variations of the construction which omit the article (see 13:16, 28:13), or the noun (see 22:16). In the present verse, as often elsewhere, the translator appears to use this construction in its original sense, to be translated “his own soul” (see GG § 960, 975a). However, in

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many other places the construction appears to lose its intensive meaning, as it does frequently in post-classical Greek (for example in the NT and the papyri), so that ὁ ἑαυτοῦ οἶκος is simply the equivalent of ὁ οἶκος αὐτοῦ, “his house.” In fact, this development began already in classical Greek; see Kühner-Gerth 1898:1.569. The non-intensive use has become so common in the Greek of the LXX that it is misleading to treat it as exceptional, as Muraoka does (SSG §§ 8e, 11d). For every individual occurrence of this construction it is a judgment call whether the intensive sense (“his/her/their own”) or the non-intensive sense (“his/her/their”) is most appropriate in the context, and translators may differ in their judgment. Sometimes a parallel line may be decisive, as in 9:12b, where τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ ἀμπελῶνος, “his own vineyard,” is echoed by τοῦ ἰδίου γεωργίου, “his own farm,” in the next line, but often the choice is a very subjective one. An examination of three recent translations of LXX Proverbs reveals that the ratio of non-intensive to intensive renderings is 17/29 in BAP, 6/39 in NETS, and 25/20 in SD. In the notes which follow I have only occasionally adduced reasons for favoring one translation over another. It is a notable fact that the noun on which the reflexive depends is always, in all 45 examples in Proverbs, in one of the oblique cases, never the nominative (for the apparent exceptions at 12:26 and 13:10, see the notes there). It should also be pointed out that the underlying Hebrew is usually of no help in choosing between the intensive and non-intensive renderings, since in most cases the corresponding Hebrew is a simple pronominal suffix. In the present verse, however, τὴν ἑαυτῶν ψυχήν corresponds to ‫נפשׁ בעליו‬, “the life of its possessors.” 1:201. σοφία ἐν ἐξόδοις ὑμνεῖται, “wisdom is celebrated in the exits.” Some translators render ὑμνεῖται as though it were a middle with an active sense; for example NETS, “sings hymns” (similarly Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, SRE). Others understand the middle to have a reflexive sense (so SD, “besingt sich,” and Fox, “praises herself”). However, although this middle interpretation does fit the context, and does match the underlying Hebrew (‫תרנה‬, a Qal form of the root ‫)רנן‬, it does not fit ordinary Greek usage, in which the middle of ὑμνέω, whether in an active or reflexive sense, appears to be rare or non-existent. Accordingly, most translations rightly take ὑμνεῖται here in its well-attested passive sense (so VL, CP, BAP, Moro, BG, King). The passive is also favored by GELS and MGELS s.v., and SSG 246 n. 2. On the passive use of ὑμνέω see LSJ s.v. I,1. See also ὑμνεῖται in 8:3, where the context is very similar, and the Hebrew Vorlage is the same. Since Wisdom in chapters 1, 2 and 8 is personified I have used the pronouns “she” and “her” (rather than “it” and “its”) to refer to her in my translation.

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commentary

1:211. ἐπ’ ἄκρων τειχέων κηρύσσεται, “on the tops of walls she is proclaimed.” Like the parallel ὑμνεῖται in vs 20, κηρύσσεται is often taken as a middle with an active sense, as in NETS, “she proclaims.” Similarly CP, Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, NETS, SD, Fox. and SRE. Others have taken it as a passive (so BAP, Moro, BG, and King, as well as SSG 246, n. 2). The latter is probably correct, since κηρύσσω is rarely if ever used in the middle, but it occurs frequently in the passive. The Hebrew Vorlage is ‫תקרא‬, which could be vocalized as a Qal, ‫ִתְּק ָרא‬, with active meaning (so MT), or as a Niphal, ‫ִתָּקּ ֵרא‬, with passive meaning. The LXX translator apparently chose the second option. 1:212. ἐπὶ δὲ πύλαις δυναστῶν παρεδρεύει, “for she takes her seat at the gates of the mighty.” This colon is repeated almost verbatim in 8:2. The verb παρεδρεύω here probably plays on the meaning “act as assessor (πάρεδρος)” (see LSJ s.v. 3). A πάρεδρος was an assistant judge or counsellor. Consequently MGELS s.v. glosses the verb here as “to be seated as adviser to judge.” Compare Wis 6:14, where it is said of Wisdom that she is πάρεδρος τῶν πυλῶν. 1:223. ἐμίσησαν αἴσθησιν, “hate discernment.” The aorist is best understood as gnomic, and therefore translated in the present tense. This was correctly understood by Giguet, SD, Moro, and BG, who all translated the aorist here as a present. So too Cook 1997:85, although Cook later changed his mind, since NETS has a past tense. The parallel ἐγένοντο of the next colon (vs 23) is also to be understood as a gnomic aorist. The gnomic aorist is frequently found in LXX Proverbs, often parallel to another verb in the present tense. See also my notes on 3:35, 5:23, 6:8c, 7:13, 7:21– 22, 8:12, 9:14, 11:10–11, 13:16, 14:1 (bis), 15:25, 17:16, 18:22 (bis), 21:1, 21:22 (bis), 22:2, 22:3, 30:12, 30:26, 26:12, 27:12, 29:8, 29:22, 29:25, and especially 31:13. In referring to this use of the aorist as “gnomic,” I am using traditional grammatical terminology. See Kühner-Gerth 1898:1.159–161, GG §§ 1293–1294, Fanning 1990:265– 269, and SSG §28db. On the disputed question whether the aorist indicative in Greek ever grammaticalizes time at all, see Fanning 1990:255, Porter 1989:76– 83, and Brookins 2018. 1:241. καὶ οὐκ ὑπηκούσατε. A later hand in B corrected οὐκ to οὐχ. 1:291. τὸν δὲ λόγον τοῦ κυρίου οὐ προείλαντο, “and did not choose the word of the Lord.” For λόγον Rahlfs has φόβον. 1:321. ἠδίκουν νηπίους, “wronged little children.” A νήπιος is an “infant, child” (LSJ s.v.). There is no reason to translate νηπίους here as “the simple,” “innocent” or

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the like (so Brenton, NETS, SD, Moro, BG, Fox, GELS s.v., MGELS s.v. c). Such translations are influenced more by the corresponding Hebrew (‫ )ְפָּת ִים‬than by the Greek. The reference to the Hebrew is explicitly made in the discussion of this verse in the article on νήπιος in TWNT (4.917). 1:332. καὶ ἡσυχάσει ἀφόβως ἀπὸ παντὸς κακοῦ, “and will without fear rest from all evil.” The prepositional phrase is not to be construed with ἀφόβως (as in NETS: “without fear of any evil;” similarly Thomson, Giguet, BAP, Moro, King), but rather with ἡσυχάζω (so VL, CP, Brenton, SD, Moro). For the construal of ἡσυχάζω with ἀπό see LSJ s.v. I,a and BDAG s.v. 3 (citing this verse). This latter construal also matches the Hebrew Vorlage. 2:33. In the first-hand text of B verse 3 ends with 2:32, but a later marginal note supplies the words of 2:33: τὴν δὲ αἴσθησιν ζητήσῃς μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ, “and you will seek discernment with a loud voice.” 2:42. ἐξεραυνήσῃς. A later hand in B corrects this to ἐξερευνήσῃς (so Rahlfs). For the Hellenistic change of ευ to αυ after ρ see BDF § 30(4). 2:62. καὶ ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ, “and from his person.” For πρόσωπον meaning “person,” see LSJ s.v. IV,1, GE s.v. D, and DBAG s.v. 2. This meaning of πρόσωπον is found in Proverbs also at 18:5, 19:6, 21:29, 22:26, 27:17, 28:21, 29:5, and 29:26. It is not recognized in GELS or MGELS. It would seem that the expression “from his person” is functionally equivalent to “from him.” Existing translations translate πρόσωπον here as either “face” (so VL, CP, Giguet, BAP, SD, King) or “presence” (so Thomson, Brenton, NETS, Moro, BG). We find the same redundant use of πρόσωπον with the genitive of the person in 18:5, 19:6, 27:17, 28:21, 29:5, and 29:26. 2:72. καὶ ὁδὸν εὐλαβουμένων αὐτὸν διαφυλάξει, “and he will preserve the path of those who revere him.” We noted in the Introduction that the article is frequently omitted in LXX Proverbs. This omission is particularly striking in cases of the substantivized use of the participle, as here with εὐλαβουμένων. On this usage see GG §1563b, BDF §413(1), SSG §31ba. Other examples of anarthrous participles functioning as substantives in Proverbs are found in 5:13 (bis), 5:17, 11:21, 11:27 (bis), 12:20, 12;26, 13:12 (bis), 13:15, 13:21, 14:22, 15:9, 15:22, 16:5, 16:20, 16:30, 16:32, 17:5, 17:23, 20:9a, 24:11 (bis), 27:20a, 27:21, 29:24, 29:26. Especially noteworthy are cases where the anarthrous participle functions in the nominative as the subject of the sentence. This usage is extremely rare elsewhere (see SSG, p. 205), no doubt because it is apt to be mistaken for a circumstan-

132

commentary

tial participle: see 5:17 (ὑπάρχοντα), 11:21 (ἐμβαλών), 11:27 (τεκταινόμενος), 13:12 (βοηθῶν), 14:22 (πλανώμενοι), 16:5 (ἐμβαλών), 16:20 (πεποιθώς), 16:30 (στηρίζων), 27:20a (στηρίζων), and 29:24 (ἀκούσαντες). 2.92. ἄξονας, “tracks.” The word ἄξων normally means “axle” (so for example in Exod 14:25), but in three places in Proverbs (here and at 2:18 and 9:12b) it appears to take on the meaning “path” or “track.” See the relevant entries in LSJ, GELS, MGELS, and GE. Here and at 2:18 it corresponds to the Hebrew ‫מעגל‬, “track (of a wagon)” or “rut,” a Hebrew word that elsewhere in Proverbs is translated τροχιά, “pathway.” As far as I can tell, the meaning “track” for ἄξων is unique to the LXX of Proverbs. It is telling that the VL attests two places where its occurrence in 9:12 is translated axes, “axles,” although the translation semitae, “paths,” is also attested (see Sabatier 1743:312). Similarly, in the commentary ascribed to the Greek church father John Chrysostom the ἄξονας of our verse are also understood to refer to axles, not tracks (Bady 2003:173–174; BAP 170). The suggestion that ἄξονας here alludes to the wooden law tablets that were designated by this word in Athens (so SDEK 1961; compare LSJ s.v. II) seems rather farfetched. 2:131. ὢ οἱ ἐγκαταλείποντες ὁδοὺς εὐθείας, “oh, the people who abandon the straight ways!” This is not to be translated as though οἱ ἐγκαταλείποντες were in the vocative describing the addressees: “O you who abandon …” (so VL, Giguet). Such a reading is ruled out by the fact that a singular person (“my son”) is addressed throughout this chapter, including vs 17, which is the conclusion of the sentence which begins here. Nor is the point that the people in question are under a curse (pace Cook 1997:129). Instead, these words are to be understood as an exclamation expressing dismay at the fact that such people as here described exist at all. Compare Thomson: “Alas for them who leave straight paths.” Accordingly, it is probably best to accent the interjection here as ὢ rather than ὦ, as suggested by d’Hamonville in BAP, following Mezzacasa (1913:117), against the editions of Swete and Rahlfs. The later scribe who added breathings and accents in B also opted for ὢ. For the different uses of ὤ/ὦ see the relevant entries in LSJ, BDAG, and MGELS. Note that ὦ followed by a vocative does occur in 6:6 and 8:4. 2:162. καὶ ἀλλότριον τῆς δικαίας γνώμης, “and hostile to righteous opinion.” For ἀλλότριος with genitive meaning “hostile to” see LSJ s.v. II,1,b. Contrast MGELS s.v. 2a, which here assigns it the meaning “foreign, alien to,” and SRE, which has the gloss “unfamiliar.”

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2:171. υἱέ, μή σε καταλάβῃ κακὴ βουλὴ, “my son, let not bad counsel get hold of you.” In vss 17–19 “bad counsel” appears to be personified, since it/she gets hold of a person, builds a house, leaves behind instruction, and is forgetful. Accordingly, I have used the pronouns “she” and “her” to refer to her. However, it is important not to confuse this personified “bad counsel” with the “strange woman” of the Hebrew text. In his discussion of this verse Cook argues that κακὴ βουλή here is to be understood as the equivalent of ‫יצר הרע‬, “the evil inclination,” of rabbinic theology, and that this in turn is to be equated with foreign wisdom (1997:136– 138). I can find nothing in the text to support this theory, and in any case it is doubtful whether this rabbinic theologoumenon had been developed already at the time of the LXX translation of Proverbs (mid-second century BCE). 2:182. μετὰ τῶν γηγενῶν, “with the earthborn.” Although in Greek mythology the adjective γηγενής, “earthborn,” was applied to the Titans and Giants who were born of Gaia (see LSJ s.v. II,1) and to “primeval men” (see LSJ s.v. I,2), this does not justify translating γηγενῶν here as “giants” (so Brenton; Cook 1997:140) or “uomini primordiali” (so Moro), or giving γηγενής the meaning “born in Gaia (shade?)” (so SRE). Similarly, although the underlying Hebrew ‫ רפאים‬is commonly interpreted to refer to the shades of the dead (see HAL s.v.), this does not justify translating the Greek term here as “shades” (so NETS; compare LSJ s.v. I,3, citing this verse). It is best to avoid speculation altogether and to translate literally “the earthborn” (so VL, BP, SD, Fox, MGELS s.v.) or “the sons of earth” (so Giguet, BAP, BG, King). 2:182. ἄξονας, “tracks.” See on 2:9. 2:191. πάντες οἱ πορεύοντες ἐν αὐτῇ οὐκ ἀναστρέψουσιν, “none who walk with her will turn back.” Literally, “all who walk with her will not turn back,” a Hebraistic way of speaking common in the Greek Bible; see note on 3:154. The literal translation is misleading in English, because it suggests that not all will turn back, leaving open the possibility that some will. In interpreting the awkward phrase ἐν αὐτῇ it needs to be borne in mind that the pronoun refers to the personified “bad counsel” of vs 17, not the seducing “strange woman” of the Hebrew text. I have chosen the rendering “with her” (so Giguet, BAP, BG, King), rather than “by her” (so Brenton), “by her direction” (Thomson), or the literal “in her” (CP, NETS, Moro). For ἐν meaning “with” see MGELS s.v. 8 (compare also BDAG s.v. 1,c).

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commentary

2:192–3. καταλάβωσιν … καταλαμβάνονται …, “will take … are taken down …” The same verb καταλαμβάνω is here used in two very different senses, first in the positive sense of “taking” right paths, then in the negative sense of being “befallen” by the years of life (on this second meaning of καταλαμβάνω see LSJ s.v. I,2). I have endeavoured to preserve something of the wordplay by speaking of “taking” and being “taken down.” Compare BAP: “ils ne pourront pas atteindre … car ils ne sont pas atteints …” The thought seems to be that if only wayward people had been “taken down”—that is, worn down or chastened—by the experiences of a lifetime, they might have turned back and found the right paths again. Note that the construction of the passive καταλαμβάνονται with ὑπὸ ἐνιαυτῶν ζωῆς (not with the expected dative ἐνιαυτοῖς ζωῆς), may suggest that the “years of life” are being personified. See GG §1226 (2). 2:213. ὅτι εὐθεῖς κατασκηνώσουσι γῆν, “because the upright will dwell in the land.” In Rahlfs these words are preceded by 2:211–2: χρηστοὶ ἔσονται οἰκήτορες γῆς, ἄκακοι δὲ ὑπολειφθήσονται ἐν αὐτῇ, “the kind will be inhabitants of the earth, and the guileless will be left in it.” The effect of the omission of these two cola in B is that the reason given in the ὅτι-clause of 2:213–4 now applies to the preceding verse, which makes little sense in the context. 3:51. ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ., “with your whole heart.” Rahlfs has ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ. 3:61. πάσαις ὁδοῖς σου γνώριζε αὐτήν, “in all your ways make wisdom known.” Rahlfs has ἐν πάσαις ὁδοῖς σου. The pronoun αὐτήν must refer to “your wisdom” in the previous verse. Since this is not personified wisdom, there seems no justification for the pronoun “her” to refer to it (so Brenton, NETS, Fox, King). 3:62. ἵνα ὀρθοτομῇ τὰς ὁδούς σου, “so that it may make your ways straight.” Apart from 2Tim 2:15 and literature dependent on it, the verb ὀρθοτομέω occurs only here and in 11:5. In these Proverbs passages “it is used w. ὁδούς and means ‘cut a path in a straight direction’ or ‘cut a road across country (that is forested or otherwise difficult to pass through) in a straight direction’, so that the traveler may go directly to his destination (cp. Thu. 2, 100, 2 ὁδοὺς εὐθείας ἔτεμε …)” (BDAG s.v.). 3:63. Rahlfs adds a bracketed third colon: [ὁ δὲ πούς σου οὐ μὴ προσκόπτῃ], “and your foot may never stumble,” taken from 3:232. 3:91. ἀπὸ σῶν δικαίων πόνων, “out of the products of your righteous labors.” On the plural of πόνος meaning “products of toil,” here confirmed by the parallelism, see MGELS s.v. 3; cf. LSJ s.v. III. The same usage is found in 6:8b.

commentary

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3:101. ἵνα πίμπληται τὰ ταμιεῖά σου πλησμονῆς σίτῳ, “in order that your barns may be filled with abundant grain.” For τὰ ταμιεῖά σου πλησμονῆς σίτῳ Rahlfs has τὰ ταμιεῖά σου πλησμονῆς σίτου, yielding the translation “that your barns may be filled with an abundance of grain.” The B reading is somewhat awkward Greek, since we would expect πίμπλημι to be construed with the genitive πλησμονῆς, yielding the translation “be filled with an abundance.” However, πίμπλημι can also be construed with a dative, here σίτῳ (see LSJ s.v. πίμπλημι I,1), in which case πλησμονῆς becomes an adnominal genitive of quality, functioning as an adjective (see BDF §165, SSG §22v[xvi]). I do not understand how πλησμονῆς can be translated adverbially; so Thomson (“plenteously”), Brenton (“completely”), and BAP (“à plein”). The awkward dative σίτῳ probably arose under the influence of the immediately following οἴνῳ. Another question is the spelling of ταμ(ι)(ε)ῖα. The word occurs six times in Proverbs (also in 7:27, 20:18, 20:21, 24:4, 26:22) and in each case the first-hand text of B has ταμια, corrected by a later hand to ταμεῖα. Rahlfs consistently has ταμιεῖα. On this spelling variation see BDF §31(2) and LSJ s.v. ταμιεῖον (at end). 3:121. ἐλέγχει. Rahlfs has παιδεύει. 3:141. κρεῖττον γὰρ αὐτὴν ἐμπορεύεσθαι, “for it is better to buy her.” Translators into English must choose between referring to wisdom in vss 13–19 as an impersonal “it” or a personal “she.” The matter is complicated by the fact that the description of wisdom here has both impersonal and personal features. Like other English translators (see Thomson, Brenton, NETS, King) I have chosen the personal pronoun, although this causes awkwardness with a verb like ἐμπορεύεσθαι, which commonly means “trade in,” and has an impersonal object. What can it mean “to trade in her” (so NETS, King; MGELS s.v. 1,a; similarly Moro and BG)? Nor does there seem to be any lexicographical warrant for the older translation “traffic for her” (so Thomson, Brenton, GELS s.v.), which apparently means “bargain for her” (Oxford English Dictionary s.v. “traffic” [verb] I,1). A better interpretation of the verb in the present context is “buy” (so VL, CP, BAP) or “acquire” (so Giguet, SD). Although the meaning “buy” for ἐμπορεύομαι is not found in LSJ or MGELS, it is listed in PGL s.v. 2, and is a natural extension of the well-attested meaning “import,” with accusative of the thing (LSJ s.v. II,3,a, MGELS s.v. 2). The meaning “buy” is also listed in the German original of the Bauer lexicon which ultimately underlies BDAG, but unfortunately this point is obscured in its English editions. The German s.v. 2 has the gloss “einhandeln, erkaufen” (that is, “purchase, buy”), but in the English versions this has become “buy and sell, trade in” (so BAG and BAGD s.v.), with the addition in BDAG of the extended definition “to engage w. someone in a business transaction.” Signifi-

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cantly, Bauer in his entry lists Prov 3:14 under the meaning “buy.” It is also worth noting that the revised edition of Henri Estienne’s Thesaurus Graecae Linguae (8 vols. in 9; Paris: Didot, 1831–1865) assigns the meaning “import” to the verb in this verse (3.906). 3:152. οὐκ ἀντιτάξεται αὐτῇ οὐδὲν πονηρόν, “no evil will compare with her.” Many translations interpret the verb here to mean “resist” or “oppose,” as in fact it does in vs 34 (so VL, Brenton, Giguet, BAP, Fox, King). However, this meaning does not fit the context here very well. A better rendering is that of Thomson, “nothing evil can be compared to her,” which provides a fitting parallel to the cola beginning and ending this verse. On that reading all three cola assert the superior value of wisdom over that of other things. Similarly SD and Moro. It is also this meaning which is assigned to the verb in the present context by LSJ s.v. II,3 (“set against, compare”), MGELS s.v. a (“be a match for”), and GE s.v. 3 (“be counterposed, set in comparison”). In this use of ἀντιτάσσομαι the preverb ἀντι- does not indicate opposition, but rather equality (see LSJ s.v. ἀντί C,6). Nothing evil will rank as equal in value to wisdom, whatever allurements that evil may offer. 3:153. εὔγνωστός ἐστιν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐγγίζουσιν αὐτῇ, “she is easily known to all who approach her.” The adjective εὔγνωστος is here usually understood to mean “well known” or the like (so VL, Brenton, Giguet, NETS, Moro, Fox, King), but some take it to mean “easily knowable” (so Thomson, BAP, SD, BG). Both meanings are possible (see LSJ s.v.), but the latter is more likely in the present context. Why would people be urged to acquire Wisdom if she is already well known? For the ambiguity of verbal adjectives like γνωστός, meaning both “known” and “knowable,” see GG §457 and BDF §65(3). For the prefix εὐ- suggesting ease see LSJ s.v. εὖ VI, and words like εὐαίρετος, “easy to be taken.” 3:154. πᾶν δὲ τίμιον οὐκ ἄξιον αὐτῆς ἐστιν, “and no precious thing matches her in value.” The grammatical construction is awkward in Greek, literally “and every precious thing is not equivalent to it,” which closely reflects the Hebrew ‫כל־הפציך לא ישׁוו־בה‬. On this common Hebraism in biblical Greek (also found in 2:19), see C&S §88; MGELS s.v. πᾶς I,b; BDF § 302 (1); BDAG s.v. πᾶς 1,a,α (at end), SSG §83fa. Note that ἄξιος here does not have its usual meaning “worthy” (so VL, CP, Giguet, BAP, NETS, SD, Moro, King, SRE), but is used in its original sense (not recognized in MGELS s.v.) of “counterbalancing,” “weighing as much as” (LSJ s.v. I,1). This sentence is repeated in 8:11. 3:172. καὶ πάντες οἱ τρίβοι αὐτῆς ἐν εἰρήνῃ, “and all her paths are in peace.” A later hand in B appears to correct οἱ to αἱ, but without correcting πάντες to πᾶσαι. The

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noun τρίβος is usually feminine (in Proverbs for example in 2:15, 2:19, 2:201), but occasionally masculine (in Proverbs for example in 2:202). See LSJ s.v. 3:182. καὶ τοῖς ἐπερειδομένοις ἐπ’ αὐτὴν ὡς ἐπὶ κύριον, “and to those who rely on her as on the Lord.” This is the first-hand text of B. A later hand has added the word ἀσφαλῆ after κύριον, so that the meaning becomes “and to those who rely on her as on the steadfast Lord.” Rahlfs has ἐπ’ αὐτὴν ὡς ἐπὶ κύριον ἀσφαλής, in which the adjective refers to Wisdom, not the Lord. Note that Rahlfs’s apparatus fails to point out that B’s corrector adds the accusative ἀσφαλῆ rather than the nominative ἀσφαλής. 3:192. ἡτοίμασεν δὲ οὐρανοὺς φρονήσει, “and with understanding he established the heavens.” Rahlfs has ἐν φρονήσει. The verb ἑτοιμάζω usually means “prepare,” but in biblical Greek it is also often used to translate forms of ‫כון‬, ‫ עשׂה‬and ‫ברא‬, especially when God is the explicit or implied subject. See Grundmann at TDNT 2.704. In such cases (as here, where it translates the Polel of ‫)כון‬, it conveys the meaning “establish” or “create.” This meaning is not listed in LSJ, GELS, or GE, but it is recognized by Muraoka; see MGELS s.v. I,2: “to bring into existence, fashion.” Note that this meaning persists in Modern Greek, where ἑτοιμάζω often means “make.” In this verse the verb is usually translated “prepare” (so CP, Brenton, NETS, SD, King, SRE), although the VL already correctly rendered it stabilivit. For other examples of this usage in Proverbs, see 8:27, 8:35, and 16:12. 3:211. μὴ παραρρυῇς, “do not drift off course.” If we leave aside the puzzling rendering of these words by Thomson (“be not wanting in retention”), existing translations have generally interpreted this verb in one of two ways: either (1) in the light of the corresponding Hebrew of the MT (“do not let them escape from your sight”): “let them not pass from thee” (Brenton), similarly “lass (sie) nicht vorbeifließen” (SD), or (2) on the basis of an assumed play on ἐρρύησαν in the preceding line: “ne te laisse pas aller” (BAP, with note). LSJ offers yet another rendering of the verb in this verse, namely “to be careless, neglect” (s.v. II,2), and this is followed by GELS s.v., MGELS s.v., Moro, King, and SRE, while Fox gives the rendering “slip aside.” My translation takes its cue from Heb 2:1, where we find the verb παραρρυῶμεν, another example of the otherwise rare passive of παραρρέω, which is usually translated “(so that we do not) drift away.” So too LSG on our verse: “drift from course, err.” Curiously, NETS has “do not break away,” which appears to be based on reading the verb as παραρράγῃς, the passive subjunctive of παραρρήγνυμι rather than παραρρέω. This mistaken reading (not attested in any manuscript) may have been suggested by the occurrence of ἐρράγησαν in vs 20.

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3:22a1. ταῖς σαρξί σου, “for your flesh.” For the largely indiscriminate use of the singular and plural of σάρξ, see LSJ s.v. I,1; DBAG s.v. 1. 3:281. μὴ εἴπῃς Ἐπανελθὼν ἐπάνηκε, αὔριον δώσω, “do not say, ‘Return and come back, tomorrow I will give.’” Rahlfs has καὶ before αὔριον. 3:291. μὴ τεκτήνῃ ἐπὶ σὸν φίλον κακά, “do not devise evil against your friend.” The verb τεκταίνομαι is a favorite of the translator of Proverbs; he uses it eight times (out of thirteen occurrences in the LXX as a whole), usually as the equivalent of Hebrew ‫( ָח ַרשׁ‬the two exceptions are found in 11:27 and 26:24). Frequently the object is κακά (so here and 6:14, 12:20, 14:22), or ἀγαθά (11:27). Other objects are λογισμοὺς κακούς (6:18), ἀλήθειαν (14:22), and δόλους (Β λόγους) (26:24). In Proverbs, in conformity with classical usage, the verb is usually treated as a deponent; the occasional use of active forms (twice in 14:22, but not in 26:27, pace LSJ s.v. II) reflects later usage (see LSJ s.v. I, II). Although the verb originally meant “to do the work of a τέκτων (that is, ‘carpenter’),” in Proverbs it is consistently used in the metaphorical sense “devise, plan, contrive, esp. by craft or cunningly” (LSJ s.v. I,3). Muraoka is wrong to claim that in Proverbs it means “to effect, bring about” (MGELS s.v. 2). 3:302. μή τί σε ἐργάσηται κακόν, “lest he make you something evil.” Rahlfs has εἰς before σε, yielding the translation “lest he do some harm to you.” 3:312. μηδὲ ζηλώσῃς τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτῶν, “and do not emulate their ways.” The verb ζηλόω occurs six times in the Old Greek of Proverbs, consistently used in the sense “emulate” (see LSJ s.v. I,1). In three of these (3:31, 4:14, 6:6) its object is ὁδούς, and in the remaining three (23:17 [not in B], 24:1, 24:19) its object is either “sinners” or “wicked men.” In these places ζηλόω is usually translated “envy,” but the meaning “emulate” is clear from 6:6: one must emulate the ways of the ant (so correctly MGELS s.v. 5). In all six of its occurrences in Proverbs, the verb occurs as a command, usually a prohibition warning against bad behavior, but a positive command in 6:6. In his discussion of the LXX use of the verb in TDNT (2.883) Stumpff writes: “It is used most consistently in Prv. Here, in accordance with the moralistic spirit of the book, it means ‘to strive after’ on the basis of preceding approval or admiration.” This is not quite right, since the meaning “strive after” (the German original has nacheifern, nachstreben) does not fit when the object is not “ways,” but “sinners.” 3:351. οἱ δὲ ἀσεβεῖς ὕψωσαν ἀτιμίαν, “but the ungodly exalt dishonor.” The aorist is best understood as gnomic, and thus translated as a present (see note on 1:22).

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4:11. καὶ πρόσεχετε γνῶναι ἔννοιαν, “and be intent on getting to know his insight.” The construction of προσέχω with a non-articular infinitive is a literal translation of the Hebrew, and appears to have no parallel in Greek elsewhere. For προσέχω meaning “be intent on,” see LSJ s.v. 3. For this place Muraoka proposes the translation “make sure that you learn how to think” (SSG, p. 362; compare MGELS s.v. προσέχω 3,b), but this strikes me as lexically forced and alien to the context. 4:61. μηδὲ ἐγκαταλίπῃς αὐτήν, καὶ ἀνθέξεταί σου, “do not forsake her, and she will stick with you.” In strict grammar the antecedent of the pronoun αὐτήν would have to be the just-mentioned “utterance” (ῥῆσιν) of one of the speaker’s parents, since this is the nearest feminine singular noun. That is how it is understood by most translators (so Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, SD, Moro, BG). On that reading an English translation would render αὐτήν as “it.” However, from the description which follows in vss 6, 8–9 it is difficult not to conclude that the true antecedent is personified Wisdom. That this was in fact the case is clear from the missing verse 7, which is absent from the Old Greek and B, but was restored in Origen’s Hexapla, and which has the exhortation “acquire Wisdom.” Accordingly, d’Hamonville in BAP argues that the personified being described in vss 6, 8–9, must be understood to be Wisdom, even in the absence of vs 7. On that reading an English translation would render αὐτήν as “her.” So NETS, which translates this colon as “nor abandon her, and she will cleave to you” (my emphases). I have adopted this second interpretation (as has King), partly because this is not the only case in the B manuscript of Proverbs where the feminine singular pronoun αὐτήν appears to refer to Wisdom even though Wisdom is not explicitly mentioned in the context (see also 4:22 and 6:22, with my notes). 4:62. ἐράσθητι αὐτῆς, “be her lover.” The use of the verb ἐράω here is very striking, not only because it is a very rare verb for “love” in the LXX (there are only three occurrences in all, compared to more than 250 cases of ἀγαπάω), but also because it usually has an erotic connotation, like its cognate ἐραστής, “lover” (see LSJ s.v. ἐράω I, BDAG s.v.). For that reason, taking my cue from BAP, I translate it here as “be (her) lover.” See also the reference to “embracing” in the next verse. 4:7. There is nothing corresponding to this verse in B or Rahlfs. 4:81. περιχαράκωσον, “fence her about.” The verb means literally “surround with a stockade” (LSJ s.v.). Compare χαρακόω, “fence by a palisade” (LSJ s.v.).

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commentary

4:92. στεφάνῳ δὲ τρυφῆς ὑπερασπίσῃ σου, “and shield you with a luxurious wreath.” On στέφανος see note on 1:9. Since the verb ὑπερασπίζω is construed with the genitive, the Greek translation here introduces an ambiguity which is not present in the Hebrew parent text. The Greek could also be translated “and shield your delight with a wreath.” The odd notion that Wisdom “shields” someone (or something) with a wreath is based on the translator’s mistaken assumption that the corresponding verb in Hebrew (‫ )תמגנך‬is to be understood in the light of the noun ‫מגן‬, “shield.” 4:121. συνκλεισθήσεται. A later hand in B corrected this to συγκλεισθήσεται (so Rahlfs). 4:142. μηδὲ ζηλώσῃς ὁδοὺς παρανόμων, “and do not emulate the ways of transgressors.” Gerleman argues on the basis of the Hebrew Vorlage (‫ אשׁר‬Piel) that the verb ζηλόω here means “esteem or pronounce happy, praise” (1956:50; compare LSJ s.v. I,2), but this is unlikely, given the consistent use of ζηλόω elsewhere in Proverbs (see note on 3:31). Most other translations have “envy” (so Giguet, BAP, Moro, BG, Fox) or “covet” (so Brenton, NETS). King has “seek for.” 4:182. ἕως κατορθώσῃ ἡ ἡμέρα, “until the day prospers.” Translators differ widely in trying to make sense of this enigmatic phrase. A few examples are “donec corrigat dies” (VL), “until the day be fully come” (Brenton, with the marginal note: “Gr. until the day order itself aright”), “bis der Tag gut zu Ende gebracht ist” (SD), “fino a che sia saldo [solid] il giorno” (Moro), and “until the day has advanced quite a while” (MGELS s.v. κατορθόω 5,a). To judge by the way the translator of LXX Proverbs uses κατορθόω intransitively elsewhere, the verb means either “be upright” (2:7; 14:11) or “prosper”/“fare well” (4:18; 11:10; 23:3; 25:5). It is unclear what could be meant by the day “prospering.” The context suggests it may have to do with the light of day coming into its own as the dark of night is banished. 4:211. αἱ πηγαί σου, “your springs.” On πηγή, “spring,” as distinct from κρήνη, “(artificially constructed) fountain,” see Renehan 1975:164, who refers to R.E. Wycherly, “πηγή and κρήνη,” CR 51 (1937) 2–3. 4:212. ἐν καρδίᾳ. Rahlfs has ἐν σῇ καρδίᾳ. 4:221. τοῖς εὑρίσκουσιν αὐτήν, “to those who find her.” Rahlfs has τοῖς εὑρίσκουσιν αὐτάς, “to those who find them,” where the antecedent of the plural pronoun is clearly the “springs” (πηγαί) of the previous verse. The antecedent of the singular pronoun in B is less clear, although in a pinch it could be taken to be the

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“utterance” (ῥήσει) of vs 20. However, I prefer another possibility, namely that αὐτήν here, just as in 4:6, refers to personified Wisdom, even though Wisdom had not been previously introduced. We find a third example in 6:22, where αὐτήν also appears to refer to Wisdom, although she is not mentioned in the immediate context. As a result, I have translated the pronoun here as “her” rather than “it.” 4:242. καὶ ἄδικα χείλη ἀπὸ σοῦ μακρὰν ἄπωσαι, “and banish dishonest lips far from you.” Rahlfs has the order μακρὰν ἀπὸ σοῦ. 4:251. οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου ὀρθὰ βλεπέτωσαν, “let your eyes have a blameless gaze.” This has traditionally been translated in one of two ways, either (1) “let thine eyes look straight forward” (so Thomson; similarly Brenton, NETS, Moro), or (2) “let your eyes see right things” (so VL, CP, Giguet, BAP, SD, BG, King). Both of these interpretations overlook the fact that βλέπω with the accusative, notably the accusative of the neuter form of an adjective, has an idiomatic meaning describing how a person looks at others, that is, what their gaze is like. Thus in Pindar we find φθονερὰ βλέπειν, “to look with an envious eye” (GE s.v. βλέπω 1,C; see also LSJ s.v. II,1 and MGELS s.v. 6). On this usage, in which the accusative is adverbial, see Kühner-Gerth 1898:1.309 and GG § 1053b. See also the expression ὁ βλέπων λεῖα, “the man with a gentle gaze” in 12:13a. It would seem, therefore, that this verse has to do with the ethics of one’s gaze. The first colon probably refers especially to the male gaze; compare the warning against ogling (στηρίζειν ὀφθαλμόν) in 16:30 and 27:20a, and similar biblical sentiments elsewhere (see Job 31:1 and Mt 5:28). 4:252. τὰ δὲ βλέφαρά σου νευέτω δίκαια, “and let your eyelids signal righteous things.” This is likely meant as an exhortation to modesty, as indicated by downcast eyes, as well as a warning against flirting. Compare the English idioms “to bat one’s eyes at” and “to make eyes at.” Although still addressed to “my son” (vs 20), these words are probably meant to apply in the first instance to women, just as the preceding colon was directed primarily to men. The verb νεύω here has been variously translated “wink” (so Thomson, SD), “assent to” (so Brenton; similarly CP, Giguet, BAP, BG, Fox), or “incline to” (so NETS; similarly Moro). Since the verb combines the ideas of lowering (usually, but not always, the head) and signalling, I take it to refer here to the demure lowering of the eyelids as a way of sending a message. See LSJ s.v. I,1: “nod, beckon, as a sign.” Compare the related νευστάζω, “to nod, make signals with the head or eyes” (GE s.v.). There is a similar statement in 6:13, where ἐννεύει ὀφθαλμῷ is parallel to σημαίνει. See also 6:25, where a man is warned against being captivated by eyelids.

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5:22. αἴσθησις δὲ ἐμῶν χειλέων ἐντέλλεταί σοι, “and the discernment of my lips commands you.” Rahlfs has αἴσθησιν δὲ ἐμῶν χειλέων ἐντέλλομαι, “and I enjoin on you the discernment of my lips.” 5:31. μὴ πρόσεχε φαύλῃ γυναικί, “pay no attention to a loose woman.” The adjective φαῦλος refers in general to that which falls short of a high standard, and can range in meaning from “ordinary” to “bad.” See LSJ and DBAG s.v. Here it refers to a woman who falls short in a moral sense. Muraoka mistakenly refers it here to social rank (see MGELS s.v.). In Proverbs φαῦλος is also used of a poor harvest (22:8), and of an inept person compared to a wise one (16:21 and 29:9). The fact that φαῦλος is a term for “bad” in later Stoic ethics does not mean that its use here betrays Stoic influence (pace Dick 1991:44), since this was a common Greek usage (see LSJ s.v. I,3, BDAG s.v. 1). 5:33. λιπαίνει σὸν φάρυγγα, “anoints your throat.” There seems to be no justification for such sanitizing translations as “she pleases your palate” (so NETS; following Thomson, Brenton, and Giguet), not least because φάρυγξ does not mean “palate” but “throat.” To assign to it the meaning “palate” is to transfer the meaning of the Hebrew Vorlage ‫ חך‬to its Greek translation. Nor does there seem to be any justification for the interpretation of Clement of Alexandria, who interprets the phrase to be the equivalent of “she flatters” (κολακεύει). See Stromata I,29. The verb refers explicitly to anointing a part of the body with oil. It is likely that the phrase refers to some kind of erotic behavior; compare GELS s.v. λιπαίνω, which gives the translation “she French-kisses you.” 5:41. ὕστερον μέντοι πικρότερον χολῆς εὑρήσεις, “but later you will find something more bitter than gall.” The sense is not “you will find it more bitter than gall” (so NETS; similarly Brenton, BAP, Fox, King), since εὑρίσκω in Greek, unlike “find” in English, cannot mean “experience” (something to be such-andsuch). 5:52. τοὺς χρωμένους αὐτῇ, “those who use her.” For χράομαι in the sense of employing someone (that is, using their services), see 10:4a and 25:13. In the present context the verb has the additional connotation of having sexual intercourse (see LSJ s.v. χράω [B] C, IV,2). It is unlikely that χράομαι is here being used in the sense of “consulting an oracle” (see LSJ s.v. χράω [B] A,III), as suggested by the rendering “ses adeptes” in BAP. 5:82. οἴκων αὐτῆς, “her home.” To render the singular Hebrew ‫ביתה‬, “her house,” the translator uses the Greek plural. On this idiomatic use of the plural of οἶκος

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(not noted in GELS or MGELS s.v.), see LSJ s.v. I,2. Other examples of a plural rendering of singular ‫ בית‬are found in Prov 5:10, 7:8; 12:7; 31:27. There is no indication that the plural refers to “a stately residential complex” (so Fox 2015:142, commenting on 7:8). 5:91. ἵνα μὴ πρόῃ ἄλλοις ζωήν σου, “lest you waste your life on others.” The translator here renders the common Hebrew verb ‫נתן‬, “to give,” with the more expressive middle of προίημι, which can mean “give up,” “spend,” “abandon,” or “throw away” (see LSJ s.v. B,II,1/2/3/5). 5:102. ἔλθωσιν. Rahlfs has εἰσέλθωσιν. 5:111. καὶ μεταμεληθήσῃ, “and you will be sorry.” I take this form of the verb to indicate the beginning of a new sentence, with the verb referring to future time. It is also grammatically possible to interpret it as an example of a future indicative in a ἵνα-clause, in which case it represents a continuation of the previous verse, parallel to the aorist subjunctives πλησθῶσιν and εἰσελθῶσιν. On this construction see C&S §106, BDF §369(2), and SSG §29a. Although it is taken in the second sense by some translations (notably Brenton, SD, and King), I regard this as less likely, given the rarity of this use of the future. 5:112. ἡνίκα ἂν κατατριβῶσι σάρκες σώματός σου, “when the flesh of your body is worn out.” Curiously, BAP translates “ils étreinteront [will exhaust] les chairs,” as though the verb were active (κατατρίβωσι) and σάρκες in the accusative. For the use of the plural of σάρξ, see note on 3:22. 5:122. ἐλέγχους ἐξέκλινεν ἡ καρδία μου, “my heart avoided admonitions.” On this transitive meaning of ἐκκλίνω, see LSJ s.v. II,2 and MGELS s.v. 5,c. 5:151. ὕδατα, “water.” Greek often uses the plural where English has the singular (see LSJ s.v.). Other examples in Proverbs are found in 5:16 (bis), 8:24, and 8:29. 5:161. μὴ ὑπερεκχείσθω σοι ὕδατα ἐκ τῆς σῆς πηγῆς, “water must not be poured out by you from your spring.” Rahlfs has τὰ ὕδατα. For the use of the plural see note on vs 15. The passive of ὑπερεκχέω is here usually translated “overflow” (so VL, Thomson, Giguet, NETS, SD, Moro, BG, King; MGELS s.v.), with the accompanying σοι somewhat awkwardly taken to mean “for you” (so VL, Thomson, NETS, SD), “chez toi” (so Giguet), or not translated at all (so BAP, Moro, BG, King). Although

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this meaning of the passive can be defended when the subject is the container of a liquid, like the vats of a winepress (see Joel 2:24 and 3:13), the situation is different when the subject is the liquid itself, as here. In that case the verbal form is to be taken as a true passive, “be poured out (over),” and the accompanying σοι as a dative of agent. So Brenton: “let not waters … be spilt by thee” (so also CP and Gerleman 1956:18). Understood in this way, the sentence fits well with the context, in which keeping water in one’s spring or fountain is a metaphor for a man’s sexual abstinence. The compound verb ἐκχέω is wellattested in Greek from Homer onward, often used of the pouring out of water, wine and oil, also in the passive voice. The double compound verb ὑπερεκχέω, however, is not attested before the LXX. The addition of the preverb ὑπερ- suggests that the pouring out in question is excessive or crosses a line; see LSJ s.v. ὑπέρ F,3: “above measure.” 5:162. εἰς δὲ σὰς πλατείας διαπορευέσθω τὰ σὰ ὕδατα, “but your water must run into your streets.” The repeated possessive adjective is significant in the context, emphasizing the prohibition of sexual promiscuity. 5:171. ἔστω σοι μόνα ὑπάρχοντα, “let only possessions belong to you.” For the B reading μόνα Rahlfs has μόνῳ, yielding the translation “let possessions be yours alone.” For (τὰ) ὑπάρχοντα in the sense of “possessions,” see LSJ s.v. IV,2. It is found again at 6:31. It is also found in 11:4 (without article, as here) although that verse is missing in B. For the unusual use of an anarthrous participle as the subject of a sentence, see note on 2:7. 5:181. ἡ πηγή σου τοῦ ὕδατος ἔστω σοι ἰδίᾳ, “let your spring of water belong to you in private.” This translation depends on reading ἴδίᾳ (with iota subscript). It needs to be remembered that B, like many early manuscripts, does not indicate iota subscript, so that the decision to read a dative here is an editorial one. For this idiomatic meaning of the feminine dative of ἴδιος, see LSJ s.v. V,2,a. This reading is favored by the supposition that the translator read ‫ לבדך‬instead of ‫ ברוך‬in his Vorlage (see de Lagarde 1863:21). Without the iota subscript the word becomes nominative singular, agreeing with πηγή, and yields the translation “Let your spring of water belong to you as your own.” The second reading is printed in the editions of Brenton and Rahlfs, and is reflected in the translations of Brenton, BAP, NETS, SD, Moro, Fox, and King. GELS s.v. ἴδιος appears to confuse the two possibilities: it gives the reading ἰδίᾳ (with iota subscript), yet translates this as “your own.” Note that πηγή does not mean “well” (pace NETS); see note on 4:21.

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5:191. ἔλαφος φιλίας καὶ πῶλος σῶν χαρίτων ὁμιλείτω σοι, “let your beloved doe and lovely filly be intimate with you.” As metaphors for the addressee’s wife, ἔλαφος and πῶλος must be understood as feminine nouns referring to “doe” (or “hind”) and “filly,” respectively (so Fox, King), not generically to “deer” and “foal.” As “genitives of quality” reflecting the Hebrew, the nouns φιλίας and χαρίτων are to be translated as adjectives (see note on 3:10). The verb ὁμιλέω here has sexual connotations (see MGELS s.v. 1,a), just as the noun ὁμιλία can refer to sexual intercourse (as in Exod 21:10). Compare also the sexual connotation of ὁμιλία in 7:21. 5:192. ἡ δὲ ἰδίᾳ ἡγείσθω σου, “and let her lead you in private.” As in the previous verse, I read ἰδίᾳ, not ἰδία. Rahlfs has the latter reading. Strangely, the deponent verb ἡγείσθω has often been interpreted as a passive, yielding the translation “let her be considered” (so Gerleman 1956:27 and NETS; similarly Thomson and Brenton). The verb is correctly rendered in the SD: “die eigene [reading ἰδία] führe dich” (so too King). Remarkably, the Greek text seems to suggest that in private the woman should take the lead in lovemaking. 5:193. ἐν γὰρ τῇ ταύτης φιλίᾳ συνπεριφερόμενος πολλοστὸς ἔσῃ, “for by accommodating yourself in your love for her you will be very great.” A later hand in B has corrected συνπεριφερόμενος to συμπεριφερόμενος. This enigmatic sentence has been translated in dramatically different ways. Examples are the following: “For ravished with her love thou wilt become a numerous family” (Thomson; similarly Brenton, King); “car ravis de ton amour, tu vivras longtemps” (Giguet), “de l’amour de celle-là, en effet, tu ne cesseras pas d’ être entouré” (BAP), “for while indulging in her love you will be increased immeasurably” (NETS), “denn durch ihre Liebe herumgetragen wirst du gering sein” (SD), “perché nel suo amore tu sia sempre trascinato [carried along]” (Moro, apparently ignoring πολλοστός), and “consorting in the affection of this one, you will become very great” (Fox). Most of these translations take συμπεριφερόμενος as passive in sense, construed with the preceding prepositional phrase to mean “ravished/surrounded/ carried about” by love for the beloved (so too de Waard 2005:191; see also the gloss in SRE: “indulge in intercourse”). However, the middle-passive forms of this verb generally have an active or middle sense, often of a person “living with” or “associating with” a spouse or other members of their household (see LSJ s.v. II,2, GE s.v. 2B; cf. Prov 11:29 and Sir 25:1). Perhaps because living in close quarters with each other requires a certain amount of give and take, the verb has also acquired the specific meaning “accommodate oneself (to)” (see LSJ s.v. II,3, GE s.v. 2B). It is likely that both meanings come into play in the present

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context. Compare also the noun συμπεριφορά, which means both “social intercourse” and “accommodating temper” (LSJ s.v.). The adjective πολλοστός, formed on the analogy of numerical adjectives like εἰκοστός, “twentieth,” originally meant “(so) manyeth,” that is, “far on in the ordinal series first, second, third, etc.” (LSJ s.v.). Depending on whether the series in question is one of increasing or decreasing size, or one of moving forward in time, πολλοστός can mean either “very small,” “very large,” or “late,” a circumstance which accounts for the different renderings of Thomson, SD, and Giguet. It is difficult to decide which meaning is most appropriate for this context. Like most translators, I have chosen for the meaning “very great” (cf. LSJ s.v. II), taking my cue from the one other place where πολλοστός occurs in the LXX, namely, 2Kgdms 23:20, where it corresponds to Hebrew ‫רב‬. For our verse Muraoka has the translation “you will be much better off” (MGELS s.v.), but I doubt that what the translator had in mind was greater affluence. Instead, he is likely speaking of greater moral stature. The husband who, out of love for his wife, accommodates himself to her, will be “very great” in an ethical sense. This verse is remarkable for its emphasis on the husband’s duty to love his wife, and to accommodate himself to her. 5:201. μὴ πολὺς ἴσθι πρὸς ἀλλοτρίαν, “do not be passionately involved with a woman who belongs to another.” The Greek is literally, “be not much to [a woman],” but it is unclear what “being much to” means. Guesses include “be devoted to” (Thomson), “be intimate with” (Brenton, GELS), “be for long with” (NETS), “großspurig [arrogant] sein zu” (SD), and “frequentare spesso [visit often]” (Moro). To add to the confusion, Muraoka has suggested that πολύς in this verse might mean “talkative” (MGELS s.v. πολύς a), and Fox has argued that it means “great” in the sense of having “a large family” (2015:122). Although Fox’s proposal can be made plausible on the assumption that the translator read the ‫ תשׁגה‬of the MT (with šin) as ‫תשׂגה‬, “you will be great” (with śîn), this does not mean that his Greek actually conveys the meaning that he read in the Hebrew. It is tempting to understand the phrase to mean “do not be much with” (that is, do not spend much time with), but that would give πολύς a temporal meaning which it does not otherwise have. In terms of native Greek idiom, πολύς said of a person means “great” or “mighty” (LSJ s.v. I,2,b), or that someone does something “with might or force” (LSJ s.v. I,2,c). Accordingly, we can understand the Greek phrase in the present verse to mean “do not be passionately involved with a woman,” although it must be admitted that this is conjectural. It is of interest to note how the church father Clement of Alexandria interprets the phrase. In the first book of his Stromata (I,29), he writes as follows: “But when he says Μὴ πολὺς ἴσθι πρὸς ἀλλοτρίαν, he exhorts us to use worldly

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culture, but not to linger and remain in it” (χρῆσθαι μέν, οὐκ ἐνδιατρίβειν δὲ καὶ ἐναπομένειν τῇ κοσμικῇ παιδείᾳ παραινεῖ). The two emphasized verbs reflect his understanding of πολὺς ἴσθι πρός. D’Hamonville in BAP takes this passage as his cue for the translation “Ne perds pas de temps auprès de l’ étrangère.” The adjective ἀλλότριος occurs some sixteen times in LXX Proverbs. Although it occasionally means “strange(r)” or “alien” (see 2:16, 5:10 bis, 5:17), or even “hostile” (see note on 2:16), it usually has its original meaning “belonging to someone else” (here and at 6:24, 7:5, 9:18 ter, 23:27 bis, 23:33, 26:17, 27:2, 27:13). See LSJ s.v. I and GELS s.v., and compare Latin alienus. That this is the meaning in the present verse is clear from the contrast with τῆς ἰδίας in the parallel line. Oddly enough, Muraoka does not recognize this sense for LXX Proverbs at all, and in only one place elsewhere in the LXX (MGELS s.v. 3,c). He classifies its use here and in 6:24, 7:5, 23:33 under the heading “a person of the other sex other than one’s spouse” (MGELS s.v. 2,b). We must also reject the translation “strange woman” (NETS). The adjective here is correctly understood by Brenton (“a woman not thine own”). 5:202. μηδὲ συνέρχου ἀγκάλαις τῆς μὴ ἰδίας, “and do not come together in the embraces of a woman who is not your own.” For συνέρχομαι used of sexual intercourse see LSJ s.v. II,3,b. Compare Latin coitus. For B’s reading συνέρχου Rahlfs has συνέχου, “be held.” 5:232. ἐκ δὲ πλήθους τῆς ἑαυτοῦ βιότητος ἐξερρίφη, “he is cast out of the fullness of his lifetime.” It is unlikely that βιότης here can be translated “means of living” (so Thomson, GELS) or “substance” (so Brenton, GELS), or “sustenance” (so NETS), since these meanings (though common enough for βίος) seem to be unattested for βιότης (see LSJ and GE s.v). Instead, it regularly refers to the span or course of a person’s life. The aorist of ἐξερρίφη, and of the ἀπώλετο which follows, is to be interpreted as gnomic, here (as frequently elsewhere in Proverbs) parallel to a verb in the present tense (τελευτᾷ). See note on 1:22. 6:33. ἴσθι μὴ ἐγλυόμενος, “don’t be discouraged.” The first-hand reading εγλυομενος was corrected by a later hand to εκλυομενος (not ειλυομενος, pace Swete). The reading ἴσθι, “be” (the imperative of εἰμί sum) is found in all manuscripts, including B. It is just possible that ἴσθι would have been understood as the imperative of οἶδα (for this form see GG §529 and LSJ s.v. *εἴδω B, ninth line). Compare Eph 5:5 ἴστε γινώσκοντες, where an imperative of οἶδα is also followed by a present participle. However, this is contextually less likely. The reading ἴσθι here is very probably an inner-Greek corruption of ἴθι, “go” (the impera-

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tive of εἶμι ibo), corresponding to the MT ‫( לך‬pace van der Louw 2007:263). The restored reading ἴθι goes back to J.E. Grabe’s Oxford edition (see Grabe 1709, Caput IV, §3 and ad locum). It is adopted in the edition of Rahlfs, and is reflected in NETS (“go”) and other contemporary translations. Although the manuscript reading ἴσθι probably does not represent the Old Greek, it has parallels in places like 3:5 (ἴσθι πεποιθώς). On this construction see SSG § 31fd. See also the note on 6:6. 6:34. παρόξυνε δὲ καὶ τὸν φίλον σου, ὃν ἐνεγυήσω, “spur on your friend as well, for whom you have pledged security.” Instead of παρόξυνε a later corrector in B wrote παρώξυνε, thus changing the second person imperative to a third person aorist: “he spurred on,” which makes little sense in the context. This variant is not recorded by either Swete or Rahlfs. Although the verb παροξύνω in the LXX usually means “provoke” in a negative sense (so also in Prov 7:15, 14:31, and 20:2), here and in 27:17 it is used in its primary positive sense “spur on,” “stimulate” (so correctly CP, Brenton, Giguet, SD, SRE). See LSJ s.v. I,1. Oddly enough, this positive meaning is not recorded in GELS and MGELS s.v. I can find no warrant for the translation “importune” (so Thomson, BAP, Fox) or “challenge” (so King). The form ἐνεγυήσω has a separate entry in LSJ, where it is explained as “irreg. aor. of ἐγγυάω.” See also MGELS s.v. ἐγγυάω. A search of the TLG reveals that the aorist of ὲγγυάω is formed in two ways: either “regularly” as ἠγγύησα (occurring 62 times in the TLG database), and “irregularly” as ἐνεγύησα (occurring 16 times). On these two forms of the aorist see GG p. 372 under ἐγγυάω. LSJ s.v. considers the second form to be “incorrect.” A later corrector of B, recognizing the morphological irregularity, changed the reading to ἐνηγγυήσω, as though formed from an otherwise unattested verb ἐνεγγυάω. This variant reading is mistakenly given as ἐνηγυήσω (with single gamma) by Swete in his apparatus, while Rahlfs does not record it at all. 6:61. ἴσθι πρὸς τὸν μύρμηκα, “be with the ant.” This is the first-hand text of B, perhaps influenced by the form ἴσθι in the neighboring verse 3. A corrector later changed this to ἴθι, “go,” which corresponds to the Hebrew ‫ ֵלְך‬of the MT. Rahlfs in his apparatus raises the question: “scripsitne interpres ισθι, non discernens εἶμι et εἰμί?” (“Did the translator write ισθι, not distinguishing between εἶμι [ibo] and εἰμί [sum]?”). In other words, did the translator think of ἴσθι as a form of εἶμι ibo, and thus mean “go” rather than “be”? I consider this an unlikely possibility, since the use of ἴσθι as a form of εἶμι ibo seems to be unattested elsewhere. Besides, the construction of the verb εἰμί sum with the preposition πρός plus accusative is well-attested elsewhere, the most famous example being John 1:1

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ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν (see BDAG s.v. πρός 3,g). Here the admonition to “be with” the ant would have been understood to mean spending time with this industrious creature in order to become familiar with its ways. 6:62. καὶ ζήλωσον ἰδὼν τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ, “and when you have seen its ways, emulate them.” On the meaning of ζηλόω see note on 3:31. Just as ὁδούς is the object of ζηλόω in 3:31 and 4:14, so here it is the object of both ζήλωσον and ἰδών; it is not here being used absolutely, pace MGELS s.v. 5. Given the context, ζήλωσον ἰδών here does not mean “zealously observe” (NETS). Instead, ζηλόω here means “emulate” (so MGELS s.v. 5; Fox). 6:72. μηδὲ τὸν ἀναγκάζοντα ἔχων, “has no one to compel it.” This is a grammatical anacoluthon. The translator continues the sentence as though the foregoing clause in 6:71 had been ἐκεῖνος γὰρ γεώργιον μὴ ἔχων instead of ἐκείνῳ γὰρ γεωργίου μὴ ὑπάρχοντος. Note that the latter is not an example of the “inverse attraction” of the relative pronoun (so van der Louw 2007:272, appealing to BDF § 295 among others), since no relative pronoun is involved. 6:82. πολλήν τε ἐν τῷ ἀμήτῳ ποιεῖται τὴν παράθεσιν, “and sets aside a good deal during harvest time.” As is often the case, the middle of ποιέω is used with the accusative of a verbal noun as a periphrasis of the verbal idea contained in the noun (see LSJ s.v. A,II,5, BDAG s.v. 7,a, MGELS s.v. II,1, BDF § 310[1]). Thus ποιεῖται τὴν παράθεσιν is the equivalent of παρατίθησι, “sets aside” (literally “makes a setting-aside” or “storing-up”). See LSJ s.v. παράθεσις III. Other examples of this idiom in LXX Proverbs are found in 6:8a, 26:6, and 29:13. This interpretation is to be preferred to that of SD, which has the translation “schafft viel Speise,” with the note “wörtlich das vorgesetzte (Gericht)” (similarly King). It is to be noted that πολλήν is here placed in predicate position, which has led to the NETS translation “makes its provisions plentiful” (similarly van der Louw 2007:275). However, it is a peculiarity of πολύς that in later Greek it is sometimes put in predicate position when it is grammatically attributive. Compare ὁ ὄχλος πολύς (John 12:9 and 12) with ὁ πολὺς ὄχλος (Mk 12:37). See BDF § 270(1). The word ἄμητος in LXX Proverbs, usually refers to “harvest time” (see also 10:5, 20:4, 25:13, 26:1). Only in 6:11 does it clearly mean “harvest.” 6:8a–c. This section on the bee is remarkable, not only because it gives a positive evaluation of an animal which elsewhere in the OT is depicted in rather negative terms (see Deut 1:44, Ps 117[118]:12, Isa 7:18), but also because it is an extensive addition to the canonical text, having no counterpart in the Hebrew.

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Gerleman has claimed that this additional section was dependent on Aristotle’s discussion of the bee in his Historia animalium 622B and 627A. In Aristotle too, Gerleman argued, the discussion of the bee comes immediately after that of the ant, and in Aristotle too the bee is described as ἐργάτις (see Gerleman 1956:31). Gerleman’s argument has been echoed by Cook (1997:166, 172, 199, 318–319, 337). However, it has been effectively challenged by van der Louw, who points out that Aristotle’s discussion of the bee in the Historia animalium comes right after that of the spider (not of the ant), and that Aristotle uses the adjective ἐργάτις not to describe bees in general, but smaller bees as compared to larger ones (see van der Louw 2007:278). Besides, “the juxtaposition of ants and bees as industrious animals seems to have been a widespread topos in Greek literature” (2007:277). Van der Louw’s point is echoed by Fox (2015:129–130; see also SDEK 1963, Jüngling 2015:378 n. 10). To van der Louw’s arguments we can add the observation that Aristotle uses ἐργάτις to describe bees in another place as well, namely De generatione animalium 760B. This is hardly surprising, since bees are proverbial for their industriousness in many cultures (compare the English saying “busy as a bee”). It is noteworthy that the latter passage in Aristotle also refers to the ἐργασία of bees (see next note). Instead of an allusion to a specific passage in Aristotle’s writings, van der Louw sees here a reminiscence of a traditional title given to the Pharaoh in Egypt, namely “he of the reed and the bee” (2007:278–279). This strikes me as even more speculative than the putative reference to Aristotle. Fox is probably right when he says of this alleged allusion that it “is certainly wrong, because the bee in Proverbs lacks royal features” (Fox 2015:130). 6:8a3. τήν τε ἐργασίαν ὡς σεμνὴν ποιεῖται, “and does its work as something admirable.” This is another example of the usage discussed in the note on 6:82. Note that ἐργασίαν also means work in the sense of “trade,” “business,” see LSJ s.v. II,3. The adjective σεμνός in Proverbs (see also 8:6 and 15:26) refers to that which commands respect or inspires awe, and thus is noble or admirable. The claim that σεμνός here (as in the rest of LXX Proverbs) has the religious meaning “holy” is to be rejected, pace Foerster TWNT 7.192 (similarly van der Louw 2007:276). In the context of the Greek depreciation of manual labor, this declaration of the bee’s work as admirable and worthy of emulation is remarkable. 6:8b1. ἧς τοὺς πόνους βασιλεῖς καὶ ἰδιῶται … προσφέρονται, “kings and commoners consume its products.” For πόνους see the note on 3:9. On the meaning “consume” for προσφέρονται see MGELS s.v. 3 and LSJ s.v. C,1. Compare also LSJ s.vv.

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προσφορά III (“taking of food”) and προσφόρος II (“that which is taken or eaten”). The translation “use” (so Brenton, NETS, SD, Fox, van der Louw 2007:276, King) is to be rejected. 6:8b1. πρὸς ὑγίαν, “for their health.” A later hand corrected the spelling of the noun to ὑγίειαν. According to LSJ s.v. ὑγίεια, the word “from about ii B.C. [was] written ὑγεῖα (pronounced ὑγῖα, contr. from ὑγῐῑᾰ).” See also BDF § 31(2). 6:8c2. προήχθη, “it is highly regarded.” The verb is another gnomic aorist, here as elsewhere parallel to a present tense (see on 1:22) and used in the sense “promoted to honor” (LSJ s.v. προάγω 5,b-c). The bee, by honoring Wisdom, is itself honored. 6:91. ἕως τίνος, ὀκνηρέ, κατάκεισαι; “how long are you lying in bed, you lazybones?” For this meaning of κατάκειμαι, see LSJ s.v. 4 (“lie sick, keep one’s bed”) and BDAG s.v. 1,a. See also 23:24. 6:92. ἐγερθήσῃ, “will you wake up?” For this meaning of the passive of ἐγείρω, see LSJ s.v. II,1. 6:102. ὀλίγον δὲ ἐναγκαλίζῃ χερσὶ στήθη, “and you hug your chest with your arms a little.” For the plural στήθη meaning “chest” (singular) see LSJ s.v. I, GE s.v. A.; for χείρ meaning “arm” see LSJ s.v. I,2. The image evoked seems to be that of someone with their arms folded over their chest (so Brenton, Giguet, BAP, NETS, Moro, King), possibly as a normal sleeping posture (so van der Louw 2007:281). There is a note in BG which explains the phrase as an idiom meaning “without doing any work,” but this seems less likely. The same phrase occurs in 24:33. 6:111. ἐμπαραγίνεταί σοι … ἡ πενία, “poverty befalls you.” The compound verb ἐμπαραγίνομαι is very rare; its occurrence in this verse is the only one listed in LSJ and GE, and no other occurrences are found in the TLG. It may very well be an ad hoc coinage on the part of the translator. It is usually understood to mean some variant of “come upon” or “befall” (so Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, NETS, SD, Fox, King, MGELS s.v.). BAP has “survient à tes côtés.” I see no justification for van der Louw’s translation “suddenly stands by you” (2007:285), which adds an adverb and suggests that poverty is actually supportive. 6:111–2. ὥσπερ κακὸς ὁδοιπόρος … ὥσπερ ἀγαθὸς δρομεύς, “like a bad walker … like a good runner …” Given the context, it is tempting to understand κακὸς ὁδοιπόρος to mean “highway bandit” (so MGELS s.v.), but there is really no lex-

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icographical support for this. For ὁδοιπόρος compare the corresponding verb, ὁδοιπορέω, “to walk,” the equivalent of Attic βαδίζω (see LSJ s.v.). Here there is clearly a pointed contrast between ὁδοιπόρος, “walker” and δρομεύς, “runner,” but the point of the contrast eludes me, since πενία and ἔνδεια are clearly synonymous concepts. 6:11a1. ὁ ἀμητός σου, “your harvest.” This is the only place in Proverbs where this noun means “harvest” rather than “harvest time” (see on 6:8). Curiously, it is also the only place where Rahlfs treats it as an oxytone (ἀμητός), rather than as a proparoxytone (ἄμητος). Some ancient grammarians distinguished the two as noun and adjective (or vice versa); see LSJ s.v. 6:131. ἐννεύει ὀφθαλμῷ, “signals with his eye.” Compare 10:10, where the same phrase occurs, also in a negative sense. It is tempting to translate “wink” (so Brenton, NETS, BAP, van der Louw 2007:294, SD, King, GELS s.v. ἐννεύω), but winking is not the only way to signal with the eyes; see also note on 4:25. Besides, the regular Greek verb for winking is ἐπιλλίζω. 6:141. διεστραμμένη καρδία τεκταίνεται, “his perverse heart devises.” This is how the text is read by Thomson, Brenton and Giguet. Rahlfs, however, reads διεστραμμένῃ δὲ καρδίᾳ (adding δέ and an iota subscript), which yields the translation “he devises with a perverse heart” (so BAP, NETS, SD, Moro). In B, in the margin next to this colon, we find the word κατασευάζει, “constructs,” possibly written in the original scribe’s hand. This suggests that the scribe knew of the reading κατασκευάζει as an alternative to τεκταίνεται. This marginal note is not recorded in Rahlfs’s apparatus. 6:141. ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ, “at every opportunity.” This is best taken with the first colon (as in B and in the Hebrew), rather than with the second (pace Thomson, Brenton, and Giguet). 6:151. διὰ τοῦτο. In B a later corrector added δὲ after διὰ. 6:161. ὁ θεός. Rahlfs has ὁ κύριος. 6:17–18. ὀφθαλμὸς … γλῶσσα … χεῖρες … καρδία … πόδες … These two verses consist of a series of nouns in the nominative (each representing some reprehensible behavior), which are simply strung together without forming a sentence. To relieve this difficulty a good number of manuscripts add a verb at the end of vs 18, namely ἐξολοθρευθήσονται, “will be utterly destroyed.” This reading is

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also reflected in the Syrohexapla and the Armenian version (see Cook 1997:178; it is not recorded by Swete or Rahlfs). Brenton simply adds the words “are hateful to God.” The best way to make grammatical sense of these nouns without supplying a verb is to treat them as standing in apposition to “everything God hates,” and “the uncleanness of his soul” in the previous verse. Although in strict grammar they would then have to be in the accusative (see GG § 900), the nominative after oblique cases (as here) is not without parallel, notably in the LXX (see BDF §136[1], SSG §72da). 6:191. ἐκκαίει ψεύδη μάρτυς ἄδικος, “an unjust witness makes lies burn.” The verb ἐκκαίει is difficult, since it speaks of a witness “burning (out)” lies. One expects a verb like “speak” or “utter.” Yet ἐκκαίει is not a mistake or corrupt text, since there are two other places in LXX Proverbs where the lies of a witness are the direct object of ἐκκαίω (14:5 and 14:25), and a third where the object is a false witness’s more generic “wickedness” (κακίαν) (19:9). In each case it translates the Hiphil of the verb ‫פוח‬, which in these verses is commonly understood to mean “utter” (NASB) or “pour forth” (NIV), but which in Ezek 21:36 means “fan into flame” or “kindle” (see HAL s.v. ‫ פוח‬I hif.) It seems that it is the latter meaning which the translator of LXX Proverbs assigned to the verb. For ἐκκαίω as the equivalent of ‫ פוח‬I hiph. see also 29:8. Presumably “to make lies burn” is to make them have a painful effect. This interpretation seems preferable to that of Muraoka, who understands ἐκκαίω here to mean “to cause to become active and intensify” (MGELS s.v. 2,b). Van der Louw, following BAP, gives the translation “he kindles lies as a false witness” (2007:310), but I see no reason not to take μάρτυς as the subject of the verb. 6:192. καὶ ἐπιπέμπει κρίσεις, “and sows discord.” The Greek, which here follows the Hebrew closely, is literally “sends disputes.” For κρίσις meaning “dispute,” see also 15:18a, 23:29, 28:2, and 30:33. Van der Louw claims that this meaning is very rare (2007:311), but it is in fact well attested; see not only LSJ s.v. II,3, but also GE s.v. F (which gives examples from Herodotus, Sophocles and Plato) and MGELS s.v. 10. I prefer this meaning of the noun to “judgement” (so King), or the poorly attested sense “lawsuit” (pace van der Louw 2007:310; Fox 2015:135). The translation “sow discord” is a fitting rendering of both the Greek (so Thomson, NETS) and the Hebrew (so KJV, NRSV, NLT), going back as far as the Vulgate (“seminat discordias”). Curiously, van der Louw translates the verb here as “unchain” (2007:310), and King renders it as “let loose.” Note that in a Greek context the notion of “sending” discord among people may have evoked associations with the “apple of discord” which the goddess Eris (“Strife”) tossed among the gods.

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6:212. καὶ ἐνκλοίωσαι ἐπὶ σῷ τραχήλῳ, “wear them around your neck.” Literally, “put them as a necklace (κλοιός) on your neck.” A later hand corrected the spelling of the verb to εγκλοιωσαι. The verb ἐγκλοιόω is unique to this verse, as a search of the TLG confirms. It may be another ad hoc coinage of the translator. Parental precepts are here compared to a κλοιός, which can refer not only to a “dog-collar” (so LSJ s.v.), but also to an expensive necklace worn by humans (for example in Prov 1:9). I have avoided translations like “make them a collar” (NETS) because in English that would mistakenly suggest that the pronoun “it” (αὐτήν) in the next verse refers to this collar or necklace. 6:221. ἡνίκα ἂν περιπατῇς, ἐπάγου αὐτήν, “when you walk, take her along.” What is the antecedent of αὐτήν, and the subject of the ensuing verbs? The nearest feminine singular nouns are ψυχή and μήτηρ, but neither of them can be what is meant. Jaeger suggested that it points ahead to the ἐντολή of the following verse (1788:53–54), and he is followed by van der Louw (2007:317). However, they offer no parallel for such a construction, in which a personal pronoun precedes its antecedent. Cook in his discussion of this verse (1997:183) does not address the difficulty, but simply translates the pronoun as “it,” which in the context would bizarrely refer to the “collar” of the previous verse (in his translation). The best solution to the puzzle is probably that of Fox, who states that the pronoun “refers to wisdom, implicit in the context, and not necessarily to any particular word for it, such as ἐντολή in the next verse” (2015:136). Recall that we noticed a similar use of αὐτήν referring to Wisdom in 4:6 and 4:22. 6:231–2. καὶ φῶς ὁδὸς ζωῆς καὶ ἔλεγχος, “and its light is a way of life and admonition.” In B these words are taken as the beginning of the second colon of the verse. The second καὶ was subsequently deleted by a corrector. Rahlfs has καὶ φῶς / καὶ ὁδὸς ζωῆς ἔλεγχος, with the first two words as the end of the first colon, which is then to be translated “because the commandment of the law is a lamp and a light.” 6:242. ἀπὸ διαβολῆς γλώσσης ἀλλοτρίας, “from the slander of someone else’s tongue.” Given the ambiguity of ἀλλότριος (see on 5:20), and the various ways in which the genitive can be construed, this phrase can be taken in multiple ways, including the following: (a) from the slander of someone else’s tongue (b) from the slander of a strange tongue (so Brenton, Giguet, NETS, van der Louw 2007:321) (c) from the slander of the tongue of someone else’s woman

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(d) from the slander of the tongue of a strange woman (so Thomson, SD, Fox) (e) from someone else’s tongue-slander In light of the MT, meaning (d) was probably intended, but in the Greek (c) best fits the parallelism with the preceding colon, with “someone else’s woman” matching “the married woman.” 6:253. μηδὲ συναρπασθῇς ἀπὸ τῶν αὐτῆς βλεφάρων, “or carried away on account of her eyelids.” For ἀπό meaning “because of” see MGELS s.v. 4. For the role of eyelids in flirting see note on 4:25. 6:262. γυνὴ δὲ ἀνδρῶν τιμίας ψυχὰς ἀγρεύει, “and the woman takes captive the priceless souls of men.” I take ἀνδρῶν to go with ψυχάς, not with γυνή. Grammatically, it is also possible to construe this sentence to mean “and a woman of men takes priceless souls captive,” but it seems odd in Greek to speak of “a woman of men.” Accordingly, most translators have chosen the first construal: so Thomson, Giguet, Brenton, BAP, Moro, BG, and King. However, a comparison with the MT (‫ )ואשׁת אישׁ‬indicates that the translator probably intended the second construal. Knowledge of this Hebrew Vorlage probably accounts for the rendering of NETS (“a men’s lady”), and SD (“eine Frau von Männern;” similarly Fox, Gerleman 1956:18 and van der Louw 2007:323), but it is not the meaning most naturally conveyed by the Greek. Note the play of τιμίας on τιμή in the previous line, which I render as “priceless”/“price.” 6:27. ἀποδήσει τις πῦρ ἐν κόλπῳ; “is anyone going to tie off fire in the fold of his garment?” The κόλπος here should not be translated “bosom” (Thomson, King), or “lap” (NETS), but rather “garment-fold” (van der Louw 2007:328). It is “the fold of a garment … formed as it falls from the chest over the girdle” (BDAG s.v. 2), and functioned as a pocket in which small items could be kept. It is the equivalent of ‫ חיק‬in Hebrew, and sinus in Latin. See also 16:33 and 17:23, as well as Exod 4:6, Ps 73[74]:11, 128[129]:7, Lk 6:38. Oddly enough, this meaning is not listed in GELS or MGELS s.v. The verb ἀποδέω does not mean “hide” (so VL, Giguet) or “put” (Thomson, NETS, Moro), nor exactly “sew” (BAP) or “bind” (MGELS s.v.), but rather “tie off,” the way a wineskin is tied off (see Josh 9:4: ἀσκοὺς … ἀποδεδεμένους). Compare ἀποδεσμός, “sachet” in Cant 1:13. The graphic imagery here is that of fire enclosed in a pouch formed by tying off the garment-fold. A close parallel to the use of the verb here is found in Ps.-Plato, Eryxias 400A, where it is said of a coin that it ἐν δερματίῳ σμικρῷ ἀποδέδεται, “is tied off in a small piece of leather.”

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6:27. τὰ δὲ ἱμάτια οὐ κατακαύσει; “and it will not burn his clothes?” The subject of κατακαύσει is not the person in question (so Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, NETS, SD, Moro, King), but the fire. The verb itself regularly refers to the action of fire, and specifically means to “burn up,” that is burn completely (see LSJ s.v.). 6:292. ἀθῳωθήσεται, “will go unpunished.” The first-hand text of B actually has the spelling αθοωθησεται, but a later hand corrected this to αθωωθησεται, that is, ἀθῳωθήσεται. The same spelling variation is found in 16:5. 6:341. μεστὸς γὰρ ζήλου θυμὸς ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς, “for the heart of her husband is full of jealousy.” Although the Hebrew noun corresponding to θυμός is ‫חמה‬, “anger,” which is also a possible meaning of θυμός, the Greek sentence as it stands uses θυμός to designate that which is full of jealousy in a man, so that its appropriate translation here is not “anger” or the like (so VL, Thomson, NETS, van der Louw 2007:338, King), but rather “heart” or “spirit” (so Brenton, Giguet). See LSJ s.v. 6:352. οὐδὲ μὴ διαλυθῇ πολλῶν δώρων, “nor will he ever be reconciled by many gifts.” The passive of διαλύω has come to mean “to be parted from quarrel,” and thus “to be reconciled,” and thus the genitive of the thing with which it is construed normally refers to the quarrel (see LSJ s.v. I,4). Here, however, as van der Louw points out, πολλῶν δώρων is a genitive of price (see GG § 1133, BDF § 179). The aggrieved husband will not be reconciled at the price of many presents. 7:21–2. φύλαξον ἐμὰς ἐντολάς, καὶ βιώσεις, / τοὺς δὲ ἐμοὺς λόγους ὥσπερ κόρας ὀμμάτων, “keep my commandments and you will live, / and protect my words as the apples of your eyes.” Note that φύλαξον has as object both ἐντολάς and λόγους, but its meaning is different depending on the object (an example of the literary figure known as zeugma). In the first colon it means “keep” as in “observe,” “obey,” but in the second colon, given the comparison with “the apples of your eyes,” it means “protect,” that is, shield from danger. 7:31. περίθου δὲ αὐτοὺς σοῖς δακτύλοις, “and put them on your fingers.” The verb περιτίθημι (middle) is used of putting a ring (δακτύλιον) on (literally “around”) one’s finger. See Plato, Republic 360B. The translation “bind” (so Thomson, NETS) reflects not the Greek but the corresponding Hebrew (‫)קשׁרם‬. 7:32. τὸ πλάτος τῆς καρδίας σου, “the surface of your heart.” Given the biblical resonances of the expression “table of the heart” (Prov 3:3, Jer 17:1 [MT], 2 Cor 3:3), the temptation is great to translate πλάτος here as though it were πλάξ, “table”

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or “tablet” (so Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, SD). (In fact, according to the apparatus in Rahlfs, there are two manuscripts which actually read πλακὸς instead of τὸ πλάτος here.) However, “table” is not a meaning attested for πλάτος. BAP sees an allusion here to the expression πλάτος καρδίας in 3 Kgdms 2:35a, but I regard that as unlikely, since the phrase there refers to Solomon’s “breadth of knowledge.” Nor do I see any warrant for the translation “Write (them) large on your heart” (so MGELS s.v. 2). Instead, πλάτος (literally “breadth”) should here be given one of its other attested senses, namely “plane,” that is, flat surface (see LSJ s.v. I,5). The word occurs in the same sense (but now with ψυχῆς) at 22:20. 7:41. εἰπὸν τὴν σοφίαν ἀδελφὴν εἶναι, “tell Wisdom to be your sister.” The Greek is grammatically ambiguous. It can mean either “say that Wisdom is your sister” (LSJ s.v. λέγω III,2), or “tell Wisdom to be your sister” (LSJ s.v. III,5). The first construal is that of most translations (so Brenton, Giguet, BAP, NETS, SD, King). The second is that of Thomson: “Implore Wisdom to be thy sister.” The latter is a better match with the parallel colon (doing something to gain wisdom), as well as the underlying Hebrew (“Say to Wisdom, you are my sister”). 7:52. ἐάν σε λόγοις τοῖς πρὸς χάριν ἐμβάληται, “in case she should throw herself at you with ingratiating words.” Most translations render the middle of ἐμβάλλω here with aggressive words like “attack” (Thomson), “assail” (Brenton, NETS, Fox), or “trap” (King). So too MGELS s.v. 4: “tackle and assail.” However this seems odd in describing a woman approaching a man with ingratiating words. A better solution is to use the idiomatic English expression “to throw oneself at,” said of a woman aggressively pursuing a man with romantic intent. This idiom has the advantage of matching both the context and the literal meaning of the middle of ἐμβάλλω. 7:61. παρακύπτουσα, “she is looking.” This is an example of the participle functioning as a finite verb (C&S §80, BDF §468[1–2]). Although the verb παρακύπτω may have originally meant “stoop for the purpose of looking” (LSJ s.v. II), the suggestion of stooping was eventually lost, and in Proverbs simply means “look” (see the detailed discussion in Neirynck 1982). The verb is particularly well chosen for this context, because it is used in Greek literature especially to mean “peep out of a door or window,” and more particularly “of girls peeping after a lover,” as here (LSJ s.v. II,2). See also Cant 2:9, 1 Kgdms 6:4 and the discussion in Neirynck 1982:412–413. It can also be followed by an interrogative clause to mean “peep out and see” (LSJ s.v. II,2). Here the verb is used in a similar sense, but followed by a relative clause.

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7:7. ὃν ἂν ἴδῃ τῶν ἀφρόνων τέκνων νεανίαν ἐνδεῆ φρενῶν, “for whatever young man devoid of sense she may see among the foolish young people.” Literally, “[she is looking and sees] whatever devoid-of-sense young man of the foolish children she may see.” This clause exemplifies the “incorporation” of the antecedent in the relative clause (BDF §294[5]; see also SSG §86db). 7:8. ἐν διόδοις οἴκων αὐτῆς, “in the alleys to her house.” Just as a genitive after ὁδός can designate that to which the road leads (see below on ὁδοὶ ἅδου in vs 27), so here διόδοις οἴκων refers to the alleys “to her house” (so correctly Thomson), not to the alleys “near her house” (so Brenton, Giguet) or to passages “of her house” (so SD, Moro, Fox). As exemplified elsewhere (see note on 5:8), and as the Hebrew ‫ ביתה‬confirms, the plural οἴκων is the literary equivalent of the singular (pace BAP, NETS, Fox). 7:92. ἡνίκα ἂν ἡσυχία νυκτερινὴ καὶ γνοφώδης, “during the dim quiet of the night.” Literally “when the nocturnal and dim quiet”—a sentence fragment without a verb. As it stands, the verbless Greek text of B constitutes an anacoluthon. Other manuscripts supply the missing verb ᾖ after νυκτερινὴ: “when there is …” (so Rahlfs). In B it had presumably fallen out through haplography. Muraoka renders γνοφώδης as “pitch-dark” (MGELS s.v.), but this is unwarranted. It is clear from γνόφος/δνόφος and its various derivatives that renderings like “murky” or “dim” are also possible. LSJ glosses γνοφώδης as “dark, gloomy,” citing this verse. 7:102. ἣ ποιεῖ νέων ἐξίπτασθαι καρδίας, “who makes young men lose their heads.” Literally, “makes young men’s hearts fly off.” The point of the verb ἐξίπτασθαι is not that the seductress makes young men’s hearts “flutter” (so Thomson, Brenton, NETS, King, SRE), but rather “fly out” (so MGELS s.v.) or “fly off” (so Fox). I take it that the expression “their hearts fly off” is an idiomatic way of saying that young men in their infatuation “lose all sense” (so Fox 2015:143) or “lose their heads.” It is possible that the translator was thinking of the expression ἐνδεῆ φρενῶν in verse 7, which is his standard rendering of the Hebrew ‫חסר־לב‬, literally “lacking heart.” It is also possible that he chose the hapax ἐξίπτασθαι (= ἐκπέτασθαι) as a kind of play on the more common ἐξίστασθαι, “to take leave of one’s senses” (MGELS s.v. 2,a; LSJ s.v. B,3; BDAG s.v. 2,b). Compare MGELS s.v. ἐξίπταμαι: “of a lad seduced and taking leave of his senses.” 7:111. ἀνεπτερωμένη δέ ἐστιν καὶ ἄσωτος, “she is aroused and promiscuous.” The passive participle ἀνεπτερωμένη has been understood to mean “ever on the wing” (Thomson), “fickle” (Brenton, Giguet, GELS s.v., GE s.v. 2), “flighty” (King),

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and “toutes ailes déployées” (BAP). LSJ appears to give it the meaning “clamorous” here (s.v. ἀναπτέρωσις). These are all mistaken, however. Although it is true that the verb ἀναπτερόω originally meant “raise the feathers of,” in Attic Greek it oddly acquired the meaning “put on the tiptoe of expectation, excite,” and in the passive “to be in a state of eager expectation” (LSJ s.v. I,2). Hence MGELS s.v.: “excite with expectation.” Accordingly, more recent translations render the passive participle in our verse as “excited” (so NETS, SD, Moro). This is essentially correct, but it needs to be pointed out that in the present context the meaning is “sexually excited,” that is, “aroused.” The verb may also have a sexual connotation in Cant 6:5 and Sir 34:1. Note how ἀνεπτερωμένη plays on ἐξίπτασθαι in the previous colon, both verbs using wing imagery as an erotic metaphor. Muraoka defines the adjective ἄσωτος as “indulging in ἀσωτία,” and then defines the latter as “extravagant, spendthrift life-style” (MGELS s.vv.). But the semantic range of both the adjective and the noun is much broader than this, with the noun meaning “reckless abandon, debauchery, dissipation, profligacy” (BDAG s.v. ἀσωτία). In the present context the debauchery in question is evidently sexual in nature, so that the adjective is appropriately rendered “promiscuous.” For ἀσωτία see also Prov 28:7, Eph 5:18, and 1 Pet 4:4. 7:112. οὐκ ἡσυχάζουσιν. A later hand in B corrected οὐκ to οὐχ. 7:131. ἐφίλησεν αὐτόν, “she kisses him.” The verb is to be understood as a gnomic aorist, like the aorist προσεῖπεν in the next colon, as well as ἀπεπλάνησεν and ἐξώκειλεν in vs 21, and ἐπηκολούθησεν in vs 221 (see note on 1:22). Notice how these aorists, together with the verbs in the present tense in vss 10–12 and 222– 23, describe parts of the same story—that of the seductress and her victim. 7:151. ὑπάντησιν. A later hand in B corrected this to συνάντησιν (so Rahlfs). 7:161. κειρείᾳ τέτακα τὴν κλίνην μου, “I have drawn my bed tight with a webbing of straps.” Note that the first-hand text of B reads κειρεια, corrected by a later hand into κειρίᾳ. On the various spellings of this word see BDF § 24. Almost all other manuscripts have the plural κειρίαις, as does Rahlfs. I take the singular here to be a collective, meaning “webbing of straps.” Most contemporary translations, reading the plural, have something like “with coverings I have spread my couch” (NETS), taking κειρίαι to be coverings of some kind, and the verb τείνω to refer to the action by which these coverings are stretched out to cover the bed (so also Brenton, BAP, SD, Fox, GELS and MGELS s.vv. κειρία and τείνω b). Such a translation has the advantage that it

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matches the Hebrew quite closely. However, a closer look at these two Greek words casts doubt on the current scholarly consensus regarding this colon. The noun κειρία refers to “the girth of the bedstead” (LSJ s.v. I, citing this verse). Although this use of the English word “girth” is now archaic, it designates one of the tautly stretched and interlaced straps or cords which collectively formed the webbing of an ancient bed frame, on which the mattress was laid. On this see Ransom 1905:63, and the scholion on Aristophanes cited in BDAG s.v.: κειρία· εἶδος ζώνης ἐκ σχοινίων παρεοικὸς ἱμάντι, ᾗ δεσμοῦσι τὰς κλίνας, which should be translated “a kind of belt made of cords, resembling a strap, by which people tie together their beds.” By extension the word also came to mean “bandage” (LSJ s.v. II), “tapeworm” (LSJ s.v. III) and “ribbon” (LSG s.v.), thus indicating that it generally referred to narrow flat strips. Unfortunately, its one occurrence in the NT, where it describes the strips of cloth with which the hands and feet of Lazarus were bound while he was in the grave (John 11:44), has been misunderstood to mean “shroud” (so GE s.v.) or “grave-clothes” (KJV, RSV, LSJ s.v.). From there it is a small step to “sheets,” a meaning which was then assigned to κειρίαι in the present verse by Brenton, and which others subsequently modified to “bedsheets” (GELS), “draps” (BAP), “coverings” (NETS), “Tücher” (SD), “bedspread” (MGELS s.v.), “bedclothes” (Fox), and “wrappings” (King). However, there is no evidence for this extended meaning of κειρία. The confusion was not helped by the fact that the “girth” of the LSJ definition in used in a sense which is so obscure that even the Oxford English Dictionary does not recognize it. It is the equivalent of German Gurt. The verb τείνω means basically “stretch by force, pull tight” (LSJ s.v.) or “stretch, put under tension, pull” (GE s.v.). However, it is a mistake to suppose that here it is used as a synonym of the parallel ἔστρωκα in the next line, as though it meant “spread” (so Brenton, NETS) or “cover” (Fox). Although τείνω can mean “spread” in the sense of extending something in size (see LSJ s.v. A,3), it is not used in the sense of the English “spread the bed.” Instead, the verb here refers to “pulling tight” or “putting under tension” the bed frame by means of the girths. The usage is analogous to the common idiom τείνειν τὸν τόξον, “to stretch the bow,” which means to put the bow under tension by connecting its two ends by a taut bowstring. So here the seductress says that she has “drawn tight” or “put under tension” the wooden frame of her bed by means of the κειρία. The use of τείνω in connection with κειρία is apt, since a synonym of κειρία is the noun related to τείνω, namely τόνος (LSJ s.v. I,1). See Ransom 1905:63. In the light of this, it is striking that an ancient Attic inscription describing the treasures of the Parthenon includes multiple entries of κ[λίναι τοὺς τόνο]υς λίαν ἐντατοί, “beds drawn very tight by the girths” (IG II,5, 178, 682C, I, 22, cited in Richter 1966:53). Here ἐντατοί (the verbal adjective of ἐντείνω) describes the same rela-

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tionship as that between τείνω and κλίνην in our verse. Compare also the closely similar Latin phrase lecti loris subtenti, “beds drawn tight underneath by girths” in the Latin writer Cato the Elder (Agr. 10,5). As for the collective meaning of B’s singular reading κειρεια, this is suggested not only by the context (a single strap would not suffice to draw a bed tight), but also by the analogy of its synonym τόνος, which can refer both to a single strap and such straps collectively (see LSJ s.v. I,1: “sg., bedcords”). It turns out that the understanding of Prov 7:16a here proposed is not altogether new. The oldest known translation of this line is the VL, which has institis texui lectulum meum, literally “I wove my bed with straps.” Here “wove” (or “plaited”) refers to the webbing formed by the interlaced girths of ancient beds. Essentially the same understanding is recorded in the Vulgate: intexui funibus lectulum meum. Compare also Thomson: “With cords I have stretched my bed.” 7:162. ἀμφιτάποις δὲ ἔστρωκα τοῖς ἀπ’ Αἰγύπτου, “and I have spread it with Egyptian rugs.” An ἀμφίταπος is a “rug or carpet with pile [i.e. nap, or fuzzy surface] on both sides” (LSJ s.v.; MGELS s.v.; similarly Ransom 1905:110). It is not a “double tapestry” (so Brenton, NETS, and MGELS s.v. στρώννυμι), since it has only one layer of woven cloth, and is used to cover a bed. Nor does it refer to “doublelinens” (Fox), since linen cloth does not have a nap at all. 7:171. διέρρανκα τὴν κοίτην μου κροκίνῳ, “I have sprinkled my couch with saffron.” A later hand in B corrected διέρρανκα to διέρραγκα. Instead of κροκίνῳ Swete printed κρόκῳ, with the following note in his apparatus: “κροκω B*vid‫א‬c.aA] κροκινω Β? (ινω sup ras),” meaning that κροκω was apparently (videtur) read in the first-hand text of B (as well as the corrected version of ‫ א‬and the firsthand text of A), but that perhaps (note the question mark) B reads κροκινω (as does the first-hand text of ‫)א‬, with ινω written over an underlying erasure (super rasuram). What Swete’s apparatus presents as tentative, Rahlf’s apparatus states as fact: B first read κροκω, and this was corrected by a later hand to κροκίνω. For my own part, I cannot discern any clear evidence in the online photographs that κροκινω was not the first-hand text of B, although it does occur on the edge of an area in the manuscript where something like erasure appears to have happened. Consequently I have adopted the clearly legible reading κροκινω. (It should be pointed out that it is not here accompanied by an article, as mistakenly indicated by LSJ s.v. κρόκινος 1). Given the parallelism with κινναμώμῳ, the substantivized adjective κροκίνῳ here most likely refers to the spice made from the saffron plant (κρόκος). Presumably the spice would add fragrance to the bed. On perfuming bedclothes in

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the ancient world see Richter 1966:54. The spice saffron is extremely expensive and has historically been used as both a medicine and as an aphrodisiac (see Bathaie and Mousavi 2011), and its effectiveness as an aphrodisiac has recently been confirmed by a scientific study (see Marcone and Melnyk 2011). It is probably as an aphrodisiac that it functions in the present context. It is telling that the translator chose saffron to serve as the equivalent of the Hebrew ‫מר‬, which is a word he is unlikely to have misunderstood (compare Greek μύρον). The connection with μύρον also suggests another possibility for the meaning of κροκίνῳ. There is a passage in the poet Philodemus (first century BCE), which speaks of the μύρα κρόκινα (“saffron unguents”) with which the poet anoints his limbs (see Anthologia Graeca 11.34.6). Presumably this refers to saffron oil, which was also used as an aphrodisiac. That is in fact how GE s.v. κρόκινος interprets κροκίνῳ in our verse (“saffron ointment”). 7:182. δεῦρο καὶ ἐνκυλισθῶμεν ἔρωτι, “come here, and let’s be enwrapped in love.” A later hand in B corrected ἐνκυλισθῶμεν to ἐγκυλισθῶμεν. It is the aorist passive of ἐγκυλίω or ἐγκυλίνδω, both of which mean “roll up in” or “wrap.” It is a graphic word to describe vigorous love-making, evoking the image of lovers being literally wrapped in each other (SRE glosses ἔρως here as “sex”). We find an apt parallel in Vettius Valens, in a passage where both the verb ἐγκυλίω and the adjective ἐγκυλισμός are used in connection with sexual relations (Anthologiae 115.15, 17). Compare also the related noun ἐγκυλίνδησις, which is used by Plutarch to describe the emperor Otho’s sexual exploits with prostitutes (Otho 2). To translate the verb here as “be [or get] involved in” (so GELS, LSG, MGELS s.v.) is to substitute an exact etymological parallel for a semantically accurate rendering, since “being involved in” fails to convey the graphic physical imagery of the Greek. 7:201. ἔνδεσμον ἀγυρίου λαβὼν ἐν χειρὶ αὐτοῦ, “having taken a bag of silver in his hand.” LSG s.v. ἔνδεσμος I mistakenly glosses the word here as “anything tied up, bundle, package.” As almost all translators recognize, the word here means “bag” (see also LSJ s.v. I, MGELS s.v.), 7:202. δι’ ἡμερῶν πολλῶν, “after many days.” For διά followed by the genitive meaning “after,” see LSJ s.v. A,II,2. 7:211. ἀπεπλάνησεν δὲ αὐτὸν πολλῇ ὁμιλίᾳ. “and with much talk she leads him astray.” Notice again the gnomic aorist in this narrative (see note on 7:13). Given the context it is also likely that the word ὁμιλία here plays on another one of its meanings, namely “sexual intercourse” (see LSJ s.v. I,2). See note on 5:19.

commentary

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7:212. βρόχοις τε τοῖς ἀπὸ χείλεων ἐξώκειλεν αὐτόν, “and with the snares from her lips made him come to grief.” The verb ἐξώκειλεν is the aorist of ἐξοκέλλω (a compound of [ὀ]κέλλω). It is a nautical term which in its transitive use properly means “to run (a ship) aground” (LSJ s.v. II), not just “to cause to drift off the right course” (so MGELS s.v.). Here the verb (which occurs only here in the LXX) is clearly being used metaphorically. The hapless victim is being compared to a ship which is being lured to land and disaster by the seductive words of the woman, just as Odysseus was lured to land and disaster by the song of the Sirens. The translations “force” (Brenton) or “compel” (GELS, NETS, SRE) match the underlying Hebrew, but not the Greek. Nor should we accept such renderings as “inveigle” (Thomson), “entraîne” (Giguet), or “ho fatto cadere” (Moro). 7:22.1 ὁ δὲ ἐπηκολούθησεν αὐτῇ κεπφωθείς, “and he, gullible fool, follows her.” The very rare verb κεπφόω is related to the noun κέπφος, “seagull” (GE s.v.) and means “to delude easily” (MGELS s.v.) Compare the English verb “to gull,” which also means “deceive.” 7:223. καὶ ὥσπερ κύων ἐπὶ δεσμούς, “like a dog to its chains.” Gerleman points out that this phrase (which bears little resemblance to the Hebrew of the MT), is reminiscent of the Greek proverbial saying κύων ἐπὶ δεσμά, “a dog to its chains” (Gerleman 1956:33; see also BAP, p. 104). 7:233. περὶ ψυχῆς τρέχει, “he is running with his life at stake.” The phrase περὶ ψυχῆς here is difficult. The meaning seems to be that the young man is unwittingly rushing towards something that will cost him his life. I have rendered the phrase conjecturally to convey that meaning. It is important to avoid the translation “he is running for his life” (so Brenton, NETS, and King), since this implies running away from a mortal danger of which one is acutely aware. Here, however, the running being described is towards a mortal danger of which one is unaware. 7:271. ὁδοὶ ἅδου ὁ οἶκος αὐτῆς, “her house is ways to Hades.” A somewhat awkward way of saying that her house constitutes the entrance to Hades. As the parallel line confirms, the expression ὁδοὶ ἅδου here means “ways to Hades” (so Thomson, Brenton, SD, King), not “roads of Hades” (so NETS). Compare δίοδοι οἴκων αὐτῆς in verse 8. See LSJ s.v. ὁδός I,1 and BDAG s.v. 1 and 3a. 8:31. παρὰ γὰρ πύλαις δυναστῶν παρεδρεύει, “for she takes her seat by the gates of the mighty.” See note on 1:21.

164

commentary

8:32. ὑμνεῖται, “is celebrated.” As in 1:20 (on which see my note), the verb should be understood as a passive, not a middle. SD inconsistently takes ὑμνεῖται here as a passive (“wird … besungen”), but in 1:20 as a middle (“besingt sich”). 8:52. ἔνθεσθε καρδίαν, “pay attention.” This Greek expression has completely baffled translators and lexicographers, who have proposed an unusually wide range of interpretations. Consider the following: – VL: “cor apponite” – Thomson: “give attention” – Brenton: “imbibe knowledge” – Giguet: “déposez la science en votre coeur” – BAP: “munissez-vous d’un coeur” – NETS: “take heart” – SD: “nehmt Verstand an” – BG: poned en vosostros corazón [es decir, cordura] – GELS s.v. ἐντίθημι: “imbibe? take (heart)?” – MGELS s.v. ἐντίθημι: “place (inside) … intelligence” – Fox: “G has ἔνθεσθε καρδίαν (‘take in heart,’ i.e., ‘absorb wisdom,’ ‘become intelligent’).” In addition, SRE glosses ἐντίθημι here as “fortify.” The difficulty is that the verbal phrase used here, literally “insert heart,” has no Greek idiomatic meaning, and seems to make no sense in the context. Although there cannot be complete certainty about this, I venture to suggest that Thomson’s translation “give attention” was essentially right. I would submit that the phrase ἐντίθεμαι καρδίαν is a Hebraism corresponding to the Hebrew idiom ‫ שׂים לב‬or ‫שׁית לב‬, both of which mean “pay attention.” The first of these is translated τίθεμαι καρδίαν at 1 Kgdms 25:25 and 2 Kgdms 13:33, while the second form of the idiom is translated the same way at Ps 46[47]:14 and as προστίθεμαι καρδίαν at Ps 61[62]:11. The variant ἐντίθεμαι καρδίαν found here fits this pattern (that is, καρδίαν as the object of the middle of τίθημι or one of its compounds), and the meaning “pay attention” fits the present context. Compare the similar Septuagintal idiom ἐφίστημι τὸν νοῦν, which is used to reflect the same two Hebrew idioms (see the discussion in Lee 2018:22–25). It is true that neither of the two Hebrew verbs in question is found in the MT of the present verse, but on this point there is no match between LXX and MT in any case (see the discussion in Fox 2015:150–151). 8:61. εἰσακούσατέ μου· σεμνὰ γὰρ ἐρῶ, “listen to me, for I will speak awe-inspiring words.” For the meaning of σεμνός see note on 6:8a.

commentary

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8:71. ὅτι ἀλήθειαν μελετήσει ὁ φάρυγξ μου, “because my mouth will speak the truth.” Literally “my throat will speak.” Although it is common enough in English to say that one’s mouth, tongue or lips “speak,” it is unidiomatic to refer to the throat as the subject of speech, even though that is where the voicebox and vocal cords are actually situated. As the parallelism with ἐρῶ in the previous verse suggests, μελετάω is here likely used in the sense “deliver, declaim” (LSJ II,1,c and II,4,b, GE s.v. 1,B). The correct translation here is not “meditate,” although a long line of translators have adopted the latter rendering (so VL, CP, Thomson, Brenton, BAP, Moro). The meaning “declaim” (so NETS) or “speak” (so Fox) is also indicated in 11:2 and 19:27. The meaning “meditate” or “ponder” does seem to occur in 15:28 and 24:2, where the subject is καρδία (see my notes there), but how can one’s throat be said to meditate? Compare μελέτη, “rehearsal, declamation” (LSJ s.v. II,1,c). Nor does it seem likely that the verb in this context means “to recite constantly in order to ponder over” (MGELS s.v.). This seems to reflect the underlying Hebrew (‫ )יהגה‬rather than the Greek. I do not understand how King arrives at the translation “take pains with.” 8:91. πάντα ἐνώπια τοῖς συνιοῦσιν, “they are all plain to those who understand.” Given the context, the subject πάντα does not refer to all things in general (so BAP and SD), but rather to “the words of my mouth” mentioned in the previous verse. This is confirmed by the underlying Hebrew (‫)כלם‬. The adjective ἐνώπιος means literally “standing opposite, facing” (GE s.v.). In the present context it seems to have acquired the meaning “in full view,” and thus “evident.” Oddly enough, although this meaning is recognized here by almost all Septuagint translators and lexicographers (see GELS s.v. and MGELS s.v. I,3), it is not listed in either LSJ, LSG, or GE. NETS has the rather different gloss “straightforward,” which seems to be based on the underlying Hebrew (‫)נכחים‬. 8:102. καὶ γνῶσιν ὑπὲρ χρυσίον δεδοκιμασμένον, “and knowledge rather than genuine gold.” The first-hand text of B omits the third colon of this verse, which in Rahlfs reads ἀνθαιρεῖσθε δὲ αἴσθησιν χρυσίου καθαροῦ, “choose discernment instead of pure gold”—evidently an alternative Greek rendering of the second colon. In the margin of B a later corrector supplied a garbled variant of this missing third colon, namely ἀντερεῖσθαι δὲ αἰσθήσει χρυσίου καθαροῦ. If we assume that ἀντερεῖσθαι is a variant spelling of ἀντερεῖσθε, and the latter in turn is a rare middle form of the future of ἀντιλέγω, then this enigmatic sentence means “and you shall speak against the discernment of pure gold,” but this makes little sense in the context. Note that the variant reading ἀντερεῖσθαι is not recorded in Rahlfs’s apparatus.

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commentary

8:112. πᾶν δὲ τίμιον οὐκ ἄξιον αὐτῆς ἐστιν, “and no precious thing matches her in value.” Repeated from 3:15, where see my note. 8:121. ἐγὼ ἡ σοφία κατεσκήνωσα βουλήν, καὶ γνῶσιν καὶ ἔννοιαν ἐπεκαλεσάμην, “I, Wisdom, inhabit counsel, and I appeal to knowledge and insight.” In this translation I have chosen to take both γνῶσιν and ἔννοιαν as objects of the second verb, although either one or both of these nouns could also be construed as objects of the first verb. BAP, for example, takes all three nouns as objects of κατεσκήνωσα. The aorist tense of both verbs is best taken as a gnomic aorist (see on 1:22), given the present time reference in the parallel verses which follow (13–21). The verb κατασκηνόω is here used transitively, with a direct object in the accusative. This does not mean “dwell with,” as many translations have it (so Brenton, Giguet, King), let alone “encamp with” (so NETS, BG), but rather “dwell in” or “inhabit” (so CP, Thomson, SD, Moro, Fox). Wisdom is saying that she “indwells” human counsel. For the transitive use of κατασκηνόω see also 2:21, Ps 36[37]:3, as well as LSG s.v. and PGL s.v. B,1. Muraoka interprets the verb here in a causative sense, meaning “make to dwell” (MGELS s.v. 2), but for Wisdom to say “I have caused counsel to dwell,” without indicating where, seems incongruous. For ἐπεκαλεσάμην, used transitively to mean “appeal to [knowledge],” see LSJ s.v. III,2,b. Moro mistakenly translates it as a third person passive: “è stata chiamata.” 8:123. (κρίσσων γὰρ σοφία λίθων πολυτελῶν), “for wisdom is better than precious stones.” This is clearly an inadvertent repetition of vs 111 in B, differing from it only in spelling the first word as κρίσσων rather than κρείσσων. The parenthesis signs (quite small in the manuscript) are meant to indicate that the line is to be deleted. A noteworthy feature of this inadvertently added line is that the first two words appear to be written in a hand that is less practised than that of the surrounding text. It is almost as though the original scribe was interrupted in his work, and someone else mistakenly wrote the first two words of the repeated line, after which the original scribe completed the line and added the deletion signs. This extra line is not recorded in Rahlfs’s apparatus. 8:133. μεμίσηκα, “I hate.” The perfect tense is to be translated as a present (see GG §1265). So correctly CP, Brenton, Giguet, NETS, and Moro. 8:162. καὶ τύραννοι δι’ ἐμοῦ κρατοῦσι γῆς, “and by me sovereigns control the earth.” The translation “tyrants” for τύραννοι (so NETS; similarly BAP) is to be avoided.

commentary

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The Greek word can refer simply to an absolute ruler, without pejorative connotations (see LSJ s.v. 1). On the early semantic history of this word (up to and including Aristotle), see Parker 1998. It is unlikely that Wisdom would claim that “tyrants” govern by her. See MGELS s.v.: “powerful ruler.” For similarly nonpejorative uses of τύραννος see Job 2:11, 42:17e, Hab 1:10. See also the note on the verb τυραννέω in 28:15. 8:192. κρείσσω χρυσίου ἐκλεκτοῦ, “better than those of choice gold.” Instead of χρυσίου Rahlfs has ἀργυρίου. Strangely, the variant reading χρυσίου is recorded by neither Swete nor Rahlfs. Although he purports to reproduce the text of B, Swete also prints ἀργυρίου. 8:202. καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τρίβων δικαιώματος ἀναστρέφομαι, “and I make my way along the pathways of right.” The compound preposition ἀνὰ μέσον normally means either “in the midst of” or “between” (see MGELS s.v. ἀνά I), but neither of these meanings fit the present context. Presumably Wisdom does not claim to be moving in the midst of the pathways of right (so CP, BAP, SD, King) nor between them (so VL, Moro). Rather, she moves along those pathways (so Giguet, NETS). This fits the literal meaning of the phrase ἀνὰ μέσον; see LSJ s.v. ἀνά (C,1). 8:22. κύριος ἔκτισέν με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ, “the Lord created me as the beginning of his ways, for the sake of his works.” With most translators, I have taken ἀρχήν here as a predicate accusative (“as the beginning”). However, it is also possible to take it in the adverbial sense “in the beginning” (so VL, Giguet, Fox). For this adverbial use of the accusative ἀρχήν (usually with the article), see LSJ s.v. I,1,c, MGELS s.v. 1,d, BDAG s.v. 1,a (at end). Hengel has tentatively raised the possibility that the Greek of the pericope beginning with this verse (vss 22–31) may contain echoes of the Greek philosophical idea of the world soul, especially as this is described in Plato’s Timaeus (Hengel 1973:292–295; see also SDEK 1965). Although this possibility cannot be entirely ruled out, it strikes me as fairly implausible, since the world soul of Greek philosophy is something quite different from σοφία. For similar skepticism with respect to Hengel’s suggestion see Cook 1997:232. 8:242. πρὸ τοῦ προελθεῖν τὰς πηγὰς τῶν ὑδάτων, “before the springs of water came forth.” NETS has “before he brought forth the springs of the waters” (so already Cook 1997:222) but the verb προέρχομαι cannot be transitive. Therefore τὰς πηγάς is not the object, but the subject of προελθεῖν, just as ὄρη is the subject of ἑδρασθῆναι in the next colon (251). For he plural ὕδατα meaning “water” see note on 5:15.

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commentary

8:252. πρὸ δὲ πάντων βουνῶν γεννᾷ με, “before all the hills he begets me.” After the aorist verbs of vss 22–24, describing God’s acts of creation “in the beginning,” the present tense of γεννᾷ, which describes an activity which is explicitly said to come before creation, is startling. When we consider that the underlying Hebrew appears to be ‫חוָֹלְלִתּי‬, “I was brought forth,” it is remarkable that the translator chose the present γεννᾷ rather than the aorist ἐγέννησεν, which would have matched the parallel ἐθεμελίωσεν in vs 23. Remarkably, Cook in his detailed examination of this verse compared to its Hebrew Vorlage (Cook 1997:224–225) does not discuss the present tense of γεννᾷ here. It is not surprising that the church fathers, who equated Wisdom with the second person of the Trinity, saw support in γεννᾷ here for the doctrine of the “eternal generation” of the Son. 8:261. κύριος ἐποίησεν χώρας καὶ ἀοικήτους, “the Lord made countries, even the uninhabited ones.” Existing translations generally interpret ἀοικήτους as though it were a noun, meaning something like “uninhabited spaces” (so NETS), parallel with the noun χώρας. I can find no lexicographical evidence to support this reading. Accordingly, I take ἀοικήτους in its usual adjectival sense, here modifying χώρας, with καί meaning “even.” 8:262. καὶ ἄκρα οἰκούμενα τῆς ὑπ’ οὐρανόν, “as well as the inhabited ends of the world.” For some reason the apparatus of both Swete and Rahlfs indicates that in B the last word is not οὐρανόν but οὐρανῶν. However, this reading is not confirmed by the photograph of the relevant page of the manuscript. The penultimate letter is clearly an omicron, not an omega. Moreover, the subsequent hand which added accents confirms this reading, since the omicron is supplied with a grave accent, not a circumflex. The expression ἡ ὑπ’ οὐρανόν (also found in vs 28) is a standard phrase in the LXX of Job, usually translating ‫ארץ‬, “earth” (see Job 2:2, 9:6, 18:4, 34:13, 38:18, 38:24, 41:3, 42:15; compare also ἡ ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανόν in Deut 25:19). See the thorough discussion of this peculiar biblical phrase in Lee 2014:85–91 (summarized in Lee 2018:194–195, 266). Here it translates ‫תבל‬, “world,” and in vs 28 it translates ‫תהום‬. The understood feminine noun indicated by ἡ is usually taken to be χώρα or γῆ; compare ἡ οἰκουμένη, “the (inhabited) world” in vs 31. See TWNT 5.510.4– 12, but note the reservations expressed by Lee 2014:87–89. Oddly enough, this idiomatic phrase is not recognized in GELS or MGELS s.v. οὐρανὀς or ὑπό, and most translations of this verse do not recognize it either (see for example VL, CP, BAP, NETS, SD, Moro, BG, Fox, as well as Cook 1997:227). King has the strange rendering “by her who is under heaven.” Given the equivalence of ἡ ὑπ’ οὐρανόν with “earth,” the phrase ἄκρα τῆς ὑπ’ οὐρανόν is to be understood as synonymous with the standard phrase ἄκρα (τῆς)

commentary

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γῆς and thus means “the ends of the earth.” On the latter phrase, found among many other places in Prov 17:24 and 30:4, see MGELS s.v. ἄκρος b. It is therefore a mistake to translate ἄκρα here as “heights” or the like (so CP, Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, NETS, SD, Fox, King; GELS s.v. ἄκρος). 8:272. καὶ ὅτε ἀφώριζεν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ θρόνον ἐπ’ ἀνέμων, “and when he was setting apart his throne upon the winds.” Here the non-intensive rendering of ἑαυτοῦ is called for (see on 1:19). To translate “his own throne” (so NETS) suggests that there might be other thrones competing with God’s. 8:281. καὶ ὡς ἰσχυρά. Rahlfs has ἡνίκα ἰσχυρά. 8:291. καὶ ὡς ἰσχυρά. Rahlfs has καὶ ἰσχυρά. 8:301. ἤμην παρ’ αὐτῷ ἁρμόζουσα, “I was with him, bringing order.” Translators differ on whether ἁρμόζουσα should be understood in the transitive sense “fitting [things] together” or in the intransitive sense “be fitting” or “harmonize.” Although one might think that the second meaning is more probable here, given the absence of a direct object, it is telling that already in patristic exegesis the former prevailed. Thus the VL has a wide array of renderings of the participle here (disponens, componens, aptans, modulans, compingens), but all reflect the transitive sense (see Sabatier 1743:310–311). The same is true of many modern translations, although they too show great variety. Examples are CP (“componens”), Giguet (“disposant tout”), NETS (“fitting together”), SD (“als Ordnende”), and Fox (“arranging [things]”). On balance, the transitive understanding seems preferable to the alternative, especially when the latter is combined with παρ’ αὐτῷ and then taken to mean “be fitting for him,” which strikes me as impossible Greek. See for example Thomson (“harmonizing with him”), Brenton (“suiting myself to him”), and King (“in harmony with him”). As the context makes clear, it is Wisdom’s active role in creation which is being highlighted. There seems to be no basis for Gerleman’s claim (1950:26; 1956:57) that ἁρμάζουσα betrays a Stoic influence (see Dick 1991:44). 8:311. ὅτε ἐνευφραίνετο τὴν οἰκουμένην συντελέσας, καὶ εὐφραίνετο ἐν υἱοῖς ἀνθρώπων, “when he rejoiced upon completing the world, and he rejoiced among the sons of men.” The sequence of ἐνευφραίνετο and εὐφραίνετο is reversed in Rahlfs. There does not seem to be any discernible difference in meaning between the simple and the compound forms of the verb. In the second clause the most natural meaning of the Greek is not “he rejoiced in the sons of men” (so VL, Thomson, Giguet, BAP, SD, Fox, King; compare MGELS s.v. ἐνευφραίνω), but

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rather “he rejoiced among the sons of men” (so Brenton, NETS). The superficial parallel with English “rejoice (delight) in” is misleading. To express the meaning “rejoice in” the translator regularly uses εὐφραίνομαι ἐπί plus dative (see 2:4, 17:21, 23:24, 23:25). 8:33. There is nothing corresponding to this verse in B or Rahlfs. 8:352. καὶ ἑτοιμάζεται θέλησις παρὰ κυρίου, “and willingness is created by the Lord.” Two points are of note here. As far as I can see, there is no warrant for assigning to θέλησις in this verse a meaning it has nowhere else, such as “favor” (so Brenton, SD, Fox, Moro, King; GELS s.v., SRE), “incentive” (NETS), or “desire” (MGELS s.v. ἑτοιμάζω I,2). The word is simply the verbal noun corresponding to θέλω, “wish” or “be willing.” Secondly, with respect to the use of παρά with the genitive, it should be noted that it refers most naturally to the agent of the action named in the passive ἑτοιμάζεται (see MGELS s.v. παρά I,2). In this context it does not mean “from the Lord” (so Thomson, Brenton, BAP, King), let alone “with the Lord” (SD, Fox). On both points translators have let themselves be guided more by the underlying Hebrew (the noun ‫ רצון‬and the preposition ‫ )מן‬than by the natural sense of the Greek. For the meaning of ἑτοιμάζω when God is the actual or implied subject, see the note on 3:19. 9:11. οἰκοδόμησεν. Rahlfs has ᾠκοδόμησεν. 9:2–3. τὰ ἑαυτῆς θύματα … τὸν ἑαυτῆς οἶνον … τὴν ἑαυτῆς τράπεζαν … τοὺς ἑαυτῆς δούλους, “her sacrificial animals … her wine … her table … her slaves.” Most translators rightly take the repeated feminine reflexive pronoun here in a nonintensive sense (see note on 1:19). NETS, however, renders the first three (not the fourth) as “her own,” as though there were an implicit contrast with someone else’s sacrificial animals, wine, and table (similarly King). So too Muraoka, who in SSG (p. 241) translates the third phrase intensively as “she prepared her own meal.” 9:22. ἐκέρασεν εἰς κρατῆρα τὸν ἑαυτῆς οἶνον, “she poured her wine into the mixing bowl.” The verb κεράννυμι, literally “to mix” or “dilute” (wine with water) is here used in the sense “pour” (so SD: “eingeschenkt”). For this meaning of the verb (not recognized in LSJ and GELS s.v.) see MGELS s.v. 2,b and GE s.v. 1. It is also found in vs 5 and in Rev 14:10 (on which see BDAG s.v. 1). That the scene here described is reminiscent of a Hellenistic symposium with mystical overtones (so Bertram 1936:162–163) is rightly rejected by Gerleman (1956:43, n. 3).

commentary

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9:32. συγκαλοῦσα μετὰ ὑψηλοῦ κηρύγματος ἐπὶ κρατῆρα λέγουσα, “issuing with solemn proclamation an invitation to the drinking bowl, in these words.” There is no reason to assign to ὑψηλός here the otherwise unattested meaning “loud” (pace Thomson, Brenton, BAP, de Waard 2001:192, idem 2006:263, GELS s.v., MGELS s.v. 1,c). Instead, it has its normal metaphorical meaning of “high, lofty, stately, proud” (LSJ s.v. II,1), here used of a formal public announcement (so correctly Fox and King: “lofty”). Nor is there any justification for translating κρατήρ here as “entertainment” (Thomson), “feast” (Brenton, Fox), or “drinking party” (so MGELS s.v. 1,c; similarly NETS). There is no evidence that κρατήρ had this sense, or that it means “barrel” or “cask” (so de Waard 2005:107, using the French word “fût”). The word here has its ordinary meaning of “mixing bowl,” just as it does in the preceding verse. Here it is used by metonymy of a social gathering where wine was mixed, but that does not change its lexical meaning. That this verse represents “die älteste Propagandarede der jüdischen Sophia vor dem griechischen Forum,” incorporating elements of Hellenistic mystery cults (so Lewy 1929:16) is rightly rejected by Dick (1991:38), Cook (1997:256–257) and Fox (2015:163). Curiously, SD construes ἐπὶ κρατῆρα with λέγουσα rather than συγκαλοῦσα, yielding the translation “über den Mischkrug zu sprechen” (similarly King). 9:61. ἀπολείπετε ἀφροσύνην ἵνα εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα βασιλεύσητε, “abandon folly, so that you may rule forever.” Instead of the ἵνα-clause, which appears to be taken from Wis 6:21, Rahlfs has the words καὶ ζήσεσθε, “and you will live.” 9:62. καὶ ζητήσατε φρόνησιν, “and seek good sense.” Rahlfs adds the words ἵνα βιώσητε, “that you may live.” 9:72. ἐλέγχων δὲ τὸν ἀσεβῆ μωμήσεται ἑαυτόν, “but when he admonishes the ungodly he will discredit himself.” The verb μωμήσεται (here perhaps chosen because it sounds like the underlying Hebrew ‫ )מומו‬is a form of μωμάομαι, “censure” or “blame.” Strangely, King interprets the deponent verb as a passive: “will be criticised.” Equally strangely, Giguet translates “se moque de” and SD “verspottet,” both of which use the present tense and seem to reflect the unattested reading μωκήσεται, the future of μωκάομαι, “ridicule.” 9:81. μισῶσιν. A later hand in B corrects this to μισήσωσιν. 9:91. δίδου σοφῷ ἀφορμήν, καὶ σοφώτερος ἔσται, “give a wise man a start, and he will be wiser.” The word ἀφορμή (compare the verb ἀφορμάω, “get [something] going,” “launch”) refers here to starting on the journey of learning. The meaning

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here is not “occasion” (so VL, Giguet, BAP, SD, GELS) or even “opportunity” (so Brenton, NETS, Fox, King). Equally wrongheaded is MGELS s.v., which assigns the meaning “occasion for an act, source of inspiration” to the word here. 9:92. γνώριζε δικαίῳ, καὶ προσθήσει τοῦ δέχεσθαι, “make knowledge available to a righteous man, and he will continue to take it in.” The expression προσθήσει τοῦ δέχεσθαι makes little sense in ordinary Greek usage, where it would mean something like “he will add (in order) to receive.” In the LXX, however, it illustrates a common Hebraism to express doing something more or again (see C&S § 113, MGELS s.v. προστίθημι 2,a, BDF §435(a), BDAG § s.v. 1,c, Lee 2018:212–215). 9:122. μόνος ἂν ἀντλήσεις κακά, “you alone will drain (the cup of) trouble.” The first-hand reading of B is the awkward αν αντλησεις, later corrected to αν αντλησης, i.e. ἂν [= ἐὰν] ἀντλήσῃς, “if you drain.” Most other manuscripts have αναντλησεις, which is the text printed by Rahlfs and is likely the correct reading. The first-hand B reading is awkward because the particle ἄν is rarely used with the future indicative (and then almost exclusively in poetry) (see LSJ s.v. A,I,2). In addition, the particle is not normally used in an apodosis when the protasis is introduced (as here) by ἐάν. The simple verb ἀντλέω means literally “to draw (water),” and metaphorically “of toil, suffering, etc., drain to the dregs” (LSJ s.v. II,2), that is, experience acutely (compare Latin haurio). To clarify the image I have added “(the cup of),” also because there are resonances here of the theme of drinking the cup of God’s wrath (for example in Isa 51:17, Jer 32[25]:15, 17, 28; Ezek 23:33). That this is the image evoked here has been correctly understood by most translators, whether or not they read the simple or compound form of the verb (so VL, CP, Thomson, Giguet, BAP, Fox). See also SV s.v., which has the literal gloss “heraufschöpfen.” Others, however, have apparently interpreted (ἀν)ἀντλήσεις here as the future of the defective verb (ἀνα)τλῆναι, “to suffer” or “undergo” (so Brenton, NETS, SD, BG, Gerleman 1956:22). On the simple and compound forms of this verb see LSJ s.vv. ἀνατλῆναι, ἔτλην and *τλάω. This misinterpretation was no doubt facilitated by the fact that the Hebrew Vorlage here has ‫תשׂא‬, “you will bear.” The confusion between forms of ἀντλέω and *τλάω also seems to underlie the entry on ἀναντλέω in GELS, where it is glossed as “to go through (troubles),” a rendering that is echoed by Moro (“passerai”) and SRE (“go through, endure”). Similarly the entry on ἀναντλέω in MGELS, where it is defined as “endure patiently.” That same entry has a reference to Job 19:26, but there Rahlfs actually has ἀνατλῶν (a form of ἀνατλῆναι), although B and other manuscripts have ἀναντλοῦν (a form of ἀναντλέω). Clearly the two verbs are often confused. I do not understand how King arrived at his translation “you alone will pour out evil upon evil.”

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The force of μόνος is probably not that “you will experience the evil alone” (so NETS), but rather “you alone will experience the evil.” 9:12a1. ποιμαίνει ἀνέμους, “shepherds the winds.” Rahlfs has the future form ποιμανεῖ. There is no justification for rendering the verb as “feedeth on” (so Thomson) or “attempts to rule” (so Brenton, followed by Giguet and Cook 1997:266), or “fera paître” [will cause to graze] (so BAP). To judge by the parallel colon that follows, the striking phrase “shepherd the winds” seems to be an idiom for pursuing a hopeless endeavor. Compare the English idiom “herding cats.” Gerleman suggests that “shepherding the winds” is a variation of a Greek proverbial saying which also occurs in the form “to cultivate winds” or “catch a wind with a net” (Gerleman 1956:33–34; so too BAP 104–105). 9:12b1. τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ ἀμπελῶνος, “of his own vineyard.” Given the parallel with τοῦ ἰδίου γεωργίου, in the next line, the intensive translation of this construction (see note on 1:19) is to be preferred, rather than “of his vineyard” (so NETS, SD). 9:12b2. τοὺς δὲ ἄξονας τοῦ ἰδίου γεωργίου πεπλάνηται, “and has gone astray on the tracks of his own farm.” For the passive of πλανάω meaning “wander, stray,” and construed with the accusativus loci, see LSJ s.v. II,1,b. For this use of the accusative see GG §1055: “the accusative used with verbs of motion to express the particular ground over which the motion passes” (compare SSG § 22xe). Although this understanding of the Greek may seem to contradict the parallel colon which precedes (“he has abandoned the ways of his own vineyard”), it should not therefore be rejected (pace Fox 2005:112). For ἄξονας meaning “tracks” see note on 2:9. By failing to recognize this unusual meaning of the noun, or by misunderstanding πεπλάνηται and the accusative with which it is construed, translators have understood the foolish person of this verse to have wandered from the paths of his farm (so VL, Thomson, Moro), to “have caused the axles to go astray” (Brenton, NETS), or even to have “forgotten the paths” (Fox 2015:167). In an earlier publication Fox had the rendering “has strayed (from) the ‘axles’” (2005:111). Equally strange is the translation “the tracks … he has lost sight of ” (SSG p. 55). The sentence is correctly translated in BAP, SD, and King. 9:12c2. καὶ γῆν διατεταγμένην ἐν διψώδεσιν, “and a land fissured by drought.” Given the context, this difficult phrase clearly refers to arid or parched land in some way, but both the verb διατάσσω (normally meaning “arrange” or “command”) and the adjective διψώδης (normally meaning “thirsty”) are used in an

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unusual way. Going back as far as the VL, which has terram destinatam in sitim, the phrase has usually been taken to refer to land destined for thirst or drought (so also Thomson, Brenton, NETS, Moro, Fox, SRE), but that meaning would seem to require the preposition εἰς (or ἐπί or πρός with accusative) rather than ἐν. BAP has the translation “une terre exploitée par des assoiffés” [a land cultivated by the thirsty], with an accompanying note which speaks of “cette terre litt. ‘donnée en exploitation (diatetagménen) à des assoiffés’ ” (note that the translation of ἐν here is changed from par to à). The only evidence I can find for this interpretation of the participle is in LSJ s.v. διατάσσω I,1 (at end), referring to P.Oxy. 899,22 and giving the meaning “to be appointed to cultivate.” However, an examination of the papyrus in question (which is dated to 200 AD) shows that the meaning of the verb there probably means “assign,” as often elsewhere (see the discussion in Kruse 2002:559–560). Nor am I persuaded by the further suggestion in BAP that this colon alludes to the Tantalus myth (BAP 127 and 215). I am also puzzled by the translation offered by King: “land that is constituted by the thirsty” (my emphasis). My own tentative translation takes its cue from SD, which has “Erde, die durch Durst zerfurcht ist,” although it must be admitted that rendering διατεταγμένην as “furrowed” or “fissured” is a guess, taking the prefix δια- to indicate separation (so LSJ s.v. D,II). Also conjectural is the interpretation of διψώδεσιν as “drought” (so Brenton, NETS, Fox). GE s.v. understands the latter as the dative of τὰ διψώδη, meaning “thirst.” It should be pointed out that the verb διψάω and its cognates are often used of parched land (see LSJ s.vv. διψάω 1, διψάς I, δίψιος I). I understand the enigmatic phrase used here to refer to the fissures or cracks that open up in arid land as the result of prolonged drought. Compare Jer 14:4 (MT): “the ground is cracked because there is no rain in the land” (NIV). Curiously, MGELS s.v. διατάσσω 3 takes the verb here to mean “bequeath.” This seems to represent a confusion with the middle of διατίθημι (see LSJ s.v. διατίθημι B,2). 9:12c3. συνάγει δὲ χερσὶν ἀκαρπίαν, “and he harvests unfruitfulness with his hands.” On συνάγω meaning “harvest,” also found in 11:24 and 27:25, see MGELS s.v. 1,a. In conjunction with ἀκαρπία, literally “lack of crop,” the translator creates a pointed paradox. I see no reason for translating ἀκαρπία here as “nil returns on efforts invested” (so MGELS s.v.). 9:141–2–151. ἐκάθισεν ἐπὶ θύραις τοῦ ἑαυτῆς οἴκου ἐπὶ δίφρου / ἐμφανῶς ἐν πλατείαις προσκαλουμένη τοὺς παριόντας, “she sits at the doors of her house on a chair, / openly in the city squares, calling out to those who are passing by.” What is written as two cola in B is distributed over three cola in Rahlfs. The latter arrangement accounts for the standard verse numbering: 141 ἐκάθισεν ἐπὶ θύραις

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τοῦ ἑαυτῆς οἴκου 142 ἐπὶ δίφρου ἐμφανῶς ἐν πλατείαις 151 προσκαλουμένη τοὺς παριόντας. Note the gnomic aorist ἐκάθισεν (see note on 1:22). 9:171. ἄρτων κρυφίων ἡδέως ἅψασθε, “take and enjoy the bread I have hidden away.” Literally “partake of with pleasure.” For ἅπτομαι (usually meaning “touch”) used of partaking of food, see LSJ s.v. II,a (already in Homer). Compare also PGL s.v. D (of partaking of the sacrament). Thomson, Giguet, and Moro translate “taste.” Similarly BAP, whose goûterez seems to reflect reading the future indicative ἅψεσθε rather than the aorist imperative ἅψασθε. The adverb ἡδέως means “pleasantly, with pleasure” (see LSJ s.v. ἡδύς III). Compare 3:24, where it is used of sleeping pleasantly. The meaning given in MGELS s.v. ἡδέως (“in cheerful and merry mood”) does not apply here. 9:181. παρ’ αὐτῇ ὄλλυνται, “perish in her house.” The preposition παρά here is to be taken in the sense “at one’s house or place” (LSJ s.v. B,II,2), like French chez. 9:182. ἐπὶ πέτευρον ᾅδου συναντᾷ, “he is meeting with her upon the trapdoor of Hades.” The verb συναντάω means “meet face to face” (see LSJ s.v. I), and here refers to the assignation that the young man is making with the seductress in her house, not realizing that in her house he is in imminent danger of falling into Hades. The preposition ἐπί plus accusative does not mean “(meet) with” (that would require the dative, without preposition), but rather “(have a meeting) at or upon.” We find a parallel in PCairZen 179.9 (cited in LSJ s.v. II,1). The word πέτευρον (the first-hand reading in B, later corrected to πέταυρον, a spelling variant) has baffled translators for centuries. Suggested renderings in the present verse include “depth” (VL, CP, GE s.v.), “perch” (Thomson), “snare” or “trap” (Syrohexapla, Brenton, Giguet, SD, Moro, LSJ s.v.), “passerelle” [footbridge, gangplank] (BAP), “stairway” (King), “springboard” (NETS, MGELS s.v.), and “tightrope?” (GELS). It is with good reason that LSG s.v. declares that the word is here used “dub[io] sens[u].” It is not surprising that LXX scholars have had great difficulties with this word. A survey of the lexica, combined with a preliminary search of the TLG, and a consideration of the Latin loanword petaurus, reveals that it can have a bewildering range of meanings, including the following: (1) an elevated flat wooden stick of some kind, mainly a bird perch, (2) an acrobat’s high bar or trapeze, (3) a gangplank, (4) scaffolding, (5) a triggering mechanism in a trap, or (6) a trap itself. The church fathers generally took it to mean “trap” (see PGL s.v. πέταυρον). Cyril of Alexandria, for example, repeatedly gives παγὶς θανάτου as an equivalent of πέταυρον ᾅδου (see BAP 216).

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What many of the attested meanings of this enigmatic word have in common is the notion of a narrow platform suspended above a sheer drop. I would suggest that the word is here used to describe the camouflaged cover of a trapping pit used to capture large wild animals. Such a cover is also a kind of platform suspended over a sheer drop. It would be constructed of branches and leaves, to give the appearance of ordinary level ground, and would be designed to give way if the hunted animal inadvertently stepped on it, thus causing the animal to fall into the trapping pit beneath, where it could then be dispatched by hunters. In the present context the seduced young man is compared to such an animal, and Hades with the pit. On this understanding there is also a connection with the underlying Hebrew ‫ִﬠְמֵקי ְשׁאוֹל‬, “the depths of Sheol.” A close contemporary analogy is “trapdoor,” which I have chosen for my translation (so the tentative gloss in SRE). In making this proposal, I am essentially following a suggestion first put forward by Jaeger in 1788, but which has since been largely forgotten. On πέτευρον in our verse he writes as follows: “Fortasse igitur interpr[es] in ‫ עמק‬cogitavit foveam, σιρὸν, ὄρυγμα ex eo genere, quod rustici ac venatores in terram depressum leui materia terraque, vt solum mentiretur, insternebant, dolum meditantes feris, quae si fraudem non sensissent, delatae in locum constratum, fracta materia imbecilli, in profundum delapsae caperentur … De ea crate fragili et fallaci non alienum fuerit intelligere πέταυρον siue πέδευρον, quo et fraudis genus designetur ad capturam idoneum, et πᾶν λεπτὸν atque a πεδαίρειν pro μεταίρειν etiam ἐν μετεώρῳ κείμενον pensile, quod subtus cauum habeat. Quare non ipsam quidem foveam graeca vox exprimit, sed rem ei connexam et contiguam, cuius e constructione et consilio facile illius occurrat memoria. In quo iudicandi optandique rationem interpr[es] habere potuit, quod συναντᾷ euadat, procurrat aliquis potius in eiusmodi ponticulum, quam in foveam hiantem et patentem.” (“Perhaps therefore the translator thought in connection with ‫ עמק‬of a trapping pit, a σιρόν or ὄρυγμα, of the kind which, sunk into the earth, country folk and hunters would cover over with light material and soil to feign [level] ground, intending it as a trap for wild animals. If the latter did not detect the deception, the weak material would break when they came to the covered place, and they would fall into the deep hole and be captured … It would not be amiss to understand πέταυρον or πέδευρον of this fragile and deceptive wickerwork frame, which would designate both a kind of trap fit for capturing anything that is small [πᾶν λεπτόν] and also (taking πεδαίρειν as the equivalent of μεταίρειν) hanging suspended in midair [ἐν μετεώρῳ κείμενον], which has a hollow space below it. Therefore the Greek word does not refer to the trapping pit itself, but to the thing immediately connected with it, whose construction and purpose would readily bring the latter to mind. In this the translator could

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have as the reason for making his judgment and choice the fact that it is onto this kind of bridge, rather than into an openly yawning pit, that someone συναντᾷ, advances or runs forward.”) (Jaeger 1788:73). 9:18a1. ἀλλὰ ἀποπόδησον, μὴ χρονίσῃς ἐν τῷ τόπῳ, “no, run away, don’t linger in the place.” For the second verb Rahlfs has ἐγχρονίσῃς. Presumably because this verse speaks of both lingering and looking, Cook sees an allusion here to Gen 19:26, where it is said of Lot’s wife: ἐπέβλεψεν ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ ὀπίσω καὶ ἐγένετο στήλη ἁλός, “and his wife looked back and became a pillar of salt” (see Cook 1997:284, 292, 319). However, since the lingering and the looking are quite different in the two contexts, and there is no shared vocabulary, I find this suggestion improbable. 9:18b1. οὕτως γὰρ διαβήσῃ ὕδωρ ἀλλότριον, “for in that way you will pass through water belonging to another.” Rahlfs adds the virtually synonymous 9:18b2: καὶ ὑπερβήσῃ πόταμον ἀλλότριον, “and you will cross a river belonging to another.” That the water/river of this verse, since it occurs in proximity to a mention of Hades, alludes to the river Styx of classical mythology (so Cook 1997:281, 284, 292, 319) seems farfetched to me. In any case, the explicit reference to a river is not found in B. However we understand this enigmatic image of “passing through the water belonging to another,” it has to do in the first place with adultery. Section 2: “Solomonic Sayings” (10:1–22:16). This section of Proverbs is dominated by the genre “sayings,” ethical maxims in the third person describing a godly life. The one exception is 19:20, which reverts back to the “instruction” genre (here again with the vocative υἱέ) which characterizes Section 1. The maxims generally follow each other seriatim, with no verbal or thematic continuity between contiguous sayings, although there are occasional exceptions (for example 18:22–22a, where both verses deal with “a good wife”). 10:42. χεῖρες δὲ ἀνδρείων, “but the hands of the industrious.” A peculiarity of the linguistic usage of the translator of LXX Proverbs is that he often uses the adjective ἀνδρεῖος, normally meaning “manly” or “courageous,” to convey the sense “industrious” or “diligent.” See also Prov 11:16, 13:4, and 15:19. In these places, not only does ἀνδρεῖος repeatedly translate the Hebrew ‫חרוץ‬, “industrious” (here and in 13:4; probably also in 11:6), but it often stands in antithetical parallelism to words designating laziness or idleness (see 11:16, 13:4, and 15:19). See also the note on 31:10. This peculiar usage, which is not listed in LSJ and GE, is recognized in GELS s.v. and in MGELS s.v. Compare also SD, which here has the render-

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ing “Tatkräftigen,” with the note “wörtlich Mannhaften.” Brenton, NETS, and Fox similarly have “vigorous.” I see no basis for Dick’s claim (1991:47) that in Proverbs “the root ἀνδρει-… denotes in general the ‘good’ or ‘excellent.’” In the present verse ἀνδρείων also plays on the preceding ἄνδρα (see SDEK 1966). 10:4a2. τῷ δὲ ἄφρονι διακόνῳ χρήσεται, “and he will employ the fool as his servant.” For χράομαι used of employing a person, see the note on 5:5. For its use with a predicative dative, as here, see LSJ s.v. χράω (B) C,III,3: “c. dupl. dat., use as so and so.” Muraoka in SSG translates the phrase in three different ways: “he will use a silly servant” (p. 121), “he will know how to use the fool as servant” (p. 518), and “he is capable of using a fool as servant” (p. 560). 10:52. ἀνεμόφθορος, “shriveled by the wind.” A check of the TLG shows that this adjective (and its associated noun ἀνεμοφθορία) is overwhemingly used to describe (ears of) grain that do not mature because of the heat. There is therefore a kind of parallelism with the ἀπὸ καύματος of the previous colon. The word is common in the LXX, especially in the story of Pharaoh’s second dream in Genesis 41 (6–7, 23–27). According to SDEK 1967 the word has a poetic ring, “etwa: windgedörrt, windverschmachtet.” It is rare elsewhere, except in allusions to the LXX. It is significant that this distinctive adjective is here used to describe what becomes of a transgressing son “at harvest time,” that is, when the grain is reaped. 10:62. στόμα δὲ ἀσεβῶν καλύψει πένθος ἄωρον, “but untimely grief will cover the mouth of the ungodly.” The sentence is grammatically ambiguous, allowing the reader to construe either στόμα or πένθος as the subject. The first option is that chosen by NETS (“but the mouth of the impious will conceal untimely sorrow”); similarly CP, SD and Moro. The second option is that chosen by Thomson (“but untimely grief shall stop the mouth of the wicked”); similarly Brenton, Giguet, BAP, Fox, King. (It is noteworthy that the corresponding Hebrew has the same grammatical ambiguity, and has given rise to a similar diversity of translations.) In my judgment the second construal is to be preferred. The contrast with the preceding colon favors a reading in which God afflicts the ungodly, that is, that untimely grief will leave the ungodly speechless. This interpretation is confirmed by vs 11, where it is destruction which will “cover the mouth of the ungodly.” 10:82. ὁ δὲ ἄστεγος χείλεσι, “but the man who cannot be shut up.” Literally “the one uncovered in lips,” a circumlocution for “the blabbermouth.” The adjective ἄστεγος can mean both “without roof or covering” (στέγη) (LSJ s.v. 1), or

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“without holding in” (στέγω) (LSJ s.v. 2). LSJ assigns the second meaning to the adjective here and in 26:28 (στόμα ἄστεγον): “unable to keep one’s mouth shut, given to prating.” However, the first meaning is also in play here, as recognized by the VL (“non tectus labiis”) and SD (“wer seine Lippen nicht bedeckt”), and alludes to the language of “covering the mouth” of the ungodly in vss 6 and 11. 10:92. ὁ δὲ διαστρέφων τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ γνωσθήσεται, “but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.” The verb γνωσθήσεται here does not just mean “will be known” (so CP, Thomson, Brenton) but rather “will be found out” (so Giguet, BAP, NETS, SD, Moro, King). See also in 13:20. See LSJ s.v. A,II,2: “Pass. of persons, to be judged guilty.” This meaning is not listed in MGELS s.v. 10:101. ὁ ἐννεύων ὀφθαλμοῖς μετὰ δόλου, “he who signals deceptively with his eyes.” See note on 6:13. 10:12. μῖσος ἐγείρει νεῖκος, πάντας δὲ τοὺς μὴ φιλονεικοῦντας καλύπτει φιλία, “hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all those who do not love strife.” The first-hand text of manuscript B has the spellings νικος and φιλονικουντας, but this was changed by later hands to νεικος and φιλονεικουντες. The latter is also the text as printed by Brenton, Swete, and Rahlfs. According to the standardized Greek spelling of modern scholarship, the first reading would mean “hatred stirs up victory (νῖκος), but love covers all those who do not love victory (φιλονικοῦντας),” while the second reading would mean “hatred stirs up strife (νεῖκος), but love covers all those who love strife (φιλονεικοῦντας).” However, we know that in the ancient manuscripts ι and ει were often written interchangeably, and this is particularly true of B, which very often has ει instead of ι (see Swete 1909:xiii). The scribe of B probably considered νῖκος and νεῖκος, as well as φιλονικέω and φιλονεικέω, as alternative spellings of the same word, both of which could convey the idea of both “strife” and “victory.” Although the first-hand text of B in this verse has the spelling with ι in both words, I have adopted the spelling with ει in my text, following Swete’s policy of normalizing itacistic spellings (see Swete 1909:xiii). It is clear in any case, given the context, that the text means to say that hate stirs up strife, not victory, and that the parallel line plays on this meaning when it says that love covers those who do not love that just-mentioned strife. A further consequence of this is that the verb φιλονεικέω is here not simply a form of φιλονικέω, conveying the same meaning as the latter, as is assumed in both LSJ and GE. Instead, as recognized by GELS and MGELS, φιλονεικέω is a distinct verb in its own right, with its own meaning, even though in later Greek the two

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verbs were homonyms, and are frequently confused in the manuscripts (see the note in LSJ s.v. φιλόνικος). The confusion is abetted by the fact that being fond of victory and being fond of strife are closely related in meaning. Compare also the related words φιλονεικία and φιλόνεικος, which GELS and MGELS distinguish from φιλονικία and φιλόνικος, but LSJ and GE do not. This verse is twice alluded to in the NT, but in the non-Septuagintal form (ἀγάπη) καλύψει/καλύπτει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν, “(love) covers a multitude of sins” (see Js 5:20 and 1Pet 4:8), which is closer to the Hebrew. 10:13. ῥάβδῳ τύπτει ἄνδρα ἀκάρδιον, “with a rod it strikes the man who has no heart.” In Rahlfs this line is vs 132, preceded by 131 ὃς ἐκ χειλέων προφέρει σοφίαν, “he who brings forth wisdom from his lips.” The latter has evidently fallen out of B. The consequence is that in B the subject of τύπτει is no longer “he who brings forth wisdom,” but rather the φιλία of the previous verse. This significantly distorts the meaning of vs 13. The adjective ἀκάρδιος here reflects the Hebrew ‫חסר־לב‬, which the translator of Proverbs normally renders as ἐνδεὴς φρενῶν, “devoid of sense” (see 7:7, 9:4, 9:16). Here, however, he uses the more literal rendering ἀκάρδιος, which in ordinary Greek simply means “without a heart.” The Greek adjective (also used in 17:16) does not convey the Hebrew meaning “devoid of sense,” and thus it is a mistake to translate it here as “senseless, witless” (so LSG s.v.), “wanting in sound judgement and discretion” (so MGELS s.v.) or the like (so Giguet, BAP, Fox, King). Equally misleading is the etymologically accurate rendering “heartless” (so NETS), which in English means uncaring and cruel. It is best to choose a neutral translation like “ohne Herz” (so SD). 10:142. στόμα δὲ προπετοῦς ἐγγίζει συντριβῇ, “but the mouth of the rash man comes close to ruin.” This does not mean that the mouth of the rash man “brings ruin near” (so NETS), as though the verb were being used transitively, and the noun were in the accusative. 10:171. ὁδοὺς δικαίας ζωῆς φυλάσσει παιδεία, “instruction preserves the righteous ways of life.” It is unclear whether δικαίας modifies ὁδούς (so most translations) or ζωῆς (so NETS, Moro, BG, Fox), but it makes little difference in sense. 10:172. παιδεία δὲ ἀνεξέλεγκτος πλανᾶται, “but instruction that cannot be criticized goes astray.” The point of ἀνεξέλεγκτος here is not that the παιδεία in question is “superficial” (Giguet), “unchastened” (NETS), “unchastised” (Fox), “not regarded” (King), or “incapable of proof or criticism” (LSJ s.v. 1 and GELS), but rather that it is “not amenable to critical examination” (MGELS s.v.) or “above

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criticism.” The word is used in the same sense in 25:3. Compare ἐξελέγχω, meaning “put to the proof, bring to the test” (LSJ s.v. II). Clement of Alexandria and Origen cited this verse as a warning against pagan philosophy (see SDEK 1967). In a strange slip, Moro treats the adjective as a genitive: “di chi non accetta il rimprovero” (“of him who does not accept admonition”). 10:201. ἄργυρος πεπυρωμένος, “silver refined by fire.” The perfect passive participle πεπυρωμένος, when applied to silver or gold (as here and in Job 1:15 and Ps 11[12]:6), refers to those metals as having been purified by being smelted in a crucible. See LSJ s.v. III,3. Compare also Prov 30:5. The translations “tried” (so Thomson, Brenton), “choice” (so NETS), and “burnt, purged” (so Fox) are to be avoided. 10:241. ἐν ἀπωλείᾳ ἀσεβὴς περιφέρεται, “the ungodly man is whirled about by destruction.” For the graphic verb περιφέρεται I adopt the translation of Thomson. I see no warrant for the translations “is engulfed in” (so Brenton, NETS) or “[is] made dizzy” or “troubled” (so GELS s.v.). 10:242. ἐπιθυμία δὲ δικαίου δεκτή, “but the desire of the righteous man is pleasing.” The meaning of the adjective δεκτός (also found at 10:24, 11:1, 12:22, 14:9, 14:35, 15:8, 15:28a, 16:7, 16:13, 22:11) is more positive than the English term “acceptable” suggests (pace Thomson, Brenton, NETS, Fox, King, MGELS s.v.). Rather, it has the meaning “pleasing,” “welcome,” German angenehm (see TWNT 2.57–59; BDAG s.v. 1 and 2). 10:281. ἐνχρονίζει. A later corrector in B changed this to ἐγχρονίζει. 10:282. ἐλπὶς δὲ ἀσεβῶν ἀπολεῖται, “but the hope of the ungodly will perish.” For the B reading ἀπολεῖτα Rahlfs has ὄλλυται, which is a rarer form of the verb. See the note in LSJ s.v. ὄλλυμι: “The simple Verb only Poet. and later Prose, as Lxx, ἀπόλλυμι being used in Com[edy] and Classical Prose.” LXX Proverbs uses ἀπόλλυμι and ὄλλυμι almost equally. Notice here also the difference in tense. 10:292. συντριβὴ δὲ τοῖς ἐργαζομένοις κακά, “but it is ruin for those who do wrong.” After the reference to the fear of the Lord in the previous line, I take συντρβή here as predicate: “it (the fear of the Lord) is ruin.” So BAP, NETS and Moro. However, it is also possible to construe συντριβή as the subject of a new sentence: “Ruin is for (= comes upon) those who do wrong.” So Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, SD, King. The corresponding Hebrew is also ambiguous. Both construals seem to be equally defensible.

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10:302. ἀσεβεῖς δὲ οὐκ ἥκουσιν γῆν, “but the ungodly have not come to the land.” The unusual first-hand text οὐκ ἥκουσιν γῆν has been corrected by a later hand to οὐκ οἰκήσουσιν γῆν, “will not inhabit the land,” which is no doubt the original text of the Old Greek (so Rahlfs). The former reading is unusual both because we would expect οὐχ before a rough breathing, and because there is no preposition before γῆν. However, both of these apparent anomalies are not without parallel. For οὐκ before a rough breathing, see my notes on 1:24 and 7:11. This orthographical peculiarity is quite common in B (see Swete 1909:xiv). For ἥκω construed with the simple accusative rather than the more usual prepositional phrase, see LSJ s.v. (lines 21–22 of the entry). Thus γῆν in this context is an example of the socalled “terminal” accusative, which is usually restricted to poetry (see GG §1064, Kühner-Gerth 1898:1.311–312; compare SSG § 22xe [p. 182]). It is akin to the adverbial accusative used with nouns of place (see note on ὁδούς in 16:29). Oddly enough, Rahlfs does not record the first-hand reading of B in his apparatus. Swete does, but he fails to adopt it as part of his printed text, although it is undeniably the original text of B. 10:322. στόμα δὲ ἀσεβῶν ἀποστρέφεται, “but the mouth of the ungodly turns away.” Apart from a wish to reflect the Hebrew ‫תהפכות‬, “what is perverse,” I can find no reason for translating ἀποστρέφεται here as “be perverse” (so Thomson, Brenton, similarly Giguet) or “se tord” (so BAP). Nor can ἀποστρέφεται be translated “turns people away” (so NETS) or “es rechazada” (BG). I am at a loss to explain Moro’s rendering “la sprezzano” (“they despise it”). The Greek verb simply means “turn away” (so SD, King). 11:22. στόμα δὲ ταπεινῶν μελετᾷ σοφίαν, “but the mouth of the humble speaks wisdom.” For the meaning of μελετάω see note on 8:7. 11:32. πρόχειρος δὲ γίνεται καὶ ἐπίχαρτος ἀσεβῶν ἀπώλεια, “but the destruction of the ungodly is easy to take, and brings malicious joy.” The adjective πρόχειρος occurs only here in the LXX. It often means “easy” (LSJ s.v. I,3), here apparently in the sense “easy to take.” Compare SD: “leicht hinzunehmen,” and the note in SDEK 1968: “etwas, das man für naheliegend hält (‘zur Hand seiend’) und daher leicht nimmt.” It is tempting to translate πρόχειρος here as “at hand, speedy” (so GELS s.v., Fox, King, SRE) or “about to happen at any moment, ‘round the corner’” (so MGELS s.v.), but the word does not seem to have these senses elsewhere. On ἐπίχαρτος see LSJ s.v. 2: “wherein one feels malignant joy.” In other words, the death of the ungodly occasions Schadenfreude. 11:4. There is nothing corresponding to this verse in B or Rahlfs.

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11:51. δικαιοσύνη ἀμώμους ὀρθοτομεῖ ὁδούς, “righteousness makes straight its blameless ways.” For the rare verb ὀρθοτομέω see the note on 3:6. 11:52. ἀσέβεια δὲ περιπίπτει ἀδικίᾳ, “but ungodliness falls into unrighteousness.” The point is not that ungodliness “encounters” unrighteousness (so Brenton, GELS s.v., MGELS s.v.), or “stumbles over” it (so Giguet), but rather “falls into” it (so BAP, SD). See LSJ s.v. περιπίπτω II,3: “metaph., fall in with, fall into, mostly of evil, c. dat.” Strangely, NETS treats the verb as a passive: “is beset with.” 11:92. αἴσθησις δὲ δικαίων εὔοδος, “but the discernment of the righteous shows the right way.” The characterization of αἴσθησις as εὔοδος, which basically means “providing easy passage,” is remarkable. Presumably it means that the discernment of the righteous points the way to right action (so Giguet and SD). I prefer this interpretation to those which translate εὔοδος here as “prosperous” (so Brenton, de Waard 1999:312), “conducive to prosperity” (Thomson, MGELS s.v.), “free from difficulties” (NETS, GELS), “favourable” (de Waard 2001:187), “successful” (Fox), or as the nominal predicate “a sure road” (King). 11:101. ἐν ἀγαθοῖς δικαίων κατώρθωσεν πόλις, “by the good deeds of the righteous, the city prospers.” Note the gnomic aorist κατώρθωσεν (see note on 1:22). It is parallel to κατεσκάφη in vs 11 (another gnomic aorist) and the presents μυκτηρίζει and ἄγει in vs 12. In the margin of B a corrector has added an additional two cola to vs 101, roughly corresponding to vss 102 and 111 in the Hebrew: καὶ ἐπ’ ἀπωλείᾳ ἀσεβῶν ἀγαλλίαμα / ἐν εὐλογίαις δικαίων ὑψωθήσεται πόλις, “and there is rejoicing at the destruction of the ungodly. A city will be exalted by the blessings of the righteous.” This turns out to be a slightly revised version of Theodotion’s translation of the cola in question, with ἐπ’ replacing his ἐν (not noted in Rahlfs’ apparatus) and εὐλογίαις δικαίων replacing εὐλογίᾳ εὐθέων. For Theodotion’s version, see Field 1875:332. 11:131. ἀνὴρ δίγλωσσος ἀποκαλύπτει βουλὰς ἐν συνεδρίῳ, “a bilingual man makes known decrees in a council.” The adjective δίγλωσσος here, literally “twotongued” (see on δίθυμος in 26:20), is usually understood to mean “deceitful” (so LSJ s.v. II, MGELS s.v.) or “with forked tongue, sly, cunning” (so GE s.v. B, citing this verse). However, this does not seem to fit the context very well. Why should a revealer of decrees be characterized as “two-tongued”? Note that LSG s.v. gives δίγλωσσος here the alternative meaning “loose-tongued” rather than “two-tongued” (so too GELS s.v., SRE), but this meaning seems to have no parallel elsewhere. I propose that the difficulty can be solved by understanding δίγλωσσος in its well-attested sense “bilingual, speaking two languages,” which

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as a substantive means “interpreter, dragoman” (see LSJ s.v. I, GE s.v. A). The reference then is to an interpreter who speaks both Greek and Aramaic (or Hebrew), and who makes known the decrees of a Hellenistic ruler to a local Jewish council whose members spoke primarily Aramaic (or Hebrew). It should also be pointed out that the usual interpretation implies that the “two-tongued” man reveals to people outside the council decisions or decrees made in the council (so explicitly Thomson, Brenton), as though the Greek were βουλὰς τὰς (γενομένας) ἐν συνεδρίῳ. In fact, however, the text states that it is in the council itself that the ἀνὴρ δίγλωσσος reveals the decrees. 11:132. πιστὸς δὲ πνοῇ κρύπτει πράγματα, “and a trustworthy one hides things with his breath.” If we take the underlying Hebrew (‫ )נאמן־רוח‬as our guide, the intended subject must be “one trustworthy in spirit” (so Giguet and NETS). However, the odd choice of πνοή (rather than πνεῦμα or ψυχή) to render ‫רוח‬, coupled with the syntactical ambiguity of the dative πνοῇ, makes it more likely that a Greek reader would take πνοῇ with the verb καλύπτει rather than the adjective πιστός. Thus the sentence would be saying that the trustworthy man hides things “from his breath” (so SD: “verbirgt dem Atem die Angelegenheiten”), “with a sigh” (so Moro: “con un sospiro nasconde”), or “in his spirit” (so BG: “oculta en el espíritu”). Along the same lines is BAP, which has “ne souffle pas mot des affaires,” although it is difficult to see how “hiding things with one’s breath” could acquire that meaning. Nevertheless, that is also the meaning adopted by MGELS s.v. πνοή a (“does not breathe a word of …”), and is considered possible in SD’s note on this verse (“Er lässt davon nichts verlauten”). Another attempt to make sense of this enigmatic phrase is that of King, who has “but those who are reliable hide things under their breath,” but it is difficult to see how this matches the Greek—or indeed what it means to “hide things under one’s breath.” I adopt the straightforward translation “hides things with his breath,” although admittedly it is difficult to know what exactly this could refer to. It seems to evoke the image of frosty breath which obscures an object from someone’s gaze. 11:163. πλούτου ὀκνηροὶ ἐνδεεῖς γίνονται, “the indolent become destitute of wealth.” NETS strangely has “the deficient shrink from wealth,” taking ἐνδεεῖς to be the grammatical subject, and making ὀκνηροί … γίνονται mean “shrink from.” 11:164. οἱ δὲ ἀνδρεῖοι ἐρείδονται πλούτῳ, “but the industrious rely on wealth.” For ἀνδρεῖος in the meaning “industrious,” see note on 10:4. It does not mean “virtuous” (pace SRE). The middle and passive of the verb ἐρείδω mean “prop oneself

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up, lean upon” (LSJ s.v. III,1), and thus “rely on” (see also 9:12a and 30:28). It seems contrary to the ethos of Proverbs elsewhere to say that the industrious put their confidence in their wealth; the point here is probably, not that they “fall back on” their wealth (so MGELS s.v. 3,b), but rather that they are confident in the wealth which they expect to gain by their industry. The Greek text (unlike the Hebrew) does not directly say that they will “obtain” wealth (so Moro). 11:211. χειρὶ χεῖρας ἐμβαλὼν ἀδίκως οὐκ ἀτιμώρητος ἔσται, “he who has shaken hands dishonestly will not go unpunished.” For the unusual use of an anarthrous participle as the subject of a sentence, see note on 2:7. The verb ἐμβάλλω with χείρ in various phrases refers to shaking hands as a way of pledging good faith (see LSJ s.v. ἐμβάλλω 2 and MGELS s.v. 2). BAP translates rather freely “qui se porte garant” (“he who gives a guarantee”). This is perhaps overbold, but closer to the mark than the translation “joins hands” (so NETS), which has no suggestion of good faith or commitment at all. It is striking that the expression here (as in 16:5) has the plural χεῖρας combined with the singular χειρί, which is unusual in Greek, and does not match the two singulars of the Hebrew (‫יד‬ ‫)ליד‬. (Note that manuscript S has χεῖρα instead of χεῖρας.) It is possible that the expression refers to a two-handed handshake (that is, one where one person uses both hands to clasp the hand/arm of another), although as far as I know such a handshake is unattested elsewhere in antiquity. 11:212. λήμψεται μισθὸν πιστόν, “will receive a sure reward.” The adjective πιστός here does not mean “faithful” (so Brenton, Fox), nor “just” (Thomson, Moro) or “digne” (Giguet) or “honnête” (BAP), but rather “assured” or “reliable” (so NETS, SD, BG, King). See LSJ s.v. II,1: “of things, reliable, sure,” and MGELS s.v. 1,c. CP translates fidelium, which reflects the reading πιστῶν (found in A and a few other manuscripts). 11:222. οὕτως γυναικὶ κακόφρονι κάλλος, “so is beauty in a foolish woman.” The adjective κακόφρων can mean both “ill-minded, malignant” (so LSJ s.v. I) or “imprudent, heedless” (so LSJ s.v. II). We find the same ambiguity in the related words κακοφρονέω and κακοφροσύνη (the latter occurs at 16:18). According to Fox, the Greek in this verse “emphasizes the woman’s nastiness rather than her stupidity” (2015:192), but my own view is different. In the present context both meanings are equally possible, but the corresponding Hebrew (which is ‫סרת טעם‬, “departing from discretion”) tips the scales in favor of “foolish” as the translator’s intended meaning. I therefore prefer the translation of NETS (“imprudent”) over such renderings as “ill-minded” (Brenton), “übel gesinnt” (SD), and “malevolent” (Fox), as well as the similar definitions given in GELS

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and MGELS s.v. However, I believe the meaning “malicious” is more probable in 19:19, the only other place where κακόφρων occurs in Proverbs. 11:241. εἰσὶν οἳ τὰ ἴδια σπείροντες πλείονα ποιοῦσιν, “there are those who sow their own seed and make it more.” The verb σπείρω here, standing in parallelism to συνάγω, “harvest,” means specifically “sow,” not “scatter” (so Thomson, Brenton, King) or “distribute” in general (so Giguet, NETS, Moro), although the Hebrew suggests the latter. Consequently τὰ ἴδια most likely does not refer in general to people’s property either (so Brenton, Giguet, BAP, Moro, Fox, King), let alone their “livelihood” (so NETS), but rather to the seed that they sow, and it is this seed that is “made more” when the crop comes to maturity. No doubt a crop of barley or wheat is envisaged, which is normally planted through broadcast sowing. Although the image may be meant as a metaphor for distributing “one’s possessions as alms” (so MGELS s.v. σπείρω 3,a), the image itself is of sowing seed. 11:242. εἰσὶν καὶ οἳ συνάγοντες ἐλαττονοῦνται, “and there are also those who reap and are made less.” For συνάγω meaning “harvest” or “reap,” see note on 9:12c. See also Exod 23:10, Lev 25:3 and 25:20, Isa 17:5, Mic 7:1. Note that the first three of these texts use συνάγω in counterpoint to σπείρω, as here. In addition, see οἱ συνάγοντες in Isa 62:9, which Muraoka translates as “the harvesters” (MGELS s.v. 1,a). Moro’s translation risparmiando (“by saving”) seems to be based on the Hebrew rather than the Greek. The verb ἐλαττονοῦνται may be a form of either ἐλαττονέω (so GELS s.v., MGELS s.v. 2) or ἐλαττονόω, and may be spelled with either -ττ- or -σσ-. Compare ἐλασσονοῦσι in 14:34. The two verbs are virtual synonyms, both meaning essentially “be/make less.” Just as σπείροντες here finds its counterpart in συνάγοντες, so the active πλείονα ποιοῦσιν, “make (it) more,” finds its counterpart in ἐλαττονοῦνται, “are made less.” I see no reason to translate the latter as “have less” (so Brenton, NETS, SD, BG) or “grow poor” (so Giguet, BAP, Moro), or “suffer from the lack of” (so MGELS s.v. ἐλαττονέω 2). 11:251. ψυχὴ εὐλογουμένη πᾶσα ἁπλῆ, “every undivided heart is blessed.” The absence of articles and a verb, as well as the odd word order, make it difficult to decide how to construe this sentence. If for illustrative purposes we choose “soul” as the equivalent of ψυχή, and “simple” as the equivalent of ἁπλῆ, we can schematize as follows the various ways in which this sentence has been construed: (1) “every blessed soul is simple” (so SD). (2) “every simple soul is blessed” (so Brenton, Giguet).

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(3) “the entire blessed soul is simple” (so BG). (4) “a blessed soul is entirely simple” (so BAP, Moro, Fox). (5) “an entirely simple soul is blessed” (so Thomson). (6) “every entirely simple soul is blessed” (so NETS). With the exception of no. 6, which appears to translate πᾶσα twice, each of these construals is grammatically possible, although no. 3 strikes me as rather strained. Although the underlying Hebrew (‫ )נפשׁ־ברכה‬suggests that “blessed soul” was meant to be the subject (as in nos. 1 and 3), this is not obviously the case in the Greek. King has the rendering “a soul that blesses is utterly generous.” This is an example of construal no. 3, but has the peculiarity that it takes εὐλογουμένη to be a middle rather than a passive. However, this is almost certainly wrong, since the middle of εὐλογέω is very rare, whereas the passive is very common (in Proverbs see 3:33, 20:21, 28:20, 31:20). I have chosen construal no. 2, partly because it echoes vs 231 (ἐπιθυμία δικαίων πᾶσα ἀγαθή), and partly because it reflects a well-attested biblical sentiment. The translation “simple” for ἁπλῆ is here actually best avoided, since “simple” in translations of Proverbs is usually a synonym of “foolish.” Instead the word here is used in a positive sense, referring to the biblical theme of the undivided heart (see Ps 86:11 (MT), Ezek 11:19, Eph 6:5, Col 3:22). To complicate things further, the Greek text in Brenton’s bilingual edition has the dative ἁπλῇ instead of the nominative ἁπλῆ. Since the iota subscript is never written in B, this is a possible reading, yielding the translation “a blessed soul is entirely for the simple one.” I regard this as improbable, however. 11:252. ἀνὴρ δὲ θυμώδης οὐκ εὐσχήμων, “but a hot-tempered man is not respectable.” LSJ defines the adjective εὐσχήμων as “elegant in figure, mien and bearing, graceful” (s.v. I,1). In the present context I take it to mean, not so much “modest in attitude” (so MGELS s.v.), as “presentable in polite society.” For οὐκ εὐσχήμων SD has the striking rendering “macht keine gute Figur.” 11:261. ὁ συνέχων σῖτον ὑπολίποιτο αὐτὸν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, “may he who binds grain leave it behind for the gentiles.” There is a widespread consensus among translators and lexicographers that συνέχω here means “withhold” or “hoard” (so Thomson, Brenton, BAP, NETS, SD, Moro, Fox, King, Gerleman 1956:22). In fact, LSJ s.v. 8 creates a separate meaning category for συνέχω in this verse: “buy up and withhold, make a corner in.” Similarly MGELS s.v. 2,a (“without giving to the needy”). However, this seems to be based on the corresponding Hebrew (‫)מנע‬ rather than on the Greek.

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A more straightforward interpretation is to understand συνέχω in its primary meaning, and to take it to refer here to the binding of sheaves at harvest time (compare Gen 37:7 and Ps 128[129]:7). Sheaves were traditionally held together by bands of straw called ἐλλεδανοί; here the binding of sheaves is a way of referring to the grain harvest. This understanding of the verb is consistent with the VL translation continet, as well as that of BG, which has reúne. It may be that the Greek form of the proverb is meant to allude to the story of Ruth, where Boaz’s harvesters were encouraged to leave gleanings of grain behind for Ruth, the Moabitess (Ruth 2:15–16). Noteworthy in the verb ὑπολίποιτο is not only the optative mood (see C&S § 75, SSG §29d), but also the transitive middle voice. Compare Obad 5, where we also find the transitive middle of the same verb used for the leaving of gleanings: εἰ τρυγηταὶ εἰσῆλθον πρὸς σέ, οὐκ ἂν ὑπελίποντο ἐπιφυλλίδα; “if grapegatherers had come to you, would they not have left gleanings?” Possibly the prefix ὑπο- here has the suggestion of “a little” and “secretly” (see LSJ s.v. ὑπό F, II, III). 11:291. ὁ μὴ συμπεριφερόμενος τῷ ἑαυτοῦ οἴκῳ, “he who does not accommodate himself to his own household.” On συμπεριφερόμενος, see note on 5:19. 12:41. γυνὴ ἀνδρεία στέφανος τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς, “a valiant woman is the pride of her husband.” For the expression γυνὴ ἀνδρεία see note on 31:10. The word στέφανος, literally “wreath” (see on 1:9), is often used metaphorically of a “crown of glory, honour” (LSJ s.v. II,3, PGL s.v. 4), that is, a concrete “(source of) pride” or “honor.” See also 14:24, 16:31, 17:6. This meaning is not recognized by MGELS s.v., but is noted in BDAG s.v. 2, where Prov 12:4 and 17:6 are cited. 12:71. οὗ ἐὰν στραφῇ ἀσεβὴς ἀφανίζεται, “wherever the ungodly man turns, he is destroyed.” There is no reason to take στραφῇ here to mean “is overthrown” (so Thomson, Brenton; GELS s.v.), or to classify it under the specific meaning “to turn towards and focus one’s attention and efforts to” (MGELS s.v. 4). Although ἀφανίζεται here is usually translated “disappears” or “vanishes” (so Thomson, Brenton, BAP, NETS, SD, Moro, BG), I have chosen the rendering “is destroyed” instead (so CP, Giguet, King). The verb occurs in three other places in Proverbs, always in the passive voice, and always with a passive sense (see 10:25, 14:11, 30:10). In fact, the meaning “disappear” for the passive of ἀφανίζω seems not to be found anywhere in the LXX, to judge by GELS and MGELS s.v. (unless Hab 1:5 is an exception). In Proverbs it always describes the fate of the ungodly.

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12:72. οἶκοι δὲ δικαίων παραμένουσιν, “but the house of the righteous endures.” For the singular sense of the plural οἶκοι, see on 5:8. The verb παραμένουσιν (present tense) could also be written παραμενοῦσιν (future tense), and was so taken by CP (“permanebunt”) and Thomson (“shall remain”), perhaps with an eye to the Hebrew (‫)יעמד‬. However, since most of the Greek verbs in the immediate context are in the present I have accented παραμενουσιν as a present as well (so the editions of Brenton, Swete, Rahlfs). 12:82. νωθροκάρδιος δὲ μυκτηρίζεται, “but the slow-witted one is sneered at.” A search of the TLG reveals that the adjective νωθροκάρδιος is found only in this verse and writings dependent on it. It appears to be an ad hoc coinage. LSJ gives it the meaning “slow of heart,” but LSG s.v. is no doubt right (given the contrast with συνετός in the parallel line) to correct this to “slow of mind, stupid.” NETS and MGELS give the rather colloquial rendering “slow on the uptake.” The translation “indolente” in BG is mistaken. 12:91. ἀνὴρ ἐν ἀτιμίᾳ δουλεύων ἑαυτῷ, “a man who, unhonored, does a slave’s work for himself.” A “literal” translation like that of Brenton, “a man in dishonour serving himself,” is misleading, suggesting that the man in question was being described in very negative terms as dishonorable and self-serving. The point of ἐν ἀτιμίᾳ is rather that the man receives no honor, a person’s lack of honor in this case “arising from one’s humble station in society” (MGELS s.v. ἀτιμία 2). Similarly, δουλεύων ἑαυτῷ is not a matter of “being a slave to oneself” (so NETS), suggesting addiction and selfishness, but rather performing for himself the kind of menial work that a slave would normally do for a man in better circumstances. For δουλεύω in the sense “perform the duties of a slave” see BDAG s.v. 2. Almost all translations distort the meaning of this line; an exception is SD, which has “Ein Mann ohne öffentliche Geltung, der sich selber dient,” with the note “sinngemäß ‘der seinen Lebensunterhalt selbst erarbeitet.’” 12:92. καὶ προσδεόμενος ἄρτου, “and lacks bread besides.” The point is that the person who tries to confer honor upon himself now lacks not only honor, but bread as well. For προσδέομαι in the sense “lack besides” see LSJ s.v. προσδέω (B) II,1. The additive force of the preverb προσ- (see LSJ s.v. πρός E, II, GELS s.v. προσδέομαι) is missed by the translators and MGELS s.v. 12:101. δίκαιος οἰκτίρει ψυχὰς κτηνῶν αὐτοῦ, “the righteous man takes pity on the animals of his livestock.” Most translations render ψυχάς here as the “lives” or “life” of their animals. I consider it more likely that ψυχή is here used in the con-

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crete sense “living being” (see MGELS s.v. 2; compare 6: “individual person”), in this case the individual animals of the flock. Compare Moro, who translates ψυχὰς κτηνῶν αὐτοῦ as simply “suoi animali.” Along the same lines, Jaeger (1788:200) and de Lagarde (1863:87) compare the way it is common to speak of multiple “head” of cattle. See also 27:23, which similarly speaks of ψυχὰς ποιμνίου σου. 12:11a1. ὅς ἐστιν ἡδὺς ἐν οἴνων διατριβαῖς, “he who enjoys himself at drinking parties.” This puzzling clause, at first glance meaning “he who is sweet in occupations of wines,” has given rise to widely divergent translations, for example “qui suavis est in vini demorationibus” (VL), “he who taketh pleasure in taverns” (Thomson), “he that enjoys himself in banquets of wine” (Brenton; similarly NETS), “wer an Zerstreuungen beim Wein seine Freude hat” (SD), “anyone who finds sweetness in dallying with wines” (King). The adjective ἡδύς is here used in the sense “well-pleased, glad,” a meaning attested in Plutarch (LSJ s.v. II,2, followed by GELS). This is also the meaning given for our passage by Muraoka in MGELS s.v. ἡδύς, although in the entry for διατριβή he somewhat oddly renders the adjective here as “over the moon.” As for the phrase ἐν οἴνων διατριβαῖς, it is unlikely that it refers to “taverns” (so Thomson), let alone the anachronistic “pubs” (so MGELS s.v.). This interpretation appears to be based on the meaning “place of resort, haunt” for διατριβή (LSJ s.v. I,4), which we also find in Lev 13:46 and Jer 30:28 [49:33]. Accordingly, a “haunt of wine” could be interpreted as a way of referring to a tavern or pub. More probably, however, we here have to do with an allusion to the phrase ἡ ἐν τοῖς οἴνοις διατριβή, which occurs twice in Plato’s Laws (641C and 645C), where it refers, according to Bury’s translation in the Loeb edition, to a “convivial gathering” or “wine-party.” In the context of the argument in Book 1 of the Laws the phrase is a synonym of what is elsewhere in the context called a πόσις, “drinkfest” (e.g. 641A) or a συμπόσιον, “a drinking party” (e.g. 641A). The plural οἶνοι is used as the equivalent of the singular; see also 23:30 (with my note), 23:31 (only in B), and 27:9. This classical usage (see LSJ s.v. I,1) is a characteristic mark of the LXX translator of Proverbs. Apart from 3 Macc 6:30 it is found in the LXX only in Proverbs. 12:13a1. ὁ βλέπων λεῖα, “the man with a gentle gaze.” The translation “he who looks gentle” (so NETS) mistakenly suggests that the person described has a gentle appearance rather than a gentle gaze. For the idiom of βλέπω with the adverbial accusative of a substantivized neuter adjective, see note on 4:25. MGELS cites this verse s.v. βλέπω 6: “to cause the look of one’s face to assume the character of.”

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12:13a2. ὁ δὲ συναντῶν ἐν πύλαις ἐκθλίψει ψυχάς, “but the man who meets in the gates will pressure people.” There is a surprisingly widespread agreement among translations that συναντάω here means “contend” or “dispute” (so Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, BAP, NETS, Moro). Muraoka, too, speaks of συναντάω being used here “for a hostile action” (MGELS s.v. 1). This is a mistake, however. The verb simply means “to meet (face to face)” (see note on 9:18), without any suggestion of conflict (although of course it is possible to “meet” in battle). See the seven other places where the word occurs in Proverbs (7:10, 9:18, 12:23, 17:20, 20:21, 22:2, 24:8). 12:142. ἀνταπόδομα δὲ χειλέων, “the retort of his lips.” NETS interprets ἀνταπόδομα as a plural (“rewards”), but it is in fact a singular noun of the third declension. It is here usually translated “recompense” or “reward,” but that makes little sense in the context. Like other cognates of the verb ἀνταποδίδωμι, the noun ἀνταπόδομα has to do with giving something in return for something else. In connection with lips it probable refers to a “retort” or “come-back” in response to someone else’s speech. SD has the bold rendering “die Gegenleistung für seine Worte,” but that strains the meaning of χειλέων. 12:151. ὁδοὶ ἀφρόνων ὀρθαὶ ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν, “the ways of fools are right in their own eyes.” As pointed out in LSG, ἐνώπιον is here used in an unusual Hebraistic sense, namely “in the eyes or opinion of, translating Hebr. beʿênê” (s.v. II, citing this verse). 12:152. εἰσακούει δὲ συμβουλίας σοφός, “but the wise man listens to advice.” Most translations take συμβουλίας to be accusative plural (so VL, Brenton, Giguet, BAP, SD, Moro, BG). However, since the object of εἰσακούω elsewhere in Proverbs is consistently in the genitive (see 1:28; 8:6; 8:34; 21:13; 28:9), it is likely that συμβουλίας here is genitive singular, not accusative plural (so Thomson, NETS, and King). The singular also matches the Hebrew. 12:171. ἐπιδεικνυμένην πίστιν ἀπαγγέλλει δίκαιος, “a righteous man gives credible evidence that is aboveboard.” The word πίστις is notoriously polyvalent, and it is variously translated in the present context as “truth” (Thomson, Brenton, Giguet), “faith” (CP, GB), “trust” (NETS), “proof” (BAP, Moro), “evidence” (King), and “what is … honest” (Fox). I interpret πίστις here as having the general sense “that which gives confidence” (LSJ s.v. II), which in the context of this verse refers to reliable testimony given by a witness in court. This is essentially the interpretation of SD, which translates πίστις here as “glaubhafte Aussage.”

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The meaning of the participle ἐπιδεικνυμένην is similarly disputed, having been translated as “demonstratam” (CP), “as it appears to him” (Thomson), “open” (Brenton). “pleine” (Giguet), “convaincante” (BAP), “as it is” (NETS), “öffentlich vorgetragene” (SD), “dichiarata” (Moro), and “demostrada” (BG). MGELS s.v. 1 has the odd translation “[trust] that underpins one’s argument.” None of these seem convincing. The verb in the active means “display” or “exhibit,” but “more freq. in Med., show off or display for oneself or what is one’s own” (LSJ s.v. I,2). Thus in the present context the middle participle describes credible testimony which openly displays its own trustworthiness. It is open and aboveboard, in contrast with the deceitful witness of the parallel colon. 12:181 εἰσὶν οἳ λέγοντες τιτρώσκουσι μάχαιραι, “there are those who, as swords, wound by their speaking.” B has the awkward reading μάχαιραι where Rahlfs has μαχαίρᾳ, “with a sword.” No doubt the B reading reflects a stage of the text when the iota subscript of μαχαίρᾳ was still written as a iota adscript (see Rahlfs’s apparatus ad locum). 12:191. χείλη ἀληθινὰ κατορθοῖ μαρτυρίαν, “true lips give their testimony straight.” The force of κατορθοῖ is not that true lips “establish” testimony (so Thomson, Brenton, NETS), but rather that they “do it right,” that is, testify honestly. See MGELS s.v. 5.a. The translation “establish” here appears to be based on the underlying Hebrew (‫)תכון‬, not on the Greek. 12:242. δόλιοι δὲ ἔσονται ἐν προνομῇ, “but the deceitful will be in captivity.” For the B reading ἐν προνομῇ Rahlfs has εἰς προνομήν. 12:261. ἐπιγνώμων δίκαιος ἑαυτοῦ φίλος ἔσται, “a righteous arbiter will be a friend to himself.” I take the anarthrous ἑαυτοῦ φίλος to mean “friend to (literally: of) himself” (objective genitive) rather than “his own friend” (pace SSG, pp. 53, 482). See the note on 13:10. Here Rahlfs has a second colon that is missing in B: αἱ δὲ γνῶμαι τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνεπιεικεῖς, “but the opinions of the ungodly are unfair.” 12:263. ἁμαρτάνοντας δὲ. Rahlfs does not have δὲ. 13:42. χεῖρες δὲ ἀνδρείων ἐν ἐπιμελείᾳ, “but the hands of the industrious are taking care.” For ἀνδρεῖος meaning “industrious” or “diligent,” see note on 10:4. The adjective is here correctly translated “diligent” in de Waard 2001:190, but incorrectly as “vaillants” in de Waard 2005:113.

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13:6. There is nothing corresponding to this verse in B, but it is found in Rahlfs: δικαιοσύνη φυλάσσει ἀκάκους, τοὺς δὲ ἀσεβεῖς φαύλους ποιεῖ ἁμαρτία, “righteousness guards the guileless, but sin makes the ungodly bad.” 13:9a2. ἐλεῶσιν, “show … mercy.” Where forms of ἐλεέω differ from forms of ἐλεάω in Proverbs, B consistently has the latter, as does Rahlfs. See also 14:31, 21:26, and 28:8, although in each of these last three cases a later corrector has changed the ἐλεάω forms to ἐλεέω forms. On the confusion of the paradigms of verbs in -άω and -έω, see BDF §90. 13.102. οἱ δὲ ἑαυτῶν ἐπιγνώμονες σοφοί, “but those who are arbiters of themselves are wise.” On the noun ἐπιγνώμων, “arbiter,” see also 12:26 and MGELS s.v. 1. Though formally equivalent to the construction discussed in the note on 1:19, which would yield the translation “their (own) arbiters” (so SSG, pp. 53 and 481, n. 1), the expression οἱ ἑαυτῶν ἐπιγνώμονες used here is distinct in two respects: the genitive of the reflexive pronoun is not a possessive genitive, but an objective genitive, and the noun on which it depends is in the nominative, not in an oblique case. Note that both distinctive features are found in 12:26 as well. The point here is that those arbiters are wise who apply their mediation skills to themselves. Gerleman translates “but they that know themselves are wise,” and sees an allusion to the Delphic oracle “Know thyself” (γνῶθι σαυτόν) which is often cited in Plato (1956:29–30), but to my mind the use here of the noun ἐπιγνώμονες rather than the verb γινώσκω makes this unlikely (see SDEK 1972). 13:111. ὕπαρξις ἐπισπουδαζομένη μετὰ ἀνομίας ἐλάσσων γίνεται, “wealth that is zealously pursued with lawlessness diminishes.” The participle ἐπισπουδαζομένη (also found at 20:9b) is usually translated “gotten hastily” (so Brenton, Giguet, BAP, NETS, BG, Fox, King; GELS s.v., MGELS s.v., LSG s.v., de Waard 2001:192), but that translation is based on the presumed Hebrew Vorlage ‫( ְמבָֹהל‬see Lagarde 1863:44, Fox 2005:100–101 and 2015:209), not on the usage of the Greek verb elsewhere. The only other place where the verb occurs in the LXX is Gen 19:15, where it refers to angels “urging on” Lot. In Philostratus it occurs in the meaning “treat with zeal” (GE s.v.). See also the noun ἐπισπουδαστής in Isa 14:4, where the meaning is “hard taskmaster” (MGELS s.v.), presumably because this person urges workers on or treats them with zeal. Given the fact that the simple verb σπουδάζω, when used transitively, means “do anything hastily or earnestly, be earnest about” (LSJ s.v. II), and that the passive σπουδάζεται is attested in Euripides in the sense “is zealously pursued” (LSJ s.v. II), it seems probable that the compound ἐπισπουδάζω too could well mean something like “zealously pursue.”

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It should also be pointed out that the meaning “gotten hastily” presupposes a perfect passive participle, not (as here) a present passive participle, which suggests ongoing activity. 13:121. κρείσσων ἐναρχομένοις βοηθῶν καρδίᾳ, “better for beginners is he who helps the heart.” For ἐναρχομένοις Rahlfs has ἐναρχόμενος, which can be readily construed as agreeing with the substantivized participle βοηθῶν. It is more difficult to make sense of the B reading. To begin with, it is uncertain whether the firsthand text of B has the reading ἐν ἀρχομένοις or ἐναρχομένοις. Since there are no spaces between words in B, and since breathings were added by a later hand, both readings are paleographically possible. Clearly the later scribe who added breathings opted for the first possibility, since he added a smooth breathing to the alpha, and this interpretation has been followed by Rahlfs in his apparatus. Swete, however, printed ἐναρχομένοις in his edition of B, although in his apparatus he acknowledged that these twelve letters should “perhaps” ( fort[asse]) be read as ἐν ἀρχομένοις. In support of the latter reading it might be supposed that ἐν ἀρχομένοις was an established expression meaning “in the beginning [moments]” or “at the outset,” but that appears not to be the case. A search of the TLG shows that this particular prepositional phrase is attested only five times, in each case with the meaning “among those ruled” (for this use of the passive see LSJ s.v. ἄρχω II,4). It is therefore more probable that we should read ἐναρχομένοις, meaning simply “for beginners.” “To begin” is a well-attested meaning of ἐνάρχομαι. Translators have often supposed that the dative καρδίᾳ should be understood in an adverbial sense, to be rendered “heartily” (so Thomson, Brenton, NETS) or the like (so Giguet, BAP, SD, BG, Fox, King), but such a usage seems to be unparalleled elsewhere. Instead, καρδίᾳ represents the dative with which the verb βοηθέω is regularly construed (see LSJ s.v.). So correctly Moro: “soccorrere il cuore.” 13:16.2. ὁ δὲ ἄφρων ἐξεπέτασεν ἑαυτοῦ κακίαν, “but the fool displays his own wickedness.” The verb ἐξεπέτασεν (from ἐκπετάζω, a later form of ἐκπετάννυμι, literally “to spread out”) is a gnomic aorist (see note on 1:22), here parallel to the present πράσσει. It is mistakenly translated as a past tense in Thomson, BAP, and NETS. The fool “spreads out” his own wickedness, that is, displays it like an unfurled banner for all to see. To define the verb here as meaning “to disclose the content of” (so MGELS s.v. 1,b) is to obscure the graphic imagery. 13:172. σοφός. Rahlfs has πιστός.

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13:201. συμπορευόμενος σοφοῖς σοφὸς ἔσῃ, “if you accompany the wise you will be wise.” Rahlfs has ὁ συμπορευόμενος σοφοῖς σοφὸς ἔσται, “he who accompanies the wise will be wise.” 13:202. ὁ δὲ συμπορευόμενος ἄφροσι γνωσθήσεται. “but he who accompanies the foolish will be found out.” For γνωσθήσεται see note on 10:9. 13:25. δίκαιος ἔσθων ἐμπιπλᾶ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, / ψυχαὶ δὲ ἀσεβῶν ἐνδεεῖς, “When a righteous man eats he fills his soul, / but the souls of the ungodly are in want.” Although almost all translations render the two occurrences of ψυχή here as “soul,” NETS chooses “appetite” instead. Similarly MGELS, which classifies ψυχή here under the meaning “desire” (s.v. 3,b). It is more likely, however, that ψυχή here simply stands for the whole person (see MGELS s.v. 6). Remarkably, because the Hebrew Vorlage of ψυχαί in the second colon is ‫בטן‬, “belly,” Dick translates both occurrences of ψυχή in this verse as “stomach” (1991:46), although the Greek word never has that meaning elsewhere. 14:1. Note the gnomic aorists ᾠκοδόμησαν and κατέσκαψεν (see on 1:22). They are parallel to the presents ἐμπιπλᾷ (13:25) and φοβεῖται (14:2). 14:31. ἐκ στόματος ἀφρόνων βακτηρία ὕβρεως. “out of the mouth of fools comes a rod for beating.” Given the association of βακτηρία with discipline in 13:24, the meaning conveyed by βακτηρία ὕβρεως is probably not “staff of pride” or the like (so Thomson, Brenton, BAP, NETS, King), but rather “rod for beating.” For ὕβρις referring to violence of various kinds, see LSJ s.v. I, II, GE s.v. B, MGELS s.v. 2. See the note on this verse in SDEK 1973. 14:52. ἐκκαίει δὲ ψεύδη, “make lies burn.” See note on 6:19. 14:91. οἰκίαι παρανόμων ὀφειλήσουσιν καθαρισμόν, “the homes of transgressors will be liable to purification.” Literally, “will owe” purification, that is, be obligated to undergo it. The verb ὀφείλω is frequently used in this sense, especially when the object is punishment of some sort. See MGELS s.v. 2. 14:101. καρδία ἀνδρὸς αἰσθητική, λυπηρὰ ψυχὴ αὐτου, “a man’s heart is sensitive, his soul hurting.” The adjective λυπηρός can mean either “causing pain” (that is, “painful,” “distressing” and the like) or “having pain” (that is, “sad,” “sorrowful” and the like). See the relevant entries in LSJ, BDAG, and GE. As these entries show, the former meaning is by far the more common one in ancient Greek, although each also cites Prov 17:22 as exemplifying the second meaning. To that

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example of the second meaning, we can add the present verse (so GELS s.v. and MGELS s.v. b), as well as Prov 26:23, leaving only 15:1 as illustrating the more common first meaning in Proverbs. 14:121. παρὰ ἀνθρώποις ὀρθὴ εἶναι. Rahlfs has ὀρθὴ εἶναι παρὰ ἀνθρώποις. 14.141. τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ὁδῶν πλησθήσεται θρασυκάρδιος, ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν διανοημάτων αὐτοῦ ἀνὴρ ἀγαθός, “a bold man will be filled with his own ways, but a good man by His thoughts.” There is clearly a contrast between that with which the bold man is filled and that with which the good man is filled. I therefore take ἑαυτοῦ in its intensive sense (see on 1:19), and αὐτοῦ to refer to God (hence capitalized “His”). The use of the prepositional phrase ἀπὸ τῶν διανοημάτων (influenced by the Hebrew) instead of the simple genitive διανοημάτων is very harsh. See C&S § 93a. 14:192. καὶ ἀσεβεῖς θεραπεύσουσιν θύρας δικαίων, “and the ungodly will serve at the doors of the righteous.” The phrase θύρας τινὸς θεραπεύειν is found in Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 8.1.6, where it refers to nobles in attendance at a king’s court (see LSJ s.v. θεραπεύω II,2). We find a similar use of θεραπεύω at 19:6 and 29:26. 14:241. στέφανος σοφῶν πανοῦργος, “a shrewd man is the pride of the wise.” For this meaning of στέφανος, see note on 12:4. 14:252. ἐκκαίει δὲ ψεύδη, “makes lies burn.” See note on 6:19. 14:262. τοῖς δὲ τέκνοις αὐτοῦ καταλείπει ἔρεισμα, “and He leaves a support for his children.” Given the gender of αὐτοῦ, the subject of this sentence must be κύριος, not ἰσχύς (see the previous colon), hence the capitalized “He” in my translation. D’Hamonville in BAP argues that the “support” which the Lord leaves his children is the “ordinance of the Lord” of the next verse (which he equates with the Law of Moses), and he therefore punctuates the end of vs 26 with a colon. However, as d’Hamonville points out, his reading is inconsistent with the marginal number in B, which indicates that a new pericope starts with verse 27. 14:292. ὁ δὲ ὀλιγόψυχος ἰσχυρὸς ἄφρων, “but the impatient strong man is a fool.” A later corrector in B changed the adjective ἰσχυρός to the adverb ἰσχυρῶς (so Rahlfs), with the result that it means “exceedingly” (modifying ἄφρων). 14:311. ὁ συκοφαντῶν πένητα, “he who preys on the needy.” The verb συκοφαντέω has a very complicated semantic history. In its earliest attested use it meant

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“inform against,” and then “accuse falsely” or “slander.” Alongside this meaning it also developed the more general sense “extort” or “oppress,” without any suggestion of accusation or slander. It is exclusively in this latter meaning that the verb (and its cognates συκοφάντης and συκοφαντία) is found in biblical Greek. In the LXX it almost always translates ‫“( עשׁק‬oppress,” “extort,” “exploit”), often with reference to the poor (as here). See Nestle 1903:271–272; TWNT s.v.; and BDAG s.v. The verb occurs also in 22:16 and 28:3, and the noun συκοφάντης, “oppressor,” in 28:16. In the present verse translators often mistakenly assume that the verb means “slander” or the like (so VL, CP, Moro, BG, and King). We find the same mistake in GELS and MGELS s.v. Thus the latter still gives the definitions “to accuse falsely” (s.v. 1) and “to make financial gain by laying false charges” (s.v. 2), listing Prov 22:16 as an example of the second meaning. 14:312. ἐλεᾷ. A later hand in B corrected this to ἐλεεῖ. See note on 13:9a2. 15:13. λόγος δὲ λυπηρὸς ἐγείρει ὀργάς, “whereas a hurtful word provokes anger.” For the meaning of λυπηρός see note on 14:10. It here clearly means “causing pain” rather than “having pain.” 15:101. παιδεία ἀκάκου γνωρίζεται ὑπὸ τῶν παριόντων, “the discipline of the guileless is made known by those who pass by.” The force of the passive γνωρίζεται is not “is known” (so CP, BAP, NETS, SD, Moro, Fox, Gerleman 1956:20), but rather “is made known” (so King). This is the regular meaning of γνωρίζω (see MGELS s.v. 1; in Proverbs see also 3:6, 9:9, and 22:19). SRE mistakenly takes γνωρίζω here to mean “find out,” and takes παριόντων to be a form of πάρειμι (εἰμί sum), “be nearby,” rather than πάρειμι (εἶμι ibo), “pass by.” 15:132. ἐν δὲ λύπαις οὔσαις σκυθρωπάζει, “but in the afflictions of the present it frowns.” The first-hand text of B has οὔσαις, later corrected by another hand to οὔσης (i.e. καρδίας). Rahlfs also has οὔσης. On the attributive use of the participle ὤν meaning “(presently) existing,” “current,” see LSJ s.v. εἰμί (sum) A,1 (at end); BDAG s.v. εἰμί 1 (at end). 15:152. ἡσυχάσουσιν. Rahlfs has ἡσυχάζουσιν. 15:171. μετὰ λαχάνων. Rahlfs has λαχάνων. 15:221. ὑπερτίθενται λογισμοὺς οἱ μὴ τιμῶντες συνέδρια, “those who do not respect councils put themselves above deliberations.” The point is not that those who

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disregard councils “postpone” deliberations (so CP, Brenton, NETS, BG, GELS s.v., MGELS s.v.), or “omit” them (so SD), let alone “prefer” them (so BAP), but rather “put themselves above” them (so Moro). That is in fact the literal meaning of the middle of ὑπερτίθημι (see LSJ s.v. II,3). As the parallel line makes clear, the topic of this verse is the value of the kind of discussions that take place in deliberative bodies (συνέδρια). I do not understand how King arrives at the translation “Those who prefer their own reasoning do not honour council meetings.” 15:232. οὐδὲ μὴ εἴπῃ καίριόν τι καὶ καλὸν τῷ κοινῷ, “nor will he say anything appropriate to the occasion, or good for the community.” The topic is the behavior of participants in the discussions of a civic council. For τὸ κοινόν as a designation of the state or commonweal (that is, civic community), see LSJ s.v. II,2,a. It here refers to the community governed by a deliberative council. 15:252. ἐστήρισεν δὲ ὅριον χήρας, “but he strengthens the border of the widow.” Note the gnomic aorist ἐστήρισεν (see note on 1:22), here parallel to the present κατασπᾷ. 15:262. ἁγνῶν δὲ ῥήσεις σεμναί, “but the utterances of the pure command respect.” For σεμνός, see note on 6:8a. The renderings “solemn” (NETS) and “santi” (Moro) are to be rejected. 15:281. καρδίαι δικαίων μελετῶσιν πίστεις, “the hearts of the righteous ponder acts of good faith.” For μελετάω see note on 8:7. Here and in 24:2 the subject is καρδία, suggesting the meaning “meditate on” or “ponder” rather than “speak” (so CP, Brenton, NETS, Moro, Fox). 15:29b1. καρδία δὲ. Rahlfs has καρδία. 15:31. There is nothing corresponding to this verse in B and Rahlfs. 16:1. There is nothing corresponding to this verse in B and Rahlfs. 16:22. οἱ δὲ ἀσεβεῖς, “but the ungodly.” The first-hand text of B has the reading ασεβης instead of ασεβεις, no doubt an orthograpical slip due to itacism. It was duly corrected by a later hand. 16:3–4. There is nothing corresponding to these verses in B and Rahlfs.

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16:52. χειρὶ δὲ χεῖρας ἐμβαλὼν ἀδίκως οὐκ ἀθοωθήσεται, “and he who has shaken hands dishonestly will not go unpunished.” For the unusual use of an anarthrous participle as the subject of a sentence, see note on 2:7. For the expression χειρὶ χεῖρας ἐμβάλλω see the note on 11:21. Note that οὐκ ἀθῳωθήσεται here translates the same Hebrew phrase (‫ )לא־ינקה‬which in 11:21 is rendered οὐκ ἀτιμώρητος ἔσται. The first-hand spelling αθοωθησεται was corrected in a later hand to αθωωθησεται, that is, ἀθῳωθήσεται. The same spelling variation is found in 6:29. The correct spelling is found in the first-hand text at 17:5. 16:6. There is nothing corresponding to this verse in B and Rahlfs. 16:72. δεκταὶ δὲ παρὰ θεῷ μᾶλλον ἢ θύειν θυσίας, “and they are more pleasing before God than offering sacrifices.” For the B reading δεκταί Rahlfs has δεκτά, which clearly refers back to τὰ δίκαια in the previous colon. However, there is no feminine plural noun in the context to which the B reading δεκταί could refer. To reproduce this grammatical anacoluthon in my translation I have rendered τὰ δίκαια as the singular “the right thing,” leaving the following pronoun “they” with no apparent antecedent, just as δεκταί has no apparent referent in the Greek. 16:101. μαντεῖον ἐπὶ χείλεσιν βασιλέως, “there is divination on the lips of the king.” The word μαντεῖον is usually translated “oracle” here (so Brenton, BAP, SD, Moro, BG, King; GELS), but that translation obscures the fact that μαντεῖον and its cognates (μαντεία, μαντεύομαι, μάντις) elsewhere in the LXX consistently refer to divination, a pagan practice that is severely condemned throughout the OT (see for example Deut 18:10, 4Kgdms 17:17). Even less plausible is the translation “an oracular shrine” (so NETS). How can a shrine be said to be “on the lips of the king”? In light of the consistent condemnation of divination elsewhere, it is very striking that μαντεῖον—here correctly rendered by Muraoka as “divination” (MGELS s.v.)—is ascribed to the righteous king. It should be noted, however, that the translator is here being faithful to his Vorlage, since the Hebrew here has ‫קסם‬, which also regularly describes the forbidden practice of divination. 16:122. μετὰ γὰρ δικαιοσύνης ἑτοιμάζεται θρόνος ἀρχῆς, “for it is in conjunction with justice that the throne of his rule is established.” For the meaning of ἑτοιμάζω see note on 3:19. The translation “by righteousness” (so Thomson, Brenton, NETS, Fox), is to be avoided, both because it wrongly suggests that μετά plus genitive is being used in an instrumental sense, and because it fails to bring out the judicial side of the king’s δικαιοσύνη (see MGELS s.v. 5). Instead, the mean-

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ing seems to be that the throne of the king’s rule (ἀρχῆς, a word added by the translator) is established in tandem with his exercise of justice. 16:161. νοσσιαὶ σοφίας αἱρετώτεραι χρυσίου, “the nests of wisdom are to be preferred to gold.” The form νοσσιά is the later spelling of νεοσσιά (Attic νεοττιά), which can mean “nest,” “brood of young birds,” or the nest-like home of other animals (see LSJ s.v. νεοσσιά). The “nests” of wisdom and good sense may refer to wisdom “schools” (so SD) or groups of disciples. 16:182. πρὸ δὲ πτώματος κακοφροσύνη, “and maliciousness before a fall.” For κακοφροσύνη in this verse LSJ gives the meaning “folly,” and GE the meaning “badness, wickedness, perversity.” For the ambiguity of κακόφρων and its cognates, see note on 11:22. Given the parallel with ὕβρις, in the previous line, which describes a moral rather than an intellectual failing, I here choose for the second meaning. This is also suggested by the Hebrew corresponding to κακοφροσύνη here, namely ‫גבה רוח‬, “haughtiness of spirit.” 16:211. τοὺς σοφοὺς καὶ συνετοὺς φαύλους καλοῦσιν, “they call the wise and intelligent inept.” For the meaning of φαῦλος see note on 5:3. It does not here mean “evil” (so CP, Brenton), or “worthless” (so NETS, SD, King), let alone “crafty” (Thomson), “base” (Fox), or “lazy” (BG), nor does it here describe “non-entities” (so essentially Giguet: “gens de peu” and BAP: “les nuls”). In contrast with σοφός, as here, a better rendering is “inept” (so Moro). We find the same contrast in 29:9. For this use of φαῦλος see LSJ s.v. φαῦλος II,2: “esp. in point of education and accomplishments, opp. σοφός.” 16:242. γλύκασμα αὐτοῦ. Rahlfs has γλύκασμα αὐτῶν. The antecedent of the former is the singular μέλιτος, that of the latter is the plural κηρία. To make this clear I have translated “the honey’s sweetness.” 16:261. καὶ ἐκβιάζεται ἑαυτοῦ τὴν ἀπώλειαν, “and keeps his ruin at bay.” Literally, “forces out the ruin from himself.” Almost all translations render this sentence as though the object were τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀπώλειαν (the construction discussed in the note on 1:19), although the position of the article seems to preclude this. Rather than classifying the construction here as a “rare” or “unique exception” (so SSG, pp. 54, 481), I consider it more likely that ἑαυτοῦ should be construed with ἐκβιάζεται rather than ἀπώλειαν. So correctly BAP: “il expulse de chez lui la ruine.” On the genitive with ἐκβιάζω, see LSJ s.v. I,1. King strangely renders ἑαυτοῦ as “from his home.” NETS has the translation “fences off his own destruction,” where the verb seems to be a misprint for “fends off.”

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16:282. πυρσεύσει. Rahlfs has πυρσεύει. 16:291. ἀνὴρ παράνομος ἀποπειρᾶται φίλων, “a transgressor leads his friends into temptation.” Just as the simple verb πειράομαι often has a suggestion of tempting or seducing (see LSJ s.v. A,IV,2; GE s.v. 1,B; 2,C; 3), so does the compound ἀποπειράομαι (see LSG s.v.: “make a sexual attempt on”). Although Brenton’s translation “entice” is probably based more on the Hebrew Vorlage (‫ )יפתה‬than on the Greek, it is closer to the mark than the usual rendering “make trial of” (so NETS, King; similarly CP, BAP, Moro, BG). Accordingly, I follow SD (“führt Freunde in Versuchung”). I do not understand how Giguet arrives at “caresse ses amis.” 16:292. καὶ ἀπάγει αὐτοὺς ὁδοὺς οὐκ ἀγαθάς, “and draws them away on ways not good.” On the adverbial accusative with ὁδός, see GG § 1059, Kühner-Gerth 1898:1.312–313, SSG §22xe. 16:301. στηρίζων δὲ ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ διαλογίζεται διεστραμμένα, “but he who ogles with his eyes has perverse things in mind.” For the unusual use of an anarthrous participle as the subject of a sentence, see note on 2:7. The subject is literally “he who fixes his eyes,” that is, looks intently (see LSG s.v.), but what is meant is clearly not an innocent looking. It is a culpable staring, accompanied by inappropriate thoughts, best rendered in English as “ogling.” Compare the στηρίζων ὀφθαλμόν of 27:20a, where the ogler is said to be an abomination to the Lord. A similar warning against the inappropriate gaze is found in 4:25 (where see my note). B has the reading διαλογίζεται, where Rahlfs has λογίζεται. Compare 17:12 διαλογιοῦνται κακά, “they will have evil schemes in mind.” Rahlfs also omits the δέ. 16:302. ὁρίζει δὲ τοῖς χείλεσιν αὐτοῦ πάντα τὰ κακά, “and with his lips ordains all kinds of evil.” Translators are at a loss as to how to render this sentence. Some give the translation “and marks out with his lips all evils” (so Brenton; similarly CP, NETS, BG, King, GELS s.v.), but it is difficult to know what sense this makes in the context. Others have resorted to otherwise unattested senses of the verb ὁρίζω, such as “enforce” (so Brenton), “conceal” (so Giguet: “recèle”), or “declare” (so Moro: “dichiara”), while BAP treats τοῖς χείλεσιν as though it were an accusative, yielding the translation “il borne ses lèvres à tout ce qui est mal.” MGELS s.v. 2,b assigns to ὁρίζω here the meaning “to determine clearly,” but that would mean that the ogler who “has perverse things in mind” and is “a furnace of wickedness” is improbably said to “clearly determine all evil things” with his lips.

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I take ὁρίζω here to have the well-attested sense “ordain,” “lay down” (see LSJ s.v. III,1), which unfortunately is not listed in MGELS. My translation is like that of SD: “er setzt mit seinen Lippen alles Böse fest.” I understand πάντα τὰ κακά to mean “all kinds of evil.” For πᾶς in the sense “every kind of, all sorts of” see BDAG s.v. 5 and LSJ s.v. D,II,1. 16:311. στέφανος καυχήσεως γῆρας, “old age is an honor to take pride in.” On στέφανος meaning “(source of) pride,” or “honor,” see note on 12:4. The metaphorical use of the expression στέφανος καυχήσεως is also found in 1 Thess 2:19, where it is a possible allusion to its occurrence here. 16:331. εἰς κόλπους ἐπέρχεται πάντα τοῖς ἀδίκοις, “for the unrighteous, all kinds of thing come into their pockets.” For κόλπος as the fold of a garment which functioned as a pocket, see note on 6:27. For πάντα meaning “all kinds of things” see note on 16:302. The suggestion here is that among the many kinds of things that end up in the pockets of the unrighteous, there is much that is unjustly acquired. Compare 17:23. 17:12. ἢ οἶκος πολλῶν ἀγαθῶν. Rahlfs has ἢ οἶκος πλήρης πολλῶν ἀγαθῶν. 17:41. κακὸς ὑπακούει γλώσσῃς, “a bad man listens to the tongue.” A later hand in B corrects this to γλώσσῃ. Note that the verb ὑπακούω can be construed with both the genitive and the dative of the thing; see LSJ s.v. I, 1 and 3; MGELS s.v. a and e. 17:61. στέφανος γερόντων τέκνα τέκνων, “the pride of the elderly is their children’s children.” On στέφανος meaning “(source of) pride,” see note on 12:4. It is significant that it here stands in parallel to καύχημα, “boast.” 17:81. παιδεία. A later hand in B corrected this to ἡ παιδεία (so Rahlfs). 17:82. οὗ δ’ἂν ἐπιστρέψῃ, εὐοδωθήσεται, “wherever it turns them, it will be prospered.” The subject, as in the previous colon, is παιδεία, not an indefinite on (so BAP), nor the just-mentioned μισθός (so SD), nor “those who use it” (a construal entertained by Fox, despite the incongruity in grammatical number). Accordingly, the active form of the verb ἐπιστρέψῃ is to be understood in a transitive sense with an understood object: “wherever discipline may turn them” (that is, those who use it). We find analogous cases of transitive verbs with an understood object in vss 9 (κρύπτειν) and 10 (αἰσθάνεται). The existing translations, by contrast, all understand the verb here in an intransitive sense. Along similar

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lines, the verb εὐοδωθήσεται, although it is almost universally translated “will prosper” or “succeed” (a meaning it commonly has; see MGELS s.v. 4) is here best understood as a true passive (so correctly VL: prosperabitur). The point is that discipline, wherever it turns or directs people, will be given success (that is, by God). On this so-called passivum divinum see BDF § 313. 17:132. οὐ κινηθήσεται κακά ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ, “evil will not be removed from his house.” Translations and lexica differ on whether κινηθήσεται should here be understood as the passive “will be removed” (so Brenton, NETS, King, GELS s.v.) or as the active intransitive “will depart” or “move (away)” (so Thomson, BAP, SD, Moro, BG, MGELS s.v. B,b). The former is clearly correct (for κινέω meaning “remove” see LSJ I,2), while the latter assigns to the verb a meaning which it does not otherwise have. Instead, it seems to reflect the Hebrew Vorlage (Q ‫תמושׁ‬, K ‫ )תמישׁ‬rather than the Greek. Note too that MGELS s.v. B,b mistakenly identifies κινηθήσεται as a middle rather than a passive. 17:141. ἀρχὴ δικαιοσύνης, “righteous rule.” Since ἀρχή can mean “beginning,” “principle,” or “rule,” and since δικαιοσύνη can mean “righteousness” or “justice,” and the genitive δικαιοσύνης here could well be a “genitive of quality” (see note on 5:19), there are many possible renderings of this phrase, as the existing translations amply illustrate. Unfortunately the context does little to help delimit the intended meaning. I have chosen the rendering “righteous rule” because of the contrast with political “rebellion and strife” in the parallel colon. 17:161. ἵνα τί ὑπῆρξεν χρήματα ἄφρονι; “why does a fool have money?” Note the gnomic aorist of ὑπῆρξεν (see on 1:22). 17:162. ἀκάρδιος, “a man who has no heart.” See note on 10:13. The adjective ἀκάρδιος should here not be translated “stupid” (so Thomson), “senseless” (so Brenton, de Waard 2001:193), “without judgment” (Moro), or “without brains” (King), since these all reflect interpretations of the underlying Hebrew, not of the Greek. Even less defensible is “heartless” (so NETS), since this has a meaning in English (“cruel”) which reflects neither the Hebrew nor the Greek. The word is best translated neutrally as “having no heart” (so Giguet, BG). 17:16a2. ὁ δὲ σκολιάζων τοῦ μαθεῖν ἐμπεσεῖται εἰς κακά, “and he who goes astray in learning will come to grief.” Translators have been baffled by the phrase ὁ σκολιάζων τοῦ μαθεῖν. The most common interpretation is that represented by Brenton, who has “he that turns aside from instruction” (so VL, SD, Fox, King; GELS s.v. σκολιάζω), thus construing the genitive τοῦ μαθεῖν as a genitive of sepa-

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ration. However, there is no evidence that σκολιάζω is ever construed with such a genitive elsewhere. Other attempted renderings are those of Thomson (“he who is backward to learn”), BAP (“celui qui louvoie [tacks] dans l’ étude”), NETS (“the one who is too crooked to learn”), Moro (“chi distorce la dottrina”), and BG (“el que es tortuoso para aprender”). I believe the key to solving the puzzle is to recognize that τοῦ μαθεῖν is an example of what Conybeare and Stock call “the explanatory use of the infinitive” (G&S § 60b; see also SSG § 30bc and BDF §400 [8]). Thus τοῦ μαθεῖν explains or specifies in what respect a person σκολιάζει, that is, walks crookedly, goes astray (for the verb, see also 10:8 and 14:2). John Chrysostom in his commentary takes the phrase to refer to ἀπόνοια, “mindlessness” (see Bady 2003:343). 17:182. ὡς καὶ ὁ ἐγγυώμενος ἐγγύην τῶν ἑαυτοῦ φίλων, “just like him who pledges security for his own friends.” Rahlfs has ὁ ἐγγυώμενος ἐγγύῃ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ φίλον. The construction in the B text is unusual; ἐγγυάομαι is normally construed (as in the Rahlfs text) with the accusative of the person (see also 6:1 and 19:28). 17:222. ἀνδρὸς δὲ λυπηροῦ ξηραίνεται τὰ ὀστᾶ, “but the bones of a hurting man dry up.” For the meaning of λυπηρός see on 14:10. It here has the rarer meaning “having pain” rather than “causing pain” (see LSJ s.v. III, BDAG s.v. 2, and GE s.v. B, each of which cites the present verse). 17:231. λαμβάνοντος δῶρα ἐν κόλποις ἀδίκως οὐ κατευοδοῦνται ὁδοί, “the ways of a man who pockets gifts unjustly do not prosper.” Instead of κόλποις Rahlfs has κόλπῳ. For the meaning of κόλπος see note on 6:27. 17:251. πατρί ἐστιν. Rahlfs has πατρί. 17:252. αὐτοῦ. A later hand in B corrects this to αὐτόν. 17:271. προελέσθαι, “to choose.” Rahlfs has προέσθαι, “to utter.” 18:42. ποταμὸς δὲ ἀναπηδύει καὶ πηγὴ ζωῆς, “and a river gushes up, and a spring of life.” The form ἀναπηδύει is an itacistic misspelling of ἀναπιδύει (see LSG s.v. ἀναπιδύω). It is listed under ἀναπηδύω in GELS, but under ἀναπιδύω in MGELS. The spelling may have been influenced by a confusion with ἀναπηδάω, “leap up,” since in later Greek some forms of the two verbs (e.g. ἀναπιδύσῃ/ἀναπηδήσῃ) would have been pronounced alike. I have retained the spelling ἀναπηδύει of the manuscript tradition (including B), as have Swete and Rahlfs, although a good case could be made for printing ἀναπιδύει in a critical edition.

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18:51. θαυμάσαι πρόσωπον ἀσεβοῦς οὐ καλόν, “it is not a good thing to respect an ungodly man.” For θαυμάζω meaning “admire” or “respect” (a person), see LSJ s.v. 1,b, MGELS s.v. 2,b. For πρόσωπον meaning “person,” and its redundant use with a genitive of the person, see note on 2:6. Note that θαυμάζω is one of a series of Greek verbs construed with πρόσωπον in the LXX which have to do with showing respect. Others are αἰσχύνομαι, ἐπιγινώσκω, θεραπεύω, λαμβάνω, and ὑποστέλλω. See MGELS s.v. πρόσωπον 5 and the various entries devoted to these verbs. The present colon is repeated almost verbatim in 29:26. 18:81. ὀκνηροὺς καταβάλλει φόβος, “fear lays low the timid.” Although the adjective ὀκνηρός in Proverbs usually suggests laziness (see 6:6, 6:9, 11:16, 26:13–16, 31:27), here the contrast with “fear” and the parallelism with ἀνδρογύνων in the next colon suggests that it should be taken in its other meaning: “shrinking, timid” (see LSJ s.v. I,1: “esp. from fear”). This meaning is not listed in GELS and MGELS, and among the translations only NETS and BG recognize it here. 18:82. ψυχαὶ δὲ ἀνδρογύνων πεινάσουσιν, “and the souls of sissies will suffer hunger.” The adjective ἀνδρόγυνος, like ἀνδρογύναιος in 19:15, here suggests fearfulness or timidity. 18:91. ὁ μὴ ἰώμενος αὑτὸν, “he who does not heal himself.” For αὑτὸν Rahlfs has ἑαυτὸν. Although the later hand responsible for adding breathings in B supplied αυτον here with a smooth breathing (αὐτὸν), it is probable, given the context, that the original scribe meant it to be read as a reflexive pronoun, and thus probably with a rough breathing (αὑτὸν). On the short form of the reflexive pronoun, see BDF §283 and the separate entry on αὑτοῦ in MGELS. 18:171. δίκαιος ἑαυτοῦ κατήγορος ἐν πρωτολογίᾳ, “in his opening speech, the righteous man is his own accuser.” The word πρωτολογία, at least in fourth-century Attic usage, was a technical term for “the right to speak first” and by extension for the “part of the prosecutor” (so LSJ s.v., citing this verse) or “the role of the accuser” (GE s.v., citing this verse). It is possible that this technical use is in play here (so BAP, Fox, GELS), although most translators take it to refer simply to “his first speech” (so Thomson), “the beginning of his speech” (so Brenton), or the like. There seems to be no justification for Moro’s translation processo, that is “lawsuit.” The point seems to be that the righteous man, as a defendant in a court of law, accuses himself in order to take the wind out of the sails of the prosecutor.

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18:172. ὡς δ’ἂν ἐπιβάλῃ ὁ ἀντίδικος ἐλέγχεται, “but when the opposing party mounts his attack, he is shown to be wrong.” It is grammatically unclear whether the subject of ἐπιβάλῃ is the δίκαιος of the previous colon (so Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, NETS, King), or the ἀντίδικος of this colon (so BAP, SD, Moro, BG, Fox). By putting a comma after ἀντίδικος, Rahlfs sides with the latter view. A similar ambiguity obtains with respect to the subject of ἐλέγχεται. I take the subject of both verbs to be the ἀντίδικος. D’Hamonville claims that the verb ἐπιβάλλω has a technical legal sense meaning “reply to the accusation” (see BAP 266, followed by Fox), but I have not been able to find evidence to support this claim. Nor can I find support for the meaning “begin to speak” (so SD: “ergreift das Wort;” Moro: “prende la parola”). It is more likely that the verb here simply means “attack” (so Brenton, Giguet, BG, King; compare LSJ s.v. II,2). The noun ἀντίδικος is unambiguously a legal term, designating the opposing party in a court of law, either the defendant or plaintiff (see LSJ s.v., BDAG s.v., and the relevant article by Schrenk in TWNT 1.373–375). Thus SD correctly translates “Prozessgegner.” The generic rendering “adversary” or “opponent” (so CP, Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, NETS, Moro, King) is to be avoided. 18:181. ἀντιλογίας παύει σιγηρός, “a silent man puts an end to disputes.” For the B reading σιγηρός Rahlfs has κλῆρος. Fox believes that σιγηρός is the original reading of the Old Greek (2015:268). Whether this reading is original or not, the meaning of the B text may be that disputes (ἀντιλογίας) will be ended if one party to the dispute no longer ἀντιλέγει, that is, speaks in opposition or response to his opponent, and falls silent. 18:182. ἐν δὲ δυναστείαις ὁρίζει, “and establishes boundaries among sovereignties.” For the B reading δυναστείαις, “dominions” or “sovereignties,” Rahlfs has δυνάσταις, “princes” or “sovereigns.” In my view the point of this verse is not that the silent man “judges” or “decides” between them, thus choosing for one or the other (so Giguet, NETS, Moro, King), but rather that he establishes boundaries (ὅρους) among the competing jurisdictions (so SD, BG). MGELS s.v. 2b assigns to ὁρίζω in this verse the meaning “determine clearly,” but that would require an object. A better fit is the meaning listed s.v. 1: “to form boundary.” In fact the primary meaning of this denominative verb is “die Grenze festsetzen” (TWNT 5.453). 18:211. ἐν χειρὶ γλώσσης, “in the power of the tongue.” Literally “in the hand of the tongue,” a Hebraistic turn of phrase that was familiar to readers of the LXX (see MGELS s.v. χείρ II,d).

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18:221–2. εὗρεν … εὗρεν … Best taken as gnomic aorists (see note on 1:22). Compare the present tense of ἐκβάλλει (bis) in the parallel next colon. 19:1–2. There is nothing corresponding to these verses in B and Rahlfs. 19:61. πολλοὶ θεραπεύουσι πρόσωπα βασιλέων, “many wait on kings.” The word πρόσωπα, “persons,” can be omitted in translation (so BAP, SD). For this redundant use of πρόσωπον meaning “person,” see note on 2:6. For θεραπεύω see note on 14:19; it is used with πρόσωπα, as here, also at 29:26. 19:62. πᾶς δὲ ὁ κακὸς γίνεται ὄνειδος ἀνδρί, “but every scoundrel is to a man’s discredit.” A later hand in B deleted the article ὁ, although it is retained in Rahlfs. With the article the meaning would normally be “the whole scoundrel” (see LSJ s.v. πᾶς B,1, BDAG s.v. 4,b), but this makes little sense in the context. To deal with the difficulty Muraoka in MGELS takes the construction here to mean “no matter which” (s.v. πᾶς II,a), but this too seems alien to the context. It is probably best to treat πᾶς ὁ κακός here as the equivalent of πᾶς κακός, “every scoundrel,” a usage which does occur, however rarely, in the LXX (see MGELS s.v. πᾶς II, a, at beginning). On this unusual usage see especially SSG p. 461, from which it appears that Muraoka now also recognizes it in the present verse. Compare also Lee 2018:251, who adduces Lev 23:42 πᾶς ὁ αὐτόχθων, “every indigenous person.” Most translators have “every” (so for example CP, Brenton, Giguet, BAP, NETS, SD, Moro, King). 19:71–2. πᾶς ὃς ἀδελφὸν πτωχὸν μισεῖ, / καὶ φιλίας μακρὰν ἔσται, “everyone who hates a poor brother will also be far from love.” Gerleman sees in these two cola, and in the following two cola (where he apparently takes the antecedent of αὐτήν to be φιλία, not ἔννοια) an allusion to the Platonic theme of the sage having friendship, and compares Lysis 210 (1956:30). This strikes me as very farfetched. The present text speaks of the duty of everyone, not just the sage, to befriend their poverty-stricken brother. Besides, it should be noted that φιλία in Proverbs refers as much to love as to friendship (see 5:19, 7:18, 10:12, 27:5). 19:73. ἔννοια ἀγαθὴ τοῖς εἰδόσιν αὐτὴν ἐγγιεῖ, “good insight will come near to those who know it.” Most translators understand ἐγγιεῖ here to be intransitive (as it is elsewhere in Proverbs; see 3:15, 5:8, and 10:4), and αὐτήν to be the object of εἰδόσιν, as in my translation. So CP, Thomson, Brenton, BAP, NETS, SD, Moro, SD, Fox, King. Gerleman, however, takes ἐγγιεῖ to be transitive, and αὐτὴν to be its object: “Good understanding will bring it near to them that know it” (Gerleman

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1956:30; similarly Giguet). On either reading, it is grammatically ambiguous whether the antecedent of αὐτήν is φιλία or ἔννοια. Most translations retain the ambiguity, but Moro, by her use of the masculine pronoun lo makes it clear that she takes the antecedent to be the masculine “buon pensiero,” not the feminine “amicizia.” This seems to be the more natural meaning. Gerleman, however, takes the antecedent of the pronoun in this colon and the next to be φιλία, thus giving debatable support to his claim that this verse alludes to Plato’s conception of φιλία, understood to mean “friendship” (see Gerleman 1956:30). 19:76. ὃς δὲ ἐρεθίζει λόγους, οὐ σωθήσεται, “and he who provokes words will not be saved.” The expression ἐρεθίζει λόγους is strange Greek, since ἐρεθίζω is normally used of irritating or provoking a person or an animal. One does not normally irritate words. It seems likely that λόγους is a corruption of λόγοις, so that the meaning was originally “he who irritates with words.” Although I am not aware of any manuscript evidence for this reading, a number of translations seem to presuppose it, notably CP (“iritat sermonibus”), BAP (“provoque en paroles”), SD (“wer [zum Streit] mit Worten aufreizt”), and BG (“provoca con palabras”). Others translate with some variant of “use provoking words” (so Thomson, Giguet, NETS), while Muraoka gives ἐρεθίζω here the otherwise unattested sense “render provocative,” resulting in the translation “say provocative things” (see MGELS s.v. 3). Similarly unattested is the meaning “use to provoke” given in SRE. I have chosen for the literal translation “provoke words” (so Moro and King), even though this stretches the normal semantic range of ἐρεθίζω. The reference then is to a person who provokes (hostile) words in others. Compare γλῶσσαν ἐρεθίζει in 25:23. As the text stands, the Greek remains obscure and awkward. 19:92. ὃς δ’ἂν ἐκκαύσῃ κακίαν, “and whoever makes wickedness burn.” See note on 6:19. 19:121. βασιλέως ἀπειλὴ ὁμοία βρυγμῷ λέοντος, “the king’s threat is like a lion’s roar.” The noun βρυγμός normally means “grinding of the teeth” or “bite” (see LSJ s.v. I, BDAG s.v.), so that some translations speak here of the lion’s “bite” (so BAP, BG, Fox; see also MGELS s.v., GE s.v.) or of “grinding its teeth” (King). However, in this verse it is more commonly translated “roar” (so the other existing translations, as well as GELS s.v., LSJ s.v. II). This seems justified in the light of the related verb βρυχάομαι, which means “roar, bellow, prop. of lions” (LSJ s.v.). Moreover, a king’s threat is more naturally compared to a lion’s roar than to its bite. The translation “roar” is also closer to the Hebrew, which is ‫נהם‬, “growling.”

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19:132. οὐχ ἁγναὶ εὐχαὶ ἀπὸ μισθώματος ἑταίρας, “votary offerings from a courtesan’s earnings are unholy.” In Rahlfs the colon begins with καὶ οὐχ. For εὐχή in the sense “votary offering” see MGELS s.v. 1,b. This meaning fits the present context better than “vow” or “prayer” (pace all existing translations). A ἑταίρα is not so much a “harlot” or “prostitute” (that is, a πόρνη; so Thomson, Brenton, NETS, SD, Moro, Fox, King, SRE), let alone a “concubine” (so BG), but rather a “hetaira” or “courtesan” (so Giguet, BAP). See LSJ s.v. II,2. A contemporary equivalent might be “escort.” Votary offerings made from the wages of such a courtesan are not ἁγναί, an adjective that has connotations not only of (cultic) purity, but also holiness and chastity (see LSJ s.v.). In the present context the translation “sacred” (so Fox) is fully justified. The gloss “sincere, honored” (SRE) is a mistake. 19.142. παρὰ δὲ θεοῦ ἁρμόζεται γυνὴ ἀνδρί, “but a woman is betrothed to a man by God.” For ἁρμόζω in the sense “betroth” see LSJ s.v. I,2; GE s.v. 2; BDAG s.v. 2 (citing this verse). A later hand in B has the explanatory marginal note συνοικίσει, which could either be a verb (“he will give (her) in marriage”) or a noun (“by marriage”). Most translations miss this technical sense of the verb here, as do GELS s.v. and MGELS s.v. 3,b. Exceptions are Moro, who has “si fidanza” and SRE, which gives the gloss “join (in marriage).” Although Cook initially correctly translated the verb here as “betroth” (see Cook 1979:230), he later opted for the translation “join” (see NETS). 19:151. δειλία κατέχει ἀνδρογύναιον, “cowardice holds back the sissy.” The adjective ἀνδρογύναιος is very rare; in fact, according to the TLG it occurs nowhere else, except for three places in Pseudo-Athanasius, De sancta trinitate, where it means “bisexual” (see PGL s.v.). Here it is probably a scribal error for ἀνδρόγυνον (the reading of most manuscripts), since that is the form found in 18:8, and the one that is widely attested elsewhere. It is surprising that this apparent error in B (and in a few other manuscripts) is adopted in Rahlfs’ text. Its adoption by Rahlfs no doubt accounts for the fact that the word ἀνδρoγύναιος, though not recognized in LSJ, now has a separate entry in LSG, which mentions only this verse. It is sometimes suggested (for example in BAP 109–110) that there is an allusion here to the creation myth in Plato’s Symposium, according to which humanity, before being divided into male and female, originally existed as a hermaphrodite (ἀνδρόγυνος) being. However, since ἀνδρόγυνος is much more commonly used in the sense “womanish man, effeminate person” (LSJ s.v. 2), which fits the present context very well, I regard such an allusion to Plato as unlikely (SDEK 1979–1980 comes to a similar conclusion).

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19:172. κατὰ δὲ τὸ δόμα αὐτοῦ ἀνταποδοθήσεται αὐτῷ, “and he will be repaid according to his donation.” The first-hand text of B has the passive form ἀνταποδωθήσεται (sic), “he will be repaid,” corrected by a later hand to the active ἀνταποδώσει, “he will repay” (so Rahlfs). The implied subject of the first is the one who takes pity on the poor, while the implied subject of the second is God, so that both readings make the same point. 19:181. παίδευε υἱόν σου, οὕτως γὰρ ἔσται εὔελπις, “discipline your son, for that way he will have good prospects.” The adjective εὔελπις can mean either “having good hope,” that is “hopeful,” or “giving reason for good hope,” that is, “promising” (see LSJ s.v. I and II, GE s.v. A and B). In the present verse, most translators assign it the first meaning (so CP, Thomson, Brenton, NETS, Moro, BG). Others, however, have rightly opted for some variant of the second meaning (so Giguet, BAP, SD, King; LSJ s.v. II, MGELS s.v. b). The father is being assured that there will be good hope for his son, if the latter is properly disciplined. 19:182. εἰς δὲ ὕβριν μὴ ἐπαίρου τῇ ψυχῇ, “but do not be stirred up in your soul to the point of violence.” This colon balances the preceding one. Although one’s son should be disciplined, this should be done in a measured way, not in a fit of rage leading to violent mistreatment. The verb ἐπαίρω is here to be taken in the sense “stir up, excite” (see LSJ s.v. II), and the noun ὕβρις in the sense “violent and outrageous treatment” (GELS s.v. 2; see note on 14:3). Most translations mistakenly take ὕβρις here in the sense “haughtiness” or “arrogance” (so Thomson, Brenton, NETS, BG, Fox, King). Compare also MGELS s.v. ἐπαίρω 2: “don’t get worked up into an arrogant attitude.” Others, however, correctly recognize the violent connotations of the noun here. See CP (“iniuriam”), BAP (“violence”), SD (“Misshandlung”) and Moro (“violenza”). Compare also the Hebrew Vorlage here, which the NIV renders “do not be a willing party to his death.” 19:191. κακόφρων ἀνὴρ ζημιωθήσεται, “a malicious man will be punished.” For the ambiguity of κακόφρων see note on 11:22. Here the context suggests malice rather than folly. Rahlfs has πολλὰ before ζημιωθήσεται, “will be severely punished.” 19:192. ἐὰν δὲ λοιμεύηται, καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ προσθήσει, “but if he contracts the plague, he will add his life as well.” A search of the TLG reveals that the verb λοιμεύομαι (perhaps not a deponent) is found only here, or in works quoting or explaining its one occurrence here. The Byzantine lexicographers Hesychius and Photius gloss it as φθοροποιεῖ, βλάπτει, that is, “ruins, injures,” but this is

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probably simply a guess based on the verb’s similarity to λυμαίνομαι, which does mean “ruin, injure.” (On the unreliability of the ancient lexicographers, see Chadwick, Lexicographica Graeca, 14.) Neverthless, most translators of the LXX have taken their cue from these lexicographers in rendering λοιμεύηται here. One example is NETS, which has “if he causes injury” (similarly CP, Brenton, Giguet, SD, Moro, BG, GELS s.v., GE s.v.). Other translations are those of BAP (“s’ il se répande comme la peste”), Fox (“is obnoxious”), King (“cause pestilence”), LSJ s.v. (“be pestilent”), and MGELS s.v. (“conduct oneself as a pernicious person”). The renderings by Fox and Muraoka are apparently based on the notable use of λοιμός in Proverbs to describe a troublemaker (see note on 19:25). In my judgment the best guess is that of Rehkopf in SV, who glosses the verb as “an Pest erkrankt sein.” Compare the analogous verb νοσεύομαι, based on the noun νόσος, “sickness,” which means “be sickly.” The meaning is then that the “malicious man” of the previous line will not only be punished, but if he contracts the plague he will pay with his life as well. I do not understand how Fox arrives at his translation of καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ προσθήσει as “and he will also add (punishment) to himself.” 19:202. ἵνα σοφὸς γένῃ ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων σου, “so that you may be wise later in your life.” For the phrase ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων σου I here follow the interpretation of Muraoka (see MGELS s.v. ἔσχατος 1,b; similarly NETS: “for the future”). Most other translations understand the phrase to mean “in your last days,” i.e. at the end of your life (so CP, Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, BAP, SD, BG, King), but it is unlikely that the benefits of education would be said to be restricted to the end of one’s life. Moro has the rendering “alla fine,” presumably meaning “in the end (of your education),” but that seems to ignore the personal pronoun σου. The translation “in the end” fits better for the two other places in Proverbs where the phrase ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων occurs (see 5:11 and 25:8), but there it is used without a personal pronoun. 19:212. εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα μένει. According to the apparatus in Rahlfs, a corrector in B puts μένει before εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, not after. Swete makes the same point in his apparatus, but with a question mark. I am frankly puzzled by these annotations. I myself have not been able to find any indication of this transposition in the manuscript itself. 19:222. ψευδής. Rahlfs has ψεύστης. 19:232. ὁ δὲ ἄφοβος αὐλισθήσεται ἐν τόποις, οὗ οὐκ ἐπισκοπεῖται γνῶσις, “but the one without fear will dwell in places where knowledge is not regarded.” Here ἄφοβος is clearly used in a negative sense to refer to the one who lacks “the fear of the

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Lord,” not someone who is “fearless” in the positive sense of being undaunted or intrepid. The verb ἐπισκοπεῖται is best taken as a passive, to be translated “is regarded” or the like (so CP, Brenton, Giguet, Moro, Fox, MGELS s.v. 2), rather than as a middle, to be translated “visits,” “watches,” or the like (so VL, Thomson, BAP, NETS, BG, King). For the passive use of ἐπισκοπέω see LSJ s.v. 1, 2, 4. Those who take ἐπισκοπεῖται as a middle often treat it as a transitive verb as well, as though the text read οὓς instead of οὗ. So for example SD: “(an Orten) die das Wissen nicht besucht” (my emphasis); similarly VL and BAP. That the passive reading is intended is also suggested by the Masoretic vocalization of the corresponding Hebrew as a Niphal (‫) ִיָפֶּקד‬. 19:242. οὐδὲ τῷ στόματι οὐ μὴ προσενέγκῃ αὐτάς, “will certainly not bring them to his mouth either.” The first-hand text of B reads προσενέγκῃ, corrected by a later hand to the virtually synonymous προσαγάγῃ (so Rahlfs). 19:251. λοιμοῦ μαστιγουμένου ἄφρων πανουργότερος γίνεται, “when a troublemaker is flogged a fool becomes shrewder.” The noun λοιμός normally means “plague” or “pest,” but it is clearly not a noun with that meaning which is intended here. Instead, it is one of five places in Proverbs where λοιμός is used as an adjective— three times as a substantivized adjective (so here and in 21:24; 22:10), and twice as an adjective modifying ἀνήρ (so in 24:9 and 29:8 [not in B]). We find this use of λοιμός in the LXX outside of Proverbs as well (for example 1 Kgdms 1:16, Ps 1:1, and Ezek 28:7). Often in this usage the word is translated as “a pestiferous person” (so NETS here; similarly VL, CP, Brenton, BG, King), but other translations give a more general rendering, for example “a criminal” (so Thomson), “ein Gewalttätiger” (so SD), or “un infame” (so Moro), suggesting that the adjective has largely lost its specific association with a contagious disease. Along the same lines is MGELS s.v. which glosses the adjective as “pernicious, dangerous.” Compare the English word “pest,” which when used of a person has little association with “pest” in the sense of “plague.” In Greek, however, someone described as λοιμός is not just a nuisance or annoying person, but a serious threat to society. There is an instructive parallel in Acts 24:5, where the Jewish leaders say of the apostle Paul that they have found him to be λοιμὸν καὶ κινοῦντα στάσεις, thus associating the adjective with seditious activity. Earlier Bible translations rendered λοιμόν in the Acts passage as “a pestilent fellow” (so Tyndale, KJV, NRSV), but more recently this has been changed to “troublemaker” (so NIV, NLT). This more recent rendering is based on the lexicographical evidence that λοιμός had come to mean “public menace/enemy” (see BDAG s.v. 2). Accordingly, I have adopted “troublemaker” as my translation of (ἀνὴρ) λοιμός in Proverbs.

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19:272. μελετήσει ῥήσεις κακάς, “will speak wicked sayings.” For μελετάω see note on 8:7. Since the object here is “sayings” the verb probably means “speak,” as in 8:7 and 11:2. So SD (“Reden führen”). However, most other translations have “meditate” or the like, as in 15:28 and 24:2 (so VL, CP, NETS, Moro, Fox). 19:281. καθυβρίζει δικαίωμα, “violates the statute.” The Greek text accompanying Brenton’s translation has the future form καθυβρίσει, and a future tense is also reflected in multiple translations (CP, Thomson, Brenton, and NETS). However, this variant reading is not recorded in the apparatus of either Swete or Rahlfs. 19:292. καὶ τιμωρίαι ὁμοίως ἄφροσιν, “and punishments likewise for fools.” This is the reading of B and most other manuscripts. However, Clement of Alexandria quotes this text in the form καὶ τιμωρίαι ὤμοις ἀφρόνων, “and punishment for the shoulders of fools” (see his Paedagogus 2.10.93.3), which is a better match for the MT: ‫לגו כסילים‬, “for the back of fools.” Accordingly, ever since Grabe in the early eighteenth century, editions of the LXX (including that of Rahlfs), have printed Clement’s text, although it is not found in any LXX manuscripts. See Grabe 1709: Prolegomena, Cap. III, §9, and his marginal note ad locum. 20:12. πᾶς δὲ ἄφρων τοιούτοις συμπλέκεται, “and every fool is involved with such things.” In B this colon from verse 3 is substituted for the colon found here in most other manuscripts, and printed in Rahlfs, namely πᾶς δὲ ὁ συμμειγνύμενος αὐτῇ οὐκ ἔσται σοφός, “and no one mixed up with it will be wise.” 20:31. δόξα ἀνδρὶ ἀποστρέφεσθαι λοιδορίας, “it is the glory of a man to refrain from insults.” For the middle of ἀποστρέφω construed with the genitive see LSJ s.v. B,II,1. Interpreters disagree on whether λοιδορίας (genitive singular, not accusative plural) refers to someone else’s slur which must be ignored or rejected (so BAP, SD, Moro, BG), or one’s own potential behavior that must be avoided (so Thomson, Brenton, NETS). Both interpretations are possible, but the following colon, as well as the underlying Hebrew, favors the second. 20:52. ἀνὴρ δὲ φρόνιμος ἐξαντλήσει αὐτήν, “but a sensible man will draw it up (as from a well).” The verb ἐξαντλέω, coupled with the reference to “deep water” in the previous colon, evokes the image of someone drawing water with a bucket from a well. Hence the additional words “as from a well” in my translation. Compare the use of the verb ἀντλέω in contexts involving wells in Gen 24:13, 20, Exod 2:16–19, Isa 12:3, and John 4:7, and the meaning of the noun ἄντλημα, “bucket.” The gender of the pronoun αὐτήν makes it clear that what is drawn up is the “counsel” (βουλή) hidden in the watery depths of the human heart. Both

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the image and the pronominal reference are obscured in translations like “will draw it up” (so Thomson) or “will extract it” (so NETS). An outright mistranslation is that of BG, which has la bombeará (“will pump it”), where the pronoun la mistakenly refers to the feminine agua (not the masculine consejo) of the preceding colon. 20:62. ἄνδρα δὲ πιστὸν ἔργον εὑρεῖν, “but it is difficult to find a faithful man.” For this idiomatic use of ἔργον with an infinitive, meaning “it is hard work, difficult to do,” see LSJ s.v. ἔργον IV,1,c. See also MGELS s.v. 1,b: “that which can be performed only with much effort,” citing this verse. 20:82. οὐκ ἐναντιοῦται ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ πᾶν πονηρόν, “nothing evil offers resistance before him.” For the Hebraistic use of πᾶς with οὐ, see note on 3:15. NETS has the odd translation “he does not oppose anything wicked with his eyes,” making the subject of ἐναντιοῦται the righteous king of the previous line, rather than πᾶν πονηρόν. This cannot be right, however, because ἐναντιόομαι takes the dative, not the accusative. Besides, it is unlikely that the righteous king would be said not to oppose evil. All other translations correctly take πᾶν πονηρόν as subject of the sentence. Muraoka gives the translation “he will not entertain opposition of any evil” (MGELS s.v. ἐναντιόω), which seems to be his paraphrase of “nothing evil offers opposition before him.” 20:9a–c. Note that these verses in the Greek correspond to 20:20–22 in the Hebrew. 20:9b1. μέρις ἐπισπουδαζομένη ἐν πρώτοις, “a portion which is zealously pursued at the start.” For the verb ἐπισπουδάζω, see note on 13:11. 20:101. στάθμιον μέγα καὶ μικρὸν καὶ μέτρα δισσά, “a large and small weight, and a twofold measure.” Although στάθμιον can mean both a standard weight used in a balance and the balance itself (see LSJ s.v. II), the meaning here, given the parallel with μέτρα δισσά (literally “two measures”), is clearly the former (pace CP and Moro). For δισσά meaning “two” see note on 31:22. 20:102. ἀκάθαρτα ἐνώπιον κυρίου καὶ ἀμφότερα, “both alike are unclean in the Lord’s eyes.” MGELS s.v. ἀμφότερος c has the following pertinent note: “καὶ ἀμφότερ~ may conclude a sentence to reinforce the fact that the preceding statement equally applies to both subjects mentioned therein: .. βδέλυγμα κυρίῳ .. ἐστιν καὶ ~α ‘they are an abomination to the Lord, both of them,’ De 23,18; οὖς ἀκούει καὶ ὀφθαλμὸς ὁρᾷ· κυρίου ἔργα καὶ ~α ‘the ear hears and the eye sees; they

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are both the Lord’s work’ Pr 20:12, see also 20.10: in all three cases the Heb. reads ‫ ַגּם ְשׁ ֵניֶהם‬and the form of ἀμφ. is n.pl. irrespective of the gender and number of the two nouns concerned, while the suffix attached to the Hebrew numeral is invariably masculine. Cf. ἀπέθανον καί γε ἀμφότεροι, Μααλων καὶ Χελαιων Ru 1.5.” In other words, καί can here be considered a Hebraism which may be ignored in translation (see also SSG, p. 466). Some translations, not recognizing the Hebraism, take καί here with καί at the beginning of vs 11 to form the correlative pair meaning “both … and …” (so CP, Thomson, Giguet), thus taking καὶ ἀμφότερα καὶ ὁ ποιῶν αὐτά together as the end of vs 10. However, the scribe of B, as attested by the colometric layout of his manuscript, took καὶ ὁ ποιῶν αὐτά as the beginning of a new sentence. 20:111. καὶ ὁ ποιῶν αὐτὰ ἐν τοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασιν αὐτοῦ συνποδισθήσεται, “and he who manufactures them will be forcibly restrained in his practices.” A later hand in B corrects συνπ- to συμπ-. I take this description to refer to the person who makes the false weights and measures, who will be prevented from doing this in future. Accordingly, I understand ἐπιτηδεύμασιν to refer to the “practices” (so BAP, NETS, Fox) or “activities” (so BG), by which false weight stones and other standard measures are manufactured. The term ἐπιτηδεύματα (always in the plural) occurs 55 times in the LXX, usually of evil practices. In 28 of these places, as here, it translates the plural of Hebrew ‫מעלל‬, “deed, action.” The verb συμποδισθήσεται here refers to the way the manufacturer of falsified standards is restrained or held back from continuing his reprehensible activities. Although the verb means literally “to tie the feet together,” it is here used metaphorically, like English “to hogtie,” to describe forcible restraint and immobilization. This interpretation of the words ἐν τοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασιν αὐτοῦ συμποδισθήσεται is to be preferred to others that have been proposed, for example “will be shackled by his practices” (so NETS) or “will be entangled in his practices” (so Fox, similarly BAP and BG). The first five existing translations of LXX Proverbs took καὶ ὁ ποιῶν αὐτά as the conclusion of the preceding sentence of vs 10, with the subject of συμποδισθήσεται being the following νεανίσκος (so VL, CP, Thomson, Brenton, Giguet). Beginning with BAP almost all other translations have followed the layout of B and Rahlfs in taking καὶ ὁ ποιῶν αὐτά as the beginning of a new sentence in vs 11, with the subject of συμποδισθήσεται being ὁ ποιῶν (so NETS, SD, Moro, BG, Fox, and King). 20:112. νεανίσκος μετὰ ὁσίου, καὶ εὐθεῖα ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτοῦ, “a young man with a holy one—and straight will be his way.” If νεανίσκος is not the subject of συμποδισθήσεται, but rather the beginning of a new sentence (as the layout of B suggests,

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and is now commonly agreed), the challenge is to make syntactical sense of the sentence which it introduces, which reads literally “a young man with a holy one and his way [is/will be] straight.” In particular, how do the first three words fit into the sentence? Translations have dealt with the problem in the following ways: (1) “Le jeune homme [agit] selon la piété, et droite est sa voie” (so BAP). This supplies a verb (agit), interprets μετά with genitive to mean “according to,” and takes ὁσίου to be a neuter singular representing the abstract idea of “piety.” All of these assumptions are debatable. (2) “Ein junger Mann, der gemäß dem Heiligen (handelt)—dann ist eben sein Weg” (so SD). Like (1) this adds a verb and interprets ὁσίου as a neuter, but also adds a relative pronoun (der), and uses the dash to indicate a syntactical break. Similarly Fox, although he takes ὁσίου as masculine. (3) “[When] young people [act] with piety their ways are straight” (so King). This supplies a conjunction (“when”), a verb (“act”), and also treats ὁσίου as a neuter. Similarly Moro. (4) “Un joven al lado de un santo, y recto será su camino” (so BG). This essentially reproduces the syntactical incoherence of the Greek. Similarly NETS. Since the first three options introduce elements into the text that cannot be justified from the Greek, I prefer the fourth option, which retains the awkwardness of the original. As for μετὰ ὁσίου, this is more likely to mean “with a holy man” than “with holiness.” The abstract (τὸ) ὅσιον never occurs in Proverbs, whereas (ὁ) ὅσιος referring to a holy man occurs repeatedly (see also 10:29, 21:15, 29:10). Despite its garbled syntax, the point of the colon is clear enough: association with a holy man will ensure that a young man’s way will be straight. 20:122. κυρίου ἔργα καὶ ἀμφότερα, “both alike are works of the Lord.” For καὶ ἀμφότερα see note on vs 10. 20:14–22. These verses of the Hebrew text are missing in B (and in the Old Greek generally), except that 20:20–22 of the Hebrew corresponds to 20:9a–c in the Greek. 20:152. θνητὸς δὲ πῶς ἂν νοήσαι τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ; “but how could a mortal understand his ways?” Note the rare use of the potential optative in νοήσαι (not to be confused with the aorist active infinitive νοῆσαι). 20:272. ἐραυνᾷ ταμιεῖα, “searches the chambers.” A later hand in B corrected ἐραυνᾷ to ἐρευνᾷ (so Rahlfs). On ταμιεῖα (written ταμια both here and in vs 30) see note on 3:10.

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20:252. μετὰ γὰρ τὸ εὔξασθαι μετανοεῖν γίνεται, “for after making a vow one can have second thoughts.” The construction of γίνεται with an infinitive is unusual. I interpret it as the equivalent of ἔστι with an infinitive, meaning “it is possible” (see LSJ s.v. εἰμί I,α; MGELS s.v. I,d). So CP (poenitere contingit) and NETS (“a change of mind can happen”). Most translations take γίνεται to express actuality rather than possibility (e.g. Brenton: “repentance comes”). 20:262. καὶ ἐπιβαλεῖ αὐτοῖς τροχόν, “and he will put the wheel over them.” Given the reference to winnowing in the previous colon, the wheel in question is most likely not an instrument of torture (pace BAP, MGELS s.v., and the notes in SD and SRE), but a cart wheel used in threshing (so correctly the notes in Giguet, Moro, and BG). For such a wheel used in threshing see Isa 28:27. D’ Hamonville in his note on this verse mistakenly claims that τροχός is associated with ἐπιβάλλειν in LSJ s.v. τροχός I,4. 21:12. οὗ ἐὰν θέλων νεύσαι, ἐκεῖ ἔκλινεν αὐτήν, “wherever in his good pleasure he gives the nod, there he diverts it.” B has the reading νευσαι, whereas Rahlfs has νευση. The B reading is usually interpreted as an aorist infinitive, and thus accented νεῦσαι (so Brenton, BAP). However, this leaves the relative clause without a finite verb, which is difficult if not impossible Greek. Translators who adopt this reading are forced to interpret θέλων as though it were the finite verb θέλῃ, yielding the translation “wherever he wishes to nod” (so essentially Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, BAP). In fact, we find this construal even among those who do not explicitly adopt the reading νεῦσαι, for example NETS (“wherever he decides to turn it”) and SSG, p. 725 (“wherever he wants to direct to”). A better solution is to interpret the B reading as an aorist optative, accented νεύσαι (see note on 20:24). This is still awkward Greek, since the optative is not normally found, as here, in conditional relative clauses with ἐάν/ἄν (see GG §§1441–1450, SSG §17ha, 29dc [v]), but it is considerably less awkward than the alternative. I therefore take the construction of the sentence in B to be essentially the same as in the standard text with the subjunctive νεύσῃ. The verb νεύω means simply “to nod,” not “turn” (so Thomson, NETS), or “faire tendre” (BAP). I understand θέλων, literally “as he wills,” to mean “as he exercises his royal will,” that is, “in his good pleasure.” Note that ἔκλινεν represents a gnomic aorist (see on 1:22), and is appropriately translated as a present. Its object αὐτήν refers to the ὁρμή (“rushing stream”) of the previous line, and then by implication also the king’s καρδία. 21:5. There is nothing corresponding to this verse in B and Rahlfs.

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21:61. ὁ ἐνεργῶν θησαυρίσματα γλώσσῃ ψευδεῖ, “he who makes a fortune with a lying tongue.” “Makes a fortune” here is literally “effects treasures,” an odd Greek phrase mechanically reproducing the Hebrew ‫פעל אוצרות‬. Presumably ἐνεργέω is here meant in the otherwise unattested sense “acquire” or “produce” (so most translations). This is more probable than the rendering “work on” (so MGELS s.v.). 21:72. οὐ γὰρ βούλονται πράσσειν τὰ δίκαια, “for they refuse to do what is right.” Note that οὐ … βούλονται does not just mean “they wish not [to]” (so CP, Giguet, NETS, Moro, BG, King), but rather “they refuse [to]” (so Thomson, Brenton, BAP, SD). For this meaning of the negated verb (that is, “be unwilling”), see MGELS s.v. 2 and Lee 2018:69–70. This understanding of the idiomatic expression is confirmed by the corresponding Hebrew (‫)מאנו‬. 21:91. κρεῖσσον. The reading of B is actually κρεισσων, an obvious spelling mistake. It is not recorded in the apparatus of either Swete or Rahlfs. We find the same mistake in vs 19. In B there is also a marginal note in a later, largely illegible hand, which appears to read μετα γυναικος μαχη μυς, “with a wife strife (is) a mouse/rat/muscle,” which seems unintelligible, unless it is comparable to saying “fighting with one’s wife is a bitch.” Swete in his apparatus transcribes the note as μετα γυναικος μαχημης (? -μαχιμης), which would mean “with a quarrelsome wife” (as in 21:19). In any case, the note clearly relates vs 9 to marital discord. This note goes unmentioned in the apparatus of Rahlfs, and consequently is not taken into account in de Waard’s discussion of this verse (2004). 21:111. ζημιουμένου ἀκολάστου πανουργότερος γίνεται ὁ κακός, “when an incorrigible man is punished a bad one becomes shrewder.” Here the first-hand text of B reads κακός, later corrected to the standard reading ἄκακος found in Rahlfs. Thus, whereas Rahlfs’s text says that a guileless man learns a lesson when the incorrigible man is punished, the B text says that the incorrigible man himself, now called “the bad one,” learns the lesson. 21:141. δόσις λάθριος ἀνατρέπει ὀργάς, “a secret gift turns anger around.” The verb ἀνατρέπω does not mean “pacify” or “calm” (so Thomson, Brenton, King; GELS s.v., GE s.v. A), nor does it mean “avert” or “turn away” (so CP, Giguet, NETS, SD, Moro, BG, Fox). These are meanings which apply to the corresponding Hebrew verb (‫)כפה‬, but not to the Greek. In fact, one of the senses of ἀνατρέπω is “stir up, arouse” (see LSJ s.v. III), which is the exact opposite of these common renderings. However, the meaning “arouse” seems to be ruled out here by the context.

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Muraoka has the gloss “render ineffective and harmless” (MGELS s.v.), which may have some support in a forensic meaning of the passive attested in Justinian, namely “to be made null and void” (LSJ s.v. II,4), but the evidence is late and slim. I prefer the more literal rendering “turn back” or “turn around” (see LSJ s.v. ἀνατρέπω II,3), in which the preverb has the force of “back(wards)” (see LSJ s.v. ἀνά F,4). 21:151. εὐφροσύνη δικαίων ποιεῖ κρίμα, “the joy of the righteous does justice.” B reads ποιεῖ, where the Rahlfs text has ποιεῖν, yielding the translation “It is the joy of the righteous to do justice.” 21:172. φιλῶν οἶνον καὶ ἔλαιον εἰς πλοῦτον, “being fond of wine and oil as his riches.” Translations differ in their interpretation of the awkward phrase εἰς πλοῦτον. Some translate it as “in abundance” (so Brenton, Giguet, NETS, SD, Fox, King), and this could be defended by appealing to the adverbial use of εἰς in some Attic writers (see LSJ s.v. IV,3). Strictly speaking, however, this usage would yield the translation “richly,” not “in abundance.” Others take the meaning to be that the poor man is fond of wine and olive oil (basic necessities that even the poor could afford) for or as his riches (so CP, Thomson, BAP, Moro, BG). For this use of εἰς see MGELS s.v. 7 and BDAG s.v. 4,d. I consider the latter to be more likely, since it is odd to say that a poor man is “richly” fond of wine and oil. 21:18. περικάθαρμα δὲ δικαίου ἄνομος, “a lawless man is the offscouring of a righteous one.” This enigmatic statement has been the subject of widely divergent translations and interpretations. The key term περικάθαρμα has been taken to mean “purification” (so CP, GE s.v.), “abomination” (so Brenton, Giguet), “expiation” (so LSJ s.v. I, GELS s.v.), “ransom” (so GELS s.v., SV s.v., SD; see also DBAG s.v.), and “refuse” (so BAP, NETS, Moro, BG, MGELS). It is probably the meaning “expiation” which underlies Thomson’s remarkable paraphrastic rendering “and a transgressor wisheth to be acquitted as a righteous man.” King translates “the lawless are rejected by the just,” apparently understanding περικάθαρμα to mean “the thing rejected.” Of these translations we can probably discard the translations “expiation” and “ransom,” since these appear to be based on the underlying Hebrew (‫ )כפר‬rather than on the Greek. The translation “purification” appears to be a contextual guess based on the related verbs περικαθαίρω and περικαθαρίζω, which mean “purify (thoroughly),” but the meaning “purification” seems to be unattested elsewhere for the noun περικάθαρμα. Instead, the noun is well-attested in the sense of “offscouring,” that is, the residue of a thorough cleaning job. It has thus become a general word for “refuse” or “detritus.”

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It occurs in that sense in 1Cor 13:4, where contemporary versions have “scum” (NIV) or “rubbish” (NRSV). See Hauck in TDNT 3.430–431, BDAG s.v. If this is the meaning of περικάθαρμα, then what can it mean that a lawless man is the “offscouring” of a righteous one? It could mean that the lawless man (or the man without the Law) is no more than the dirt which remains when a righteous man has been thoroughly cleansed. Alternatively, it could mean that the lawless man is the dirt which the righteous man cleans out of his home or circle of friends. On either reading this puzzling sentence is extremely harsh. 21:191. κρεῖσσον οἰκεῖν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, “it is better to live in the desert.” As in vs 9, B has the reading κρεισσων rather than κρεισσον (recorded by Swete but not by Rahlfs). For the prepositional phrase Rahlfs has ἐν γῇ ἐρήμῳ. 21:192. γλωσσώδους καὶ μαχίμου. Rahlfs has μαχίμου καὶ γλωσσώδους. 21:221. πόλεις ὀχυρὰς ἐπέβη σοφός, “a wise man attacks fortified cities.” The verb ἐπέβη, like the parallel verb καθεῖλεν in the next colon, is best understood as a gnomic aorist and translated in the present tense (so Brenton, SD). Compare the present tenses in the next verse (φυλάσσει, διατηρεῖ). For the gnomic aorist, see note on 1:22. 21:262. ἐλεᾷ. A later hand in B corrected this to ἐλεεῖ. See note on 13:9a. 21:282. ἀνὴρ δὲ ὑπήκοος φυλασσόμενος λαλήσει, “but an obedient man will speak, albeit guardedly.” I interpret the present middle form φυλασσόμενος (literally “being on guard;” see LSJ s.v. C,1) as a concessive circumstantial participle. It is unclear why “an obedient man” is here being contrasted with a “false witness.” Thomson strangely translates the former as “a man who is a witness.” 21:291. ἀσεβὴς ἀνὴρ ἀναιδῶς ὑφίσταται προσώπῳ, “an ungodly man submits himself to a person without showing reverence.” These words are commonly understood to mean that the ungodly man “impudently withstands with his face” (so Brenton; similarly NETS, SD, BG). However, if ὑφίσταται here means “withstand,” then the accompanying dative would most naturally be its object, yielding the translation “withstands the face” (see LSJ s.v. IV,1). I take the middle verb here in its original sense “place oneself under,” that is “submit oneself to” (see LSJ s.v. B,II,1/2), and understand πρόσωπον to mean not “face,” but “person.” For this meaning of πρόσωπον see note on 2:6. Other attempts to make sense of this enigmatic phrase are “obfirmatur vultu” (VL), “hardeneth his face” (Thomson),

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“prend un air assuré” (BAP), and “show their faces” (King). Muraoka oddly suggests “(defies every criticism so as to save) his face (?)” (MGELS s.v. ὑφίστημι 1). I take the adverb ἀναιδῶς here to mean, not “shamelessly” (so MGELS s.v.), but “without αἰδώς,” that is, without the appropriate reverence or respect (see LSJ s.v. αἰδώς I,2). As a consequence, the line as a whole refers to a man who, while outwardly submitting himself to a superior, does so without the proper attitude of reverence or respect. 22:21. πλούσιος καὶ πτωχὸς συνήντησαν ἀλλήλοις, “rich and poor meet each other.” The verb συνήντησαν is best understood as a gnomic aorist (see on 1:22), although ἐποίησεν in the subsequent colon is not (so correctly Brenton, SD, Moro, BG). Most other translations render both verbs as past tenses. 22:32. οἱ δὲ ἄφρονες παρελθόντες ἐζημιώθησαν, “but fools pass by and pay the price.” The point seems to be that fools, in contrast to the shrewd man, do not learn a lesson from witnessing a malefactor being punished, but “pass heedlessly by” (Thomson), and as a consequence end up being punished themselves. Note that ἐζημιώθησαν is another gnomic aorist (see on 1:22), to be translated as a present tense (so correctly Brenton, Giguet, SD, Fox). 22:41. γενεὰ σοφίας φόβος κυρίου, “the offspring of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.” In this nominal sentence it is not clear whether γενεὰ σοφίας is the subject of the sentence, thus making φόβος κυρίου (supplemented by καὶ πλοῦτος καὶ δόξα καὶ ζωή in the next line) the predicate, or whether the latter is the subject, making γενεὰ σοφίας the predicate. The first construal is that of Thomson: “the offspring of wisdom are the fear of the Lord [and riches and glory and life].” Similarly NETS, SD, Fox. The second construal is that of Brenton: “the fear of the Lord is the offspring of wisdom, [and wealth, and glory, and life].” Similarly Giguet, Moro, BG. On either reading the relationship of “fear of the Lord” to “wisdom” is that the former derives from the latter. This seems to contradict the well-known dictum of Proverbs elsewhere that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” which in the LXX reads ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος κυρίου (or θεοῦ) (see Prov. 1:7 and 9:10; also Ps 110[111]:10). The Proverbs translator, who is here departing significantly from his Hebrew Vorlage, is clearly alluding to this familiar phrase, but with a significant twist. Perhaps to avoid the implication that the translator is contradicting the well known maxim, Giguet appears to interpret γενεά here to mean “that which produces,” rather than “that which is produced” (that is, “offspring” or “product”), since he translates “la crainte du Seigneur fait naître la sagesse.” So too

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Moro (“origine”), BG (“nacimiento”), and King (“that which creates”). The trouble with this interpretation is that it assigns to γενεά a meaning which is quite dubious. The best evidence that can be cited to support it are the few places where the word may mean “(time of) birth” (see LSJ s.v. II,3; LSG s.v.; GE s.v. B). Without strong contextual clues to the contrary, the word is here most naturally taken to mean “offspring” or the like (see LSJ s.v. I,3). Muraoka correctly glosses it here as “that which is produced, ‘product’” (MGELS s.v. 6). We are therefore left with the startling conclusion that the Proverbs translator here implicitly challenges the fundamental maxim that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Instead, the fear of the Lord itself, together with riches, glory and life, is here said to be the offspring of wisdom, not the other way around. This fits the general theme of the primacy of wisdom in LXX Proverbs, on which see BAP, 119–120. 22:6. There is nothing corresponding to this verse in B and Rahlfs. 22:82. πληγὴν δὲ ἔργων αὐτοῦ συντελέσει, “and will bring to completion the impact of his actions.” I interpret this line as elucidating the one that precedes: “he who sows bad seed will have a poor harvest.” By getting a poor harvest the farmer brings to completion the impact of his actions, that is, of sowing bad seed. The noun πληγή, which is related to the verb πλήσσω, “strike,” means a “blow that is struck” (see also 20:30 and 29:15), hence “impact” (so NETS). There is no reason to translate it here as “punishment (for)” (so Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, King; MGELS s.v. 1). Strangely Fox, following Carmignac, has the translation “and the rod will end his works,” as though reading πληγὴ δὲ ἔργα instead of πληγὴν δὲ ἔργων. 22:8a2. ματαιότητα δὲ ἔργων αὐτοῦ συντελέσει. “and will bring to an end the futility of his actions.” In a formulation echoing 22:82, the translator adds to the canonical text a verse which plays on the ambiguity of συντελέω, which can mean both “bring to completion” and “bring to an end.” 22:161. ὁ συκοφαντῶν πένητα πολλὰ ποιεῖ τὰ ἑαυτοῦ, “he who preys on the needy increases his own possessions.” For συκοφαντέω see note on 14:31. 22:162. δίδωσιν δὲ πλουσίῳ ἐπ’ ἐλάσσονι, “but he gives to the rich for less.” The opaque phrase ἐπ’ ἐλάσσονι has been interpreted in principally two ways: by taking ἐλάσσων to refer either to lesser wealth or to a person of lesser social status. In the first interpretation ἐπί expresses purpose or result and yield translations like “so as to make it less,” where “it” refers to the “substance” or “possessions”

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of the previous line (so Brenton). The point of the verse as a whole is then that the man who gains wealth by exploiting the needy subsequently loses wealth by giving to the rich (perhaps in the form of bribes). So also Thomson, Giguet, NETS, Moro, BG, and King. Here we should also classify Muraoka, who translates “for a poor return (or: gain)” (MGELS s.v. ἐπί ΙΙ,2,α). In the second interpretation ἐπί is taken to mean “at the expense of,” and yields the translations “sur le dos d’un plus petit” (BAP) and “auf Kosten eines Geringeren” (SD). The point of the verse as a whole is then that the exploiter of the needy gives to the rich at the expense of those same needy people. Both interpretations of the enigmatic phrase ἐπ’ ἐλάσσονι seem strained, which makes it difficult to choose either. The difficulty is illustrated by Fox, who gives the translation “for lack,” which seems to reflect the first interpretation, but then cites SD, a representative of the second, in support. Although inclined to favor the second interpretation, I cannot find justification for translating ἐπί with dative as “at the expense of.” I have decided to retain the ambiguity, and simply translate “for less.” Perhaps it refers to lending money at a lower rate of interest (see LSJ s.v. ἐπί B,III,4). Section 3: “The Words of the Wise” (22:17–24:22e/30:1–14/24:23–34/30:15–33/ 31:1–9). In this section we find a significant rearrangement of the content of Proverbs as compared to the traditional Hebrew text. Essentially, this rearrangement consists of inserting 30:1–14 of the MT in the middle of chapter 22, and attaching 30:15–31:9 to the end of that chapter. This has the effect of making the heading “The Words of the Wise” apply not only to the first subsection, but to all of the five heterogeneous subsections of Section 3. Subsection 3a (22:17–24:22e). This subsection is characterized by a return to the “instruction” genre of Section 1, and its repeated use of the vocative υἱέ (here eight times). Also like Section 1 is the presence of thematically unified clusters of verses, for example 22:17–21 (introduction) and 23:29–35 (the effects of drunkenness). 22:172. ἵνα γνῷς ὅτι καλοί εἰσιν, “so that you may know that these words are good.” I have avoided the literal translation “so that you may know that they are good” (so NETS), to make clear that the masculine plural adjective καλοί refers to the λόγοις σοφῶν mentioned in the previous colon, not to the immediately preceding λόγος and καρδία. 22:192. καὶ γνωρίσῃ σοι τὴν ὁδόν σου, “and he may make your way known to you.” B here reads σου where Rahlfs has αὐτοῦ. According to the B text, the goal is that

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the Lord will make known “your way,” that is, the way the disciple is to go, rather than “his way,” that is, the way the Lord enjoins. In practice they come down to the same thing. 22.202. ἐπὶ τὸ πλάτος τῆς ψυχῆς σου, “on the surface of your soul.” Instead of the B reading ψυχῆς Rahlfs has καρδίας. For πλάτος see note on 7:3. 22:212. τοῦ ἀποκρίνεσθαι λόγους ἀληθείας τοῖς προβαλλομένοις σοι, “so that you may answer words of truth to your challengers.” The phrase τοῖς προβαλλομένοις σοι is puzzling. Does it refer to those who “question you” (so NETS; similarly Brenton, BAP, SD, Moro, King), “present themselves before you” (so Giguet), “accuse you” (so BG), “confront you” (so Fox), or “challenge [you] for a debate” (so MGELS s.v. 3)? Or can the verb here be glossed as “posit, put forth” (so SRE)? Assuming that προβαλλομένοις is middle, not passive (pace CP), I believe the likeliest interpretation, given the absolute use of the middle and the construction with a dative of the person, is that given in MGELS, although the challenge in question is not necessarily to a debate. See LSJ s.v. B,I,5 and GE s.v. 2,D. 22:231. ὁ γὰρ κύριος κρινεῖ αὐτοῦ τὴν κρίσιν, “for the Lord will adjudicate his case.” The meaning is not (as the Hebrew would indicate) that the Lord “will plead his (i.e. the poor man’s) cause” (so Brenton, Giguet, SD), implying that God acts as advocate in a trial, but rather that he will “judge his case” (so Thomson, NETS, BG, Fox, King), implying that God acts as judge at a trial. Similarly in 23:11. For this use of the idiom κρίνω τὴν κρίσιν compare Sir 32:22, and MGELS s.v. κρίνω 1,b. 22:26. μὴ δίδου σεαυτὸν εἰς ἐγγυὴν αἰσχυνόμενος πρόσωπον, “do not offer yourself as guarantor out of respect for a person.” The phrase αἰσχυνόμενος πρόσωπον has been translated in widely different ways. Examples are “même par crainte de déplaire” (Giguet), “pour avoir bon contenance” (BAP), “because you feel shame before a person” (NETS; similarly SD, BG), “being diffident toward others” (Fox), and “to gain human respect” (King). A better rendering is “out of respect for a person” (so Thomson; similarly Brenton, Moro, de Waard 1993:253). For αἰσχύνομαι meaning “have respect for” (not listed in LSJ), see MGELS s.v. III,2 and GE s.v. 2,B. Other examples are found in 28:21 and 29:26. For πρόσωπον meaning “person,” see note on 18:5. Compare αἰσχύνεται πρόσωπα at 28:21. Note that αἰσχύνομαι is one of a series of Greek verbs construed with πρόσωπον in the LXX which have to do with showing respect. Others are ἐπιγινώσκω, θαυμάζω, θεραπεύω, λαμβάνω, ὑποστέλλω. See MGELS s.v. πρόσωπον 5 and the various entries devoted to these verbs.

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22:271. ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ ἔχῃ πόθεν ἀποτίσῃ, “for if he does not have the wherewithal to repay.” Here B has the readings ἔχῃ and ἀποτ(ε)ίσῃ (third person singular), where Rahlfs has ἔχῃς and ἀποτ(ε)ίσῃς (second person singular). As Moro points out in a note, the third-person reading in B makes good sense, since it is the borrower, not the guarantor, who has to repay his loan in the first instance. 22:291. ὁρατικὸν ἄνδρα, “a clear-eyed man.” The adjective ὁρατικός (only here in the LXX) means “able to see,” here presumably used metaphorically to mean “observant” or “discerning.” Translations like “a man with vision” (so NETS; similarly BAP, BG, King) are misleading, since they trade on the ambiguity of the word “vision” in modern languages, and thus suggest someone who is “visionary”—a suggestion absent from the Greek. 23:12. νοητῶς νόει τὰ παρατιθέμενά σοι, “attend attentively to the dishes set before you.” The translator renders the idiomatic Hebrew construction ‫ תבין בין‬with the awkward Greek νοητῶς νόει. From this it does not follow that νοητῶς means “carefully” (pace LSJ s.v., SRE). Although the Hebrew construction, in which the infinitive absolute is usually understood to add emphasis to a finite verb of the same root, is well documented (see C&S § 81, BDF § 422, Lee 2018:231– 239, 299–309), a quasi-literal rendering into Greek, as here, must have sounded very strange to Greek ears, perhaps roughly comparable to “attend attentively” in English. Compare γνωστῶς ἐπιγνώσῃ in 27:23. Muraoka glosses νοητῶς (which occurs only here in the LXX) as “by giving much thought” (MGELS s.v.). For other examples of unidiomatic Greek renderings of this Hebrew construction see 24:22a and 30:15. 23:41. μὴ παρεκτείνου πένης ὢν πλουσίῳ, “if you are poor, do not compare yourself with a rich man.” Chrysostom gives the following paraphrase of this line: μὴ κοινώνει πλουσίῳ … μηδὲ πρόσεχε, “have nothing in common with a rich man, nor pay attention to him” (Bady 2003:360). However, a good case can be made for understanding the verb differently. The middle imperative παρεκτείνου (literally “stretch yourself out alongside”) here means “measure yourself with” (so Brenton, BAP, NETS, SD, Fox, King; LSJ s.v. III,2, GELS s.v., MGELS s.v. 2) or “compare yourself with” (so Moro, BG, GELS s.v., GE s.v. 2). It is a relatively rare meaning of the verb, and finds a striking parallel in one of the fragments of the Presocratic philosopher Democritus, which reads τελευτᾶι γὰρ ἐς κακοδοξίην [κακὴν] ὁ παρεκτεινόμενος τῶι κρέσσονι, “for he who compares himself with a more powerful man ends up in [bad] notoriety” (Demokritos B 238 in Diels-Kranz 1952:2.193). It is not impossible that the Proverbs translator is here alluding to this fragment.

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23:51. πεσεῖται. Rahlfs has φανεῖται. 23:52. κατεσκεύασται γὰρ αὐτῷ πτέρυγες ὥσπερ ἀετοῦ, “for wings like those of an eagle have been made for him.” This grammatically incoherent sentence has been interpreted in one of two ways. One way is to take πτέρυγες as subject of κατεσκεύασται (even though the verb is singular, not plural), yielding the translation here given. This is how the sentence is construed by most translators (so CP, Brenton, BAP, SD, King; so also SSG p. 651). The other way is to take the subject of κατεσκεύασται to be the rich man of the previous lines, and to treat πτέρυγες as though it were a dative or adverbial accusative, yielding the translation “for he has been equipped with wings” (so NETS). A variant of the second approach is to take κατεσκεύασται as a middle, not a passive: “for he has made for himself wings” (so Fox; similarly Moro, BG). It is the second interpretation which has no doubt given rise to the variant reading πτέρυγας. Since B has πτέρυγες, I have chosen the first interpretation as the least awkward. 23:61. μὴ συνδείπνει ἀνδρὶ βασκάνῳ, “do not dine with a man who has the evil eye.” The semantics of the adjective βάσκανος and its cognates is very complicated. The word is related to the verb βασκαίνω, which has essentially three distinct senses: “bewitch,” “revile,” and “envy,” all of which are related to the belief in the malign influence of the “evil eye.” Its cognates βασκανία and βάσκανος share in this same remarkable range of meanings (see Delling in TDNT 1.594– 595). In fact, they add new ones. Thus βάσκανος has been glossed as “giver of the evil eye,” “enchanter,” “jinxer,” “curious,” “indiscreet,” “jealous,” “slanderer,” “defamer,” “spiteful,” and “envier” (see GE s.v.). The Proverbs translator uses only the adjective βάσκανος, although elsewhere in the LXX we also find the verb βασκαίνω (Deut 28:54, 28:56, Sir 14:6, 14:8) and the noun βασκανία (Wis 4:12, 4 Macc 1:26, 2:15). Tellingly, in the two places where βάσκανος occurs in Proverbs (here and at 28:22) it corresponds to the Hebrew ‫רע עין‬, literally “evil of eye,” an idiomatic expression which nowadays is variously taken to mean “niggardly one” (so BDB 744), “begrudging host” (so Waltke 2005:209 n. 81, 226, 242), or “miser” (so Waltke 2005:397, 425). Clearly, however, by choosing the rendering βασκάνῳ, the Proverbs translator associated ‫ רע עין‬with the “evil eye” of popular superstition. This is not surprising, since the translator of Deuteronomy had made the same association at Deut 28:54, where he rendered the similar Hebrew expression ‫ תרע עינו‬as βασκανεῖ τῷ ὀφθαλμῷ (see also Deut 28:6). Note that even the KJV speaks in the present verse of “him that hath an evil eye” (similarly at Prov 28:22). It is therefore very probable that the translator of Proverbs, when he used the expression

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ἀνδρὶ βασκάνῳ in our verse had in mind “a man with the evil eye.” Although the ancient readers of the LXX would not have known about the Hebrew underlying his use of βάσκανος in the present context, they would have known that the word itself carried connotations of the evil eye. On the connection between envy and the evil eye see extensively Walcot 1978:77–90. The word might well mean “envious” (so almost all translations here), or “malicious” (so NETS, LSJ s.v. II,1), or “slanderer” (so SV: Verleumder), but it would have those meanings as a function of having the evil eye. Note that in modern translations of Mk 7:22 the Greek underlying “envy” is ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός, and that to this day βασκανία in Modern Greek means “evil eye.” If the translator had meant to express the meaning “envious” without associations of the evil eye he could readily have used other Greek words, such as φθονερός or ζηλότυπος. Given this background, it is clear that it is a mistake to translate βάσκανος here as “mean, niggardly” (so GELS, LSG s.v., MGELS s.v., SSG p. 170). This reflects an understanding of the Hebrew of our verse (see above), not of the Greek. Niggardliness, unlike envy, was not an effect of having the evil eye. 23:171. μὴ ζηλώτου ἡ καρδία σου ἁμαρτωλούς, “not your zealot’s heart sinners [sic].” As it stands, the first-hand text of B does not make grammatical sense. A later hand in B corrected ζηλωτου to ζηλουτω, thus turning the genitive of ζηλώτης, “zealot,” into the missing verb. This is undoubtedly the original reading of the Old Greek (so Rahlfs), yielding the translation “let not your heart emulate sinners” (on this meaning of ζηλόω see note on 3:31). Oddly enough, Rahlfs’s apparatus (unlike Swete’s) does not record the original B reading. On the other hand, Dick quotes the B reading without noting that it is unintelligible (Dick 1991:31). 23:191. γένου. A later hand in B corrected this to γίνου (so Rahlfs). 23:202. κρεῶν ἀγορασμοῖς. Rahlfs has κρεῶν τε ἀγορασμοῖς. 23:211. πᾶς γὰρ μέθυσος καὶ πορνοκόπος πτωχεύσει, “for every drunk and fornicator will be reduced to poverty.” The rare word πορνοκόπος means literally “whoremonger” (so Brenton and Fox), not “pimp” (so CP: “leno”). According to Kindstrand, who gives the translation “fornicator,” the word belongs to a class of coarse words associated with Attic comedy (see Kindstrand 1983:104, 108–109). Translators often shy away from giving an explicit rendering of this vulgar word; see for example BAP (“débauché”), Moro (“depravato”), and BG (“libertino”). Curiously, NETS has “glutton,” which represents a traditional interpretation of the corresponding Hebrew (‫)זולל‬, rather than the Greek.

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23:212. καὶ ἐνδύσεται διερρηγμένα καὶ ῥακώδη πᾶς ὑπνώδης, “and every sleepyhead will be dressed in tatters and rags.” Although Brenton and NETS translate ὑπνώδης as “sluggard” (similarly Giguet, King; GELS s.v., MGELS s.v.), the adjective simply means “sleepy,” and thus here “sleepyhead” (see LSJ s.v. 1, GE s.v. B). This meaning is consistent with the corresponding Hebrew ‫נומה‬, “drowsiness.” 23:23. There is nothing corresponding to this verse in B and Rahlfs. 23:271. πίθος γὰρ τετρημένος ἐστὶν ἀλλότριος οἶκος, “for someone else’s house is a perforated wine jar.” The corresponding Hebrew text is “for a prostitute is a deep pit” (NRSV, NIV). In thus recasting the Hebrew proverb, the translator is alluding to a Greek proverb, εἰς τὸν τετρημένον πίθον ἀντλεῖν, “to pour into a perforated wine jar” (see LSJ s.v. πίθος I,2 and s.v. ἀντλέω I,2). This picture of futile labor is applied by Plato to insatiable appetites (Gorgias 493B), and that may also be what the present verse has in mind. See the discussion in BAP, 105–106. For ἀλλότριος meaning “someone else’s” (here and in the next colon), see note on 5:20. 23:292. τίνι δὲ ἀηδία καὶ λέσχαι, “and who suffers from nausea and malicious gossip?” For τίνι δὲ ἀηδία Rahlfs has τίνι ἀηδίαι. In a context describing the effects of drunkenness, ἀηδία refers not so much to vexations or unpleasantness in general (so most translations), or to an “odious, disagreeable situation” (so MGELS s.v.), but specifically to nausea (so BAP; see LSJ s.v. I,1). As for λέσχαι, the reference is not to squabbles or disputes (so Thomson, Brenton, NETS), but to malicious gossip (see LSJ s.v. II; MGELS s.v.). A marginal note by a later hand in B speaks here of φλυαρίαι, ὁμιλίαι ἐνφιλόνικοι [= ἐμφιλόνεικοι], “gossip, contentious rumors.” This note is not recorded in Rahlfs’s apparatus. 23:294. τίνος πέλειοι οἱ ὀφθαλμοί; “whose eyes are black and blue?” The adjective πελιός (a variant spelling of πέλειος) is defined as follows in LSJ s.v. I: “prop. of parts of the body, discoloured by extravasated blood, black and blue, livid.” Like “black” in the English expression “a black eye,” the adjective does not refer to the eye itself but to the bruised area around it (compare the “bruises” of the preceding line). That this is the meaning is confirmed by a later marginal note in B at this point (not recorded in Rahlfs’s apparatus), which glosses πέλειοι as μέλανες, “black.” It is therefore misleading when Thomson speaks here of “eyes suffused by blood,” or NETS of “blood-shot eyes.” Nor does the adjective refer to eyes that are “pale” (so GELS s.v. πέλειος, and King), or “dull” (as indicated by SD’s “trübe”). The text is referring to bruises incurred when a drunken man stumbles and falls.

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There is some confusion about the correct reading of this word. Swete’s edition prints πελιοὶ (with accent on the last syllable), but his apparatus indicates that the first-hand text of B appears to be πελειοι, but that a second or third hand overwrote this with πελιδνοι sup[ra] ras[uram], that is, “over the erasure.” Rahlfs’s edition, on the other hand, prints πέλιοι (with accent on the first syllable), and his apparatus also indicates that the first-hand text of B is πελ(ε)ιοι. My own online examination of the manuscript leads me to confirm that the overwritten text does read πελιδνοι, but that it is impossible to say with confidence what the erased original text was. The reading πελειοι is at best a more or less plausible guess, although the space occupied by the overwritten letters ΙΔΝ seems larger than that required for the letters ΕΙ alone. Nevertheless I have adopted this reading, treating it as a spelling variant of πελιοι. The question is of no great moment, since πέλ(ε)ιος and πελιδνός were apparently variants or biforms of the same word. This still leaves the question of accentuation. To judge by the lexica, if the word is spelled πελιος the accent goes on the last syllable (so LSJ and GE s.v.), but if it is spelled πελειος it goes on the first syllable (so SV, GELS, MGELS, LSG s.v.). Accordingly, I have written πέλειοι. 23:311. ἐν οἴνοις. Where Rahlfs has οἴνῳ, B has ἐν οἴνοις, no doubt through confusion with ἐν οἴνοις in the previous verse. (Note that Hatch and Redpath consider the words μὴ μεθύσκεσθε … περιπάτοις to belong to verse 30 rather than vs 31.) On the use of the plural of οἶνος as the equivalent of the singular (here and in vs 30), see the note on 12:11a. In the present verse this classical usage is confirmed by the corresponding Hebrew, which has the singular ‫יין‬. 23:312. καὶ ὁμιλεῖτε ἐν περιπάτοις, “and converse with them in (philosophical) strolls.” The mention of περίπατοι refers on one level to simply “going for a walk,” which in Greek is ποιεῖσθαι τοὺς περιπάτους (see LSJ s.v. I). But on another level it alludes to the discussions which philosophers traditionally carried out while walking about in covered walkways, so that περίπατος came to mean “discourse during a walk, discussion, argument” (see LSJ s.v. II,2). Note that the verb περιπατέω similarly came to mean “walk about while teaching, discourse” (LSJ s.v. I,2). Thus we could almost translate ἐν περιπάτοις here as “in walking seminars.” Later περίπατος came to refer to a school of philosophy, especially that of Aristotle (LSJ s.v. II,3), but this hardly justifies the assumption that the reference here is to Aristotelian philosophy (pace SDEK 1983). Given this background, translations such as “and converse in public places” (so NETS) seem inadequate. The point of this verse is that intellectual engagement with righteous individuals is to be preferred to getting drunk with one’s drinking companions.

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23:322. καὶ ὥσπερ ὑπὸ κεράστου διαχεῖται αὐτῷ ὁ ἰός, “and venom is spread through him as though by a horned viper.” As a noun, κεράστης refers to the “horned serpent or asp,” technically the Cerastes cornutus (so LSJ s.v.), which is actually a kind of viper. One of its common names is “horned viper.” It is widespread in North Africa, and the Middle East and thus would probably have been known to the translator of Proverbs. 23:341. καὶ κατακείσῃ ὥσπερ ἐν καρδίᾳ θαλάσσης, “and you will lie sick as though in the midst of the sea.” For κατάκειμαι meaning “lie sick in bed” see note on 6:9. We find the verb used in the context of drunkenness, as here, also in Judith 13:15, where it is said of Holophernes that “he was lying (κατέκειτο) in his drunkenness.” 24:11. μὴ ζηλώσῃς κακοὺς ἄνδρας, “do not emulate wicked men.” On the meaning of ζηλόω, here usually translated “envy,” see note on 3:31. 24:22. ψεύδη γὰρ μελετᾷ ἡ καρδία αὐτῶν, “for their hearts ponder falsehoods.” For μελετάω see note on 8:7. As in 15:28 the subject is καρδία and the meaning is likely “meditate on” or “ponder” (so VL, CP, Brenton, Giguet, Moro). 24:41. μετὰ αἰσθήσεως ἐμπίμπλανται ταμιεῖα, “with discernment storerooms are filled.” The first-hand text of B has the plural form ἐμπίμπλανται (later corrected to ἐμπίπλανται); Rahlfs has the singular form ἐμπίμπλαται. Since the subject is neuter plural, both forms are grammatically possible (see GG § 888–889, BDF § 133, SSG §77bh). 24:51. κρείσσων σοφὸς ἰσχηροῦ, / καὶ ἀνὴρ φρόνησιν ἔχων γεωργίου μεγάλου, “a wise man is better than a strong one, and a man with good sense than one with a large estate.” Literally, the second line reads “and a man having good sense than a large estate.” which doesn’t make much logical sense. This is an example of an “abbreviated comparison” or comparatio compendiaria, in which a few words designating the actual point of comparison (in this case “a man having”) need to be mentally supplied and reflected in the translation. See BDF §185(1), Kühner-Gerth 1898:2.310–311. So correctly Thomson, NETS, and King. Curiously, Moro fails to understand that γεωργίου μεγάλου is a genitive of comparison, and therefore translates “e un uomo che ha l’intelligenza di un grande podere” (my emphasis). For γεώργιον in this verse LSJ s.v. III mistakenly gives the otherwise unattested meaning “crop.” This is corrected in LSG.

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24:81. ἀλλὰ λογίζονται ἐν συνεδρίοις, “but they are esteemed in councils.” The meaning of λογίζονται is disputed. It is often translated “consult” (so Thomson) or “deliberate” (so Brenton, Moro, Fox), but there seems to be no parallel for this use of the verb elsewhere. Even more adventuresome is the NETS rendering “caucus.” Others opt for the translation “reflect” or the like (so CP, BAP, BG, King), but it seems odd to say that the wise simply “reflect” in councils. A better solution is that chosen by Giguet, who interprets λογίζονται here as passive in meaning: “ils sont appréciés dans les conseils.” For the passive use of λογίζομαι, which also occurs in Prov 17:28, see LSJ s.v. III and BDF § 311. For the unusual meaning “be esteemed” see Isa 53:3 and GELS s.v. This meaning is not listed in MGELS s.v. 24:92. ἀκαθαρσία δὲ ἀνδρὶ λοιμῷ ἐμμολυνθήσεται, “but impurity will be (further) defiled by a troublemaker.” Translators disagree on whether ἐμμολυνθήσεται should be taken as the beginning of verse 10 or the end of verse 9. The first option is that chosen by Brenton, who begins verse 10 as follows: “He shall be defiled in the evil day.” This leaves verse 9 without a verb, which Brenton supplies as follows: “and uncleanness attaches to a pestilent man” (similarly Giguet). This construal was apparently also favored by Swete, in whose edition a superscript “(10)” appears just before ἐμμολυνθήσεται, and by LSJ, which refers to this verse s.v. ἐμμολύνω as “Pr. 24.9(10).” However, it is clear from the layout of B that its scribe considered ἐμμολυνθήσεται to be the end of the sentence in which it occurs, not the beginning of the next. That is undoubtedly how its ancient readers would have construed it, and that is how most subsequent translators have taken it as well. However, they have had great difficulty making sense of the resulting sentence as it stands. A sampling of translation attempts is the following: “in a man who is selfwilled, arrogant and boastful [see 21:24] there is impurity” (Thomson), “l’impureté sera souillée de ce fléau d’homme” (BAP), “a pestilent man will be polluted by impurity” (NETS), “ein Mann wird durch Pest mit Unreinheit beschmiert” (SD), and “impurity will be a blemish for the pestilent” (Fox). In my judgment most of these renderings cannot reasonably be said to reflect the Greek text. I believe the most straightforward interpretation is that of BAP, with the proviso that ἀνδρὶ λοιμῷ does not mean “this pest of a man,” but rather “a troublemaker” (see my note on 19:25). The dative is to be taken as a dative of agent with the passive ἐμμολυνθήσεται. A review of the other occurrences of this verb listed in TLG reveals that it almost always occurs as a passive, often associated with the dative of that by which the subject is besmirched or defiled. The resulting meaning for our text is then that “impurity will be defiled,” that is, the

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already dirty will be made dirtier still by the ἀνὴρ λοιμός, of whom it is said in the next line that his defiling activity will take place “on the evil day,” before he eventually perishes. As a curiosity, it is worth pointing out that Origen in his commentary on Proverbs interpreted ἐμμολυνθήσεται to be the equivalent of διαφθαρήσεται, “will perish,” and took it to refer to the last judgment (PG 17.225.46). I cannot find any support for this understanding of the verb elsewhere. 24:112. καὶ ἐκπριοῦ κτεινομένους, “and ransom those who are being killed.” The verbal form ἐκπριοῦ, which is the first-hand text of B, is somewhat unusual. It is not a form of ἐκπρίω, “saw off,” as GELS s.v. mistakenly assumes, but rather of *ἐκπρίαμαι, a defective verb which occurs only in the second aorist middle, and means “buy off” or “redeem;” see LSJ s.v. ἐκπρίασθαι, MGELS s.v. ἐκπρίαμαι. The second person singular imperative form of the verb would normally be ἐκπρίω (see GG §502, 504), but here it has the form ἐκπριοῦ, no doubt on the analogy of other -μι verbs like τίθημι (second aorist middle imperative θοῦ) and δίδωμι (second aorist middle imperative δοῦ). The non-paradigmatic form of the verb explains why all eleven of the hits which a search of the form εκπριου in the TLG turns up have reference to Prov 24:11. The analogy with other -μι verbs also suggests that this verbal form should be accented as ἐκπριοῦ (so the later supplier of accents and breathings in B itself), not ἐκπρίου (so Swete and Rahlfs). A later hand in B corrected ἐκπριου to εκπριουν, as correctly noted in Rahlfs’s apparatus (Swete’s apparatus mistakenly gives the corrected form as εκπριω). The form εκπριουν looks like the present active infinitive of an otherwise unattested verb ἐκπριόω. The gloss in SRE follows GELS in identifying ἐκπρίου as a form of ἐκπρίω, but then assigns to the latter the wholly unattested sense “extract” (with question mark). 24:112. μὴ φείσῃ, “don’t hold back.” These words are variously translated as “ne cesses” (VL), “make no delay” (Thomson; similarly NETS), “spare not thy help” (Brenton; similarly Giguet), “ne te dérobe pas” (BAP), “schone dich nicht” (SD; similarly King), and “do not forbear” (Fox; similarly GELS, Moro). I adopt the last of these, taking my cue from the two other places where μὴ φείσῃ occurs in the LXX, and where the verb is also used absolutely (that is, without object or prepositional phrase), as here. These places are Isa 54:2 and 58:1, where NETS translates “do not hold back.” For this meaning of φείδομαι see LSJ s.v. IV, BDAG s.v. 2, GE s.v. D. Oddly enough, MGELS does not record this sense of the verb. CP has non parcas, which is both bad Latin (for ne parcas) and a woodenly literal rendering of the Greek.

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24:141. οὕτως αἰσθηθήσῃ σοφίαν τῇ σῇ ψυχῇ, “in this way you will perceive wisdom with your soul.” The reading αἰσθηθήσῃ is unique to B. It exemplifies a later form of the future of αἰσθάνομαι (see LSJ s.v., and compare αἰσθηθήσομαι in Isa 33:11); other manuscripts have the standard form of the future, αἰσθήσῃ, which is the form printed in Rahlfs. The B reading is printed in Swete’s edition, but goes unmentioned in Rahlfs’s apparatus. Although the corresponding Hebrew (‫ )לנפשׁך‬indicates that the translator probably meant τῇ σῇ ψυχῇ to mean “for your soul,” Greek-speaking readers would most likely have understood it to mean “with your soul” (so CP, NETS, Moro), since the soul was the agent of knowing wisdom in Greek epistemology. At the same time, the wording of this line would have sounded strange to Greek ears, since αἰσθάνομαι was normally reserved for sense perception, which was a function of the body, not the soul, and would not have had wisdom for its object. One would have expected νοήσεις. 24:151. μὴ προσαγάγῃς ἀσεβῆ νομὴν δικαίων, “do not bring on the ungodly pasture of the righteous.” Through an apparent slip of the pen, B has νομην rather than the νομη (νομῇ) of Rahlfs’s text. As a result, its text says something which makes no sense (what could possibly be meant by “the ungodly pasture of the righteous”?) and is very different from what the translator no doubt originally wrote, namely “Do not bring an ungodly man to the pasture of the righteous.” The text printed by Brenton and Swete, though purportedly transcribing B, incorporates the corrected reading νομῇ. Rahlfs’s apparatus does not record the B reading νομην at all. 24:161. δίκαιος. Rahlfs has ὁ δίκαιος. 24:192. μηδὲ ζήλου ἁμαρτωλούς, “and do not emulate sinners.” On the meaning of ζηλόω, here usually translated “envy,” see note on 3:31. 24:201. πονηρῷ. Rahlfs has πονηρῶν. 24:22a2. δεχόμενος δὲ ἐδέξατο αὐτόν, “and he has received the word while receiving it.” Virtually every existing translation has a different interpretation of this enigmatic clause. For example, the English renderings that have been proposed are the following: “for he hath received it to good effect” (Thomson), “for such an one has fully received it” (Brenton), “for he received it willingly” (NETS), “when he receives (a command) he truly absorbs” (Fox), and “receiving it, they receive it indeed” (King). My own translation renders the Greek as it was most likely to have been understood by a Greek speaker, although admittedly it makes little sense in the context.

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The expression δεχόμενος ἐδέξατο, literally “receiving he received,” looks like one of the standard ways of translating the “emphatic” use of the Hebrew infinitive absolute (see note on 23:1). This suggests either that this verb had a Hebrew Vorlage (now lost), or that the LXX translator chose to use this un-Greek Septuagintalism for this verse (which has no counterpart in the canonical Hebrew text) in order to give it a biblical flavor. 24:22b2. καὶ οὐδὲν ψεῦδος αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ γλώσσης μὴ ἐξέλθῃ, “and let no falsehood of his proceed from the tongue.” Rahlfs has καὶ οὐδὲν ψεῦδος ἀπὸ γλώσσης αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ ἐξέλθῃ, “and surely no falsehood will proceed from his tongue.” Subsection 3b (30:1–14). What stands out in this pericope is the repeated use of first person singular verbal forms (see vss 1, 2, 3, 7 bis, 9 quater) and pronouns (see vss 1, 2, 3, 8 ter, 9). In this way the unnamed author himself comes to the fore, who must be one of “the wise” to which all of Section 3 is ascribed (22:17). The genre of this subsection is a combination of “instruction” (see vss 11–2, 6, 10) and “sayings” (see vss 13, 4, 5, 11–14), plus a scattering of autobiographical comments (see vss 2, 3, 7–9). Vss 7–9 are also remarkable in being apparently addressed not to “my son,” but to God. 30:44. τῶν ἄκρων. Rahlfs has πάντων τῶν ἄκρων. 30:45. τί ὄνομα αὐτῷ, ἢ τί ὄνομα τοῖς τέκνοις αὐτοῦ, “what is his name, or what is the name of his children?” Rahlfs has ἵνα γνῷς after αὐτοῦ. 30:51. πάντες γὰρ λόγοι θεοῦ πεπυρωμένοι, “for all the words of God are refined by fire.” Rahlfs omits γὰρ. For πεπυρωμένοι see note on 10:20. 30:72. μὴ ἀφέλῃς μου χάριν πρὸ τοῦ ἀποθανεῖν με, “do not deprive me of your favor before I die.” Some translate this “do not remove my favor” (so NETS, SD), taking μου with χάριν, but the word order and absence of an article count against this. Instead, μου should be taken with ἀφέλῃς (see LSJ s.v. ἀφαιρέω 1; MGELS s.v. 1,c). We find the genitive with ἀφαιρέω also in 26:7. 30:122. τὴν δ’ ἔξοδον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀπένιψεν, “but does not wash clean his exit.” The verb ἀπένιψεν, here parallel with the present tense κρίνει (not κρινεῖ; so B), is best considered a gnomic aorist (see on 1:22) and translated as a present (so VL, CP, Brenton, BAP, BG). Most likely ἔξοδος here is a euphemism for “anus” (so explicitly NETS and King; see also the explanatory notes in SD, SDEK 1985, and BG), just as it is used elsewhere for other orifices of the body (see LSJ s.v. II,3, GE

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s.v. C). This interpretation is favored by the corresponding Hebrew, which refers to ‫צאה‬, “excrement.” It is improbable that ἔξοδος here refers to the space before one’s front door that needs to be swept clean (so Giguet and BAP). MGELS s.v. ἀπονίπτω gives the ambiguous translation “way-out” for ἔξοδον here. 30:144. καὶ τοὺς πένητας αὐτῶν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, “and the needy from humanity itself.” Because αὐτῶν, if taken with πένητας (“their needy;” so CP, Moro, Fox. King), has no obvious antecedent in the context, it is more naturally construed with ἀνθρώπων instead (see SDEK 1986). On αὐτός ipse with anarthrous nouns see GE s.v. αὐτός 1,A. Most translations simply ignore αὐτῶν. Subsection 3c (24:23–34). Although this subsection also falls under the general heading “The Words of the Wise” (22:17), it is itself addressed to “the wise” (vs 23), thereby introducing an interaction between one wise man with “the wise” in general. Like the foregoing subsection it is marked by first-person verbal forms (see vss 23, 32 bis, 33 ter) and pronouns (see vss 27, 32), which bring its author to the fore. In this case the “I” reveals himself not only as the author of this pericope, but also as an indolent farmer (see vs 33). Again like the foregoing subsection, the genre is a combination of “instruction” (see vss 232, 27–29) and “sayings” (see vss 24–26, 30–31, 34), plus a scattering of autobiographical comments (see vss 231, 32–33). 24:232. αἰδεῖσθαι πρόσωπον ἐν κρίσει οὐ καλόν, “it is not good to stand in awe of a person in passing judgment.” For πρόσωπον meaning “person,” see note on 18:5. Compare also αἰσχυνόμενος πρόσωπον in 22:26. 24:241. ὁ εἰπὼν τὸν ἀσεβῆ Δίκαιός ἐστιν, “he who says of an ungodly man, ‘He is righteous.’” There is a slight grammatical anacoluthon in this sentence, which most translators have solved by assuming that ὁ εἰπὼν τὸν ἀσεβῆ can mean “he who says of an ungodly man,” although this stretches the normal usage of λέγω. The closest parallel I have been able to find in the LXX is in Exod 22:27 [28], where “to curse rulers” is expressed as ἄρχοντας κακῶς λέγειν, a turn of phrase that is later echoed in Isa 8:21 (see MGELS s.v. λέγω 6). See also LSJ s.v. III,3. 24:242. ἐπικατάρατος λαοῖς ἔσται καὶ μισητὸς εἰς ἔθνη, “will be accursed to the peoples and hateful to the nations.” The phrase μισητὸς εἰς ἔθνη is awkward. Does it mean “hateful to the nations” (so VL, CP, Thomson, Giguet, BAP, NETS, Moro, BG), or “hateful among the nations” (so Brenton, SD, King; MGELS s.v. εἰς 8)? On either reading the preposition εἰς is given an unusual sense. I have let the parallelism with ἐπικατάρατος λαοῖς tip the scales in favor of the former reading.

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The construction here is then an early example of how, in the overall history of the Greek language, the dative case was gradually superseded by prepositional phrases, especially those with εἰς (see Horrocks 1997:49, 58–59, 125, 216–217; C&S §90g; BDF § 187 [introduction]; BDAG s.v. εἰς 4,g; SSG § 22c[ii], wa). Another example is found in Prov 26:18. 24:251. οἱ δὲ ἐλέγχοντες βελτίους φανοῦνται, “but those who admonish him will manifestly be better.” Virtually all translations take βελτίους φανοῦνται to mean “will appear better” (so NETS), assuming an understood εἶναι. However, it is also possible to assume an understood ὄντες, yielding the translation “will manifestly be better” (see LSJ s.v. φαίνω B,II,1; GE s.v. 3,C). The latter interpretation seems preferable in the present context. Those who admonish an ungodly man do not just seem to be better than those who call him righteous, they are manifestly so. 24:252. ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς δὲ ἥξει εὐλογία, “and a blessing will come on them.” Rahlfs has ἀγαθή after εὐλογία, corresponding to Hebrew ‫טוב‬. 24:282. μηδὲ πλατύνου σοῖς χείλεσιν, “and do not be expansive with your lips.” It is difficult to know what πλατύνου, literally “be broad,” means in this context. Translations include a literal “dilateris” (so CP), “give a loose to” [that is, give vent to] (so Thomson; similarly Giguet, BAP, King), “exaggerate” (so Brenton, NETS. Moro, BG, GELS, SRE), “brag” (MGELS s.v. 4), and “spread yourself” (so SD: verbreite dich, with the note: “d.h. verbreite mit deinem Reden keine Gerüchte”). Since the previous line speaks about being a false witness against one’s fellow citizen, the intent is probably to warn against being too free (that is, indiscreet) in one’s speech. 24:322. ἀπέβλεψα τοῦ ἐκλέξασθαι παιδείαν, “and focused on choosing instruction.” For the B reading ἀπέβλεψα Rahlfs has ἐπέβλεψα. 24.341. ἥξει προπορευομένη ἡ πενία σου, “your poverty will arrive ahead of its time.” The participle προπορευομένη, “going on before,” is the translator’s rendering of the Hebrew ‫מתהלך‬, now usually understood to mean “like a robber” (so NRSV), but formerly “as one that travelleth” (so KJV). However, the Greek participle here clearly does not mean “like a traveller” (so Thomson, following the understanding of the Hebrew reflected in the KJV), nor does it suggest forward motion that is particularly swift or forceful (so Brenton: “speedily;” Giguet: “à grands pas;” SD: “hervorstürzend”). Instead, the simile “like a good runner” in the parallel colon suggests that the underlying image here is of a race in which

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one runner προπορεύεται, that is, comes to the finish line ahead of the others. In like manner, poverty is here said to arrive sooner than expected, or “ahead of its time” (so King). For προπορεύομαι meaning “to move ahead of” see MGELS s.v. 1. Subsection 3d (30:15–33). Unique in Proverbs, this pericope is structured by a series of five numerical proverbs (vss 15–16, 18–19, 21–23, 24–26, 29–31), with all but the third followed by an apparently unrelated saying (vss 17, 20, 27–28, 32–33). The numerical proverbs all follow the pattern: three plus a fourth. 30:151. τῇ βδέλλῃ τρεῖς θυγατέρες ἦσαν ἀγαπήσει ἀγαπώμεναι, “the leech had three daughters, beloved with love.” The expression ἀγαπήσει ἀγαπώμεναι may reflect a Vorlage which exemplifies the Hebrew idiom in which an infinitive absolute supposedly adds greater emphasis to a finite verb of the same root (see on 23:1), but this does not mean that a word-for-word rendering in Greek carries the same emphatic meaning, justifying such translations as “greatly beloved” (so Thomson; similarly Brenton, Giguet, Moro, Fox, King). It is better to let the awkwardness of the rendering “beloved with love” reflect the awkwardness of the Greek (so VL, CP, BAP, SD, BG). 30:172. ἐκκόψεσαν, “may [the ravens] gouge out.” A later hand in B corrected ἐκκόψεσαν to ἐκκόψαισαν (so Rahlfs). Both of these are non-paradigmatic forms of the first aorist optative, the equivalent of the paradigmatic forms ἐκκόψαιεν or ἐκκόψειαν (see GG §480 [p. 107]). For the unusual ending with sigma, see C&S §16c, BDF §84(4). Note that the verb ἐκκόπτω is often used of the gouging out of eyes, both in classical Greek (see LSJ s.v. 1, GE s.v. 2; compare TWNT 3.857.21–23), and in the LXX (see also Num 16:14, Judg 16:21 [B], and 4Macc 5:30). The meaning is not specifically “pick/peck out” (so Thomson, Brenton, NETS), nor is it “auskratzen” (SD), but rather “cut out” (so King). It needs to be borne in mind that κόπτω means both “cut” and “strike” (see LSJ s.v.), so that ἐκκόπτω can mean both “cut out,” that is, “gouge out” (as an eye) and “knock out” (as a tooth). A close parallel to our verse is found in Aristophanes, Ach. 92, which also expresses the wish that a raven may gouge out (ἐκκόψειε) someone’s eye. 30:173. καταφάγοισαν αὐτό[ν], “may [the young of eagles] devour it.” The verb is the non-paradigmatic form (see previous note) of the second aorist optative, the equivalent of the paradigmatic form καταφάγοιεν (see GG § 481). The final letter of αὐτό[ν] is difficult to read in B. I have chosen to read a nu, which makes good sense in the context (so Swete and Rahlfs).

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30:241. τέσσερα δὲ ἐλάχιστα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, “and four very small things are on the earth.” The spelling τέσσερα was corrected by a later hand to τέσσαρα. On this spelling variation see LSJ s.v. τέσσαρες and BDF § 29(1). B omits the word ἐστιν which Rahlfs has before ἐλάχιστα, but this can be mentally supplied. 30:261. καὶ οἱ χοιρογρύλλιοι ἔθνος οὐκ ἰσχυρόν, “and the pig-grunters, a nation without strength.” The term χοιρογρύλλιοι (in B misspelt χοιρογύλιοι, a variant not noted by Rahlfs), appears to be a neologism coined by the Pentateuch translators of the LXX. As a search of the word in the TLG shows, it does not occur in any extant Greek literature outside of the LXX that can be securely dated before the writings of Origen and other church fathers. In the LXX χοιρογρύλ(λ)ιος is the standard rendering of Hebrew ‫( ָשָׁפן‬see also Lev 11:5–6, Deut 14:7, and Ps 103[104]:18). Modern lexicographers, going back to at least Gesenius’ Thesaurus, have widely identified the biblical ‫ שׁפן‬with the rock hyrax (Procavia capensis, previously called Hyrax syriacus), a small animal that is widespread in Africa and the Middle East, and is also known in English as “rock badger,” “Cape hyrax,” “dassie,” or “con(e)y.” Before Gesenius the ‫ שׁפן‬was commonly equated with the rabbit, and that is still one of its meanings in Modern Hebrew. For a detailed examination of the Hebrew word and its translations see Slifkin 2011:88–119. If the LXX translators correctly understood the Hebrew term, then their consistent rendering of it as χοιρογρύλ(λ)ιος would also have to mean “rock hyrax” or “coney” (so Moro, LSJ s.v., GELS s.v., MGELS s.v.). However, it is not at all clear that the LXX translators correctly understood the Hebrew term. Certainly all other ancient translators were clearly stumped by it. They variously rendered ‫ שׁפן‬as “hedgehog,” “rabbit,” or “hare” (among others), and sometimes even took refuge in simply transliterating the LXX rendering (so Jerome in the Vulgate of Lev 11:5 and Deut 14:7). It is probable that the translators of LXX Proverbs and Psalm 103 [104] were stumped too, and simply followed the precedent set by the Pentateuch translators in Leviticus and Deuteronomy (see Tov 1981, Dick 1991:43). That it was a rare or unknown word is also indicated by the fact that the B scribe misspelled it, and that later correctors of B did not catch the mistake. What then did the translators of the Pentateuch mean to convey when they coined the Greek word χοιρογρύλ(λ)ιος to render Hebrew ‫ ?שׁפן‬The answer is that we simply do not know. The Greek word, like its Hebrew counterpart, has been translated in many different ways. In the present verse renderings have included the transliteration “choerogrylli” (so CP, Thomson), and the translations “rabbits” (Brenton, SD, King; GELS s.v., SRE), “hedgehogs” (Giguet, NETS), “hyraxes” (Moro), and “porcupines” (so BG, SV, GE). Muraoka opts for “hyrax” in MGELS (s.v.), but “hedgehog” in SSG (pp. 10, 707). Clearly, no one knows what the word means.

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Rather than guess at the animal species in question, d’ Hamonville in BAP proposed translating the Greek word on the basis of its component parts. He argues that χοιρογρύλ(λ)ιος is a compound word made up of two Greek nouns, both of which mean “pig,” and on this basis he ventures to make up a French equivalent which has an analogous composition. He created the term “cochongrollet,” in which the first element, “cochon,” means “pig,” corresponding to χοιρο- (see his discussion in BAP 76, 305). However, it is not clear what is meant by the “grollet” part of this made-up French word, since it is not found in any French dictionary. Is it meant to be an auditory reminiscence of -γρύλλιος, or is it a mistake for “goret” (“piglet”)? In any case, in my judgment the second component of the Greek word is unlikely to be understood as another Greek word for “pig;” instead, it refers to the grunting of a pig. See LSJ s.vv. γρυλίζω or γρυλλίζω (“grunt”), γρυλισμός (“grunting”), and γρύλλη (= ὑῶν φωνή, “the sound of pigs”). I therefore suggest that χοιρογρύλ(λ)ιοι is best translated literally as “piggrunters,” leaving it unresolved exactly what species of animal they represent. At most we can say that the “pig-grunter” is an animal which chews the cud and does not have split hooves (see Lev 11:5 and Deut 14:7) and which makes its home in the rocks (Ps 103[104]:18, Prov 30:26). It should also be pointed out that the English word “coney” (or “cony”), which is used as a translation of χοιρογρύλλιος in LSJ and MGELS, and for ‫ שׁפן‬in the KJV and NIV, is simply an older English word for “rabbit.” It has acquired the meaning “hyrax” only because of its use as a translation of these two biblical words. See Oxford English Dictionary s.v. “cony” 3. As far as I can tell, this meaning of the word “con(e)y” is found only in dictionaries and Bible translations. 30:262. οἳ ἐποιήσαντο ἐν πέτραις τοὺς ἑαυτῶν οἴκους, “who make their homes in the rocks.” The verb ἐποιήσαντο is best taken as a gnomic aorist (see on 1:22), and translated as a present tense (so correctly Brenton, Giguet, Moro, and BG). 30:272. καὶ στρατεύει ἀφ’ ἑνὸς κελεύσματος εὐτάκτως, “and marches in good order at a single command.” Instead of στρατεύει Rahlfs has ἐκστρατεύει. A search of the TLG shows that while the expression ἀπὸ κελεύσματος in the sense “at a command” is found only twice, both times in late Byzantine texts, the precise combination ἀφ’ ἑνὸς κελεύσματος (including its variants with ἀπό and κελεύματος) is documented thirteen times. However, if we subtract the nine places where it occurs in patristic or medieval references to the present verse, the number is reduced to only four. These remaining four places are as follows: Thucydides, Hist. 2.92.1 (5th c. B.C.), the present verse (2nd c. B.C.), Diodorus Siculus, Bibl. hist. 3.15.5.4 (first c. B.C.) and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Ant. rom. 2.14.4.12 (also first c. B.C.). If we examine these four places more closely we dis-

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cover that they all deal with a situation in which a military force is mobilized into well coordinated action in response to a single command. Furthermore, it is striking that the last two occur in Greek historians who are heavily indebted to the author of the first of the four, namely the famous Greek historian Thucydides. There is good reason to believe that their use of the phrase is modeled on its occurrence in Thucydides, to whom both are indebted in many other ways as well. In the light of this, and given the rarity of the phrase elsewhere, I would suggest that the translator of LXX Proverbs, here writing about the quasi-military campaign of locusts a century before Diodorus and Dionysius, preceded them in borrowing the phrase from Thucydides. This possibility is strengthened when we consider that the adverb εὐτάκτως in our verse, referring to a well-ordered military operation, is reminiscent of the noun ἀταξία in the Thucydidean passage, which refers to the enemy’s lack of such military orderliness. Unfortunately, LSJ s.v. κέλευσμα gives the phrase ἀπὸ ἑνὸς κελεύσματος in Thucydides and Diodorus the mistaken meaning “all at once,” and also cites the present verse in that connection (it also mistakenly substitutes στρατεύσονται for στρατεύει). I have not been able to discover the source of this odd interpretation of the phrase (also found in GE s.v. κέλευ[σ]μα), an interpretation which is not reflected in any of the Thucydidean translations and commentaries I have consulted. The LSJ entry has misled d’ Hamonville to offer the translation “comme un seul homme” (see his note ad locum). Note too that Moro recognizes the connection with Thucydides, but confusingly takes the phrase here to be a translation of Hebrew kullo, taken to mean “tutta insieme,” although he then inconsistently gives the Greek the correct rendering “a un solo comando.” Finally, note that NETS renders the phrase as “at the command of one” (similarly BG), presumably meaning “at the command of one locust (ἀκρίς).” However, since ἀκρίς is feminine, ἑνός does not refer to it, but modifies κελεύσματος. 30:282. βασιλέων, “of kings.” Rahlfs has the singular βασιλέως. 30:292. τέταρτον, “a fourth.” Rahlfs has τὸ τέταρτον. 30:302. ὃς οὐκ ἀποστρέφεται οὐδὲ καταπτήσσει κτῆνος, “it does not avoid or fear an animal from the herd.” The middle-passive form ἀποστρέφεται is here used transitively, meaning literally “turn oneself away from” (see LSJ s.v. B,II,1) and thus “avoid.” Given the parallel with καταπτήσσει, this is to be preferred to the intransitive renderings of the existing translations, for example “turns not away” (Brenton).

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The plural κτήνη, found in the first colon of this verse, refers collectively to “flocks and herds” (see LSJ s.v.) or “livestock” (MGELS s.v. 1). The singular κτῆνος, as here, refers to an individual animal. The translation “ox” (so King) is too specific. 30:321. ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ, “to merrymaking.” Rahlfs has εἰς εὐφροσύνην. 30:331. ἄμελγε γάλα, καὶ ἔσται βούτυρον, “press out milk and there will be butter.” Some translations, on the basis of an interpretation of the underlying Hebrew (see KJV, NIV), as well as of the context, translate the verb here as “churn” (so Thomson, BAP, Moro, King). But ἀμέλγω means “to milk” or “press out (milk)” (see LSJ s.v.), not “churn.” 30:333. ἐὰν δὲ ἐξέλκῃς λόγους, “and if you elicit words.” Translators differ on whether to render this expression literally, as in “extract words” (so CP, SD, Moro, BG), or to give it some idiomatic meaning, for example “use provoking language” (so Thomson; see note on 19:7), “extort words,” (so Brenton, NETS), “keep saying” (so GELS s.v., King), “pousser à fonds les mots” (so BAP), or “engage in a verbal slinging match” (so MGELS s.v. b). To translate “draw out words” would be misleading, since in English this suggests lengthening or protracting one’s speech. All of these proposed metaphorical meanings seem to be guesses. I have chosen the literal translation “elicit words,” understanding this to refer to coaxing or manipulating someone to say something that they do not necessarily mean or want to say, like a lawyer in cross-examination. The three parallel cola of this verse thus all have the structure: “if you cause X to come out, Y will happen.” Subsection 3e (31:1–9). This unusual pericope represents words spoken by a king’s mother, and addressed to him in his capacity as judge. As an “oracle” they are simultaneously said to be spoken by God. The genre is that of “instruction,” like that which dominates Sections 1 and 4, but with the difference that in this case the “son” addressed is a king. A peculiarity is that the singular imperatives of vss 3 and 8–9 are varied with the plural imperative in vs. 6 (δίδοτε). 31:12. βασιλέως χρηματισμός, ὃν ἐπαίδευσεν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ, “the oracle of a king, which his mother taught him.” It is grammatically ambiguous whether the object of the mother’s teaching is the king or his oracle. The first option is chosen by most of the existing translations, and is supported by the fact that παιδεύω in Proverbs and elsewhere commonly has a person as its object (see for example Prov 3:12, 5:13, 9:7, 19:18, 23:13). However, a significant minority of the

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existing translations choose the second option (so CP, Moro, Fox, and King), and this is supported, not only by the grammatical rule that the antecedent of a relative pronoun (here ὅν) is most naturally the nearest noun in the preceding context (here χρηματισμός), but also by the fact that the object of παιδεύω may be the thing taught as well as the person taught (see LSJ s.v. II, lines 14–16; LSG s.v., MGELS s.v. 3,b). I have chosen the second option, because the words of vs 2 are clearly spoken by a mother, and therefore seem to represent the beginning of the oracle which she taught her son. The second option also matches the Hebrew Vorlage. 31:32. καὶ τὸν σὸν νοῦν καὶ βίον εἰς ὑστεροβουλίαν, “as well as your mind and life—only to regret it in the end.” The word ὑστεροβουλία appears to have been coined by the Proverbs translator. According to the TLG it is not attested anywhere else in Greek literature until it shows up again in Christian writers of the patristic era, who were steeped in the language of the LXX. Because of the word’s absence from extra-biblical literature before Constantine the present place is the only one listed in LSJ s.v., where it is given the improbable meaning “deliberation after the fact.” Unfortunately, this definition is repeated in GELS and MGELS s.v. However, it is more likely that the word here refers to regret, remorse, or repentance (so CP, Brenton, Giguet, BAP, NETS, SD, Moro, Fox, King, SRE). That is certainly how the word was understood and used by patristic writers (see PGL s.v.). The phrase εἰς ὑστεροβουλίαν is therefore comparable to the English expression “to one’s chagrin.” The Proverbs translator was not the only one who interpreted the Hebrew text in our verse in this way; compare Theodotion, who has εἰς μεταμέλειαν. The word ὑστεροβουλία survives in Modern Greek, but there it has acquired the rather different meaning “ulterior motive.” Section 4: “The Unseparated Instructions of Solomon” (25:1–29:27). These five chapters, clearly set off from what precedes by a separate heading, are like the twelve-plus chapters of Section 2 in being dominated by the genre “sayings.” As was the case there, the individual proverbs are generally without connection to each other, although there are a few exceptions. See for example 26:13–16, where the four verses each deal with the lazy person. In two places in chapter 27 there is a rare admonition addressed to “my son” (vss 11 and 27). 25:11. αὗται αἱ παιδεῖαι Σαλωμῶντος αἱ ἀδιάκριτοι, “these are the unseparated teachings of Solomon.” The παιδεῖαι in question are “teachings,” not “systems of education” (so NETS). It is not clear in what sense the Solomonic instructions

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which follow are ἀδιάκριτοι. It is usually translated “unsorted” (so essentially Giguet, BAP, SD, BG, King) or “miscellaneous” (so Brenton, NETS, Fox), but neither of those meanings seem very relevant to the context. Since this descriptor was added in the Greek (there is nothing corresponding to it in the Hebrew), it probably contributed some significant information about the instructions in question. I suspect that ἀδιάκριτος had developed a specialized meaning (just as the analogous English “undistinguished” came to mean “mediocre,” and “unclassified” came to mean “non-secret”) of which we are unaware, perhaps “unseparated,” that is, “not set aside (for separate publication).” Note that διάκριτος means “separated” (LSJ s.v.). 25:22. πράγματα. A later hand in B corrected this to προστάγματα. 25:41. τύπτε ἀδόκιμον ἀργύριον, καὶ καθαρισθήσεται καθαρὸν ἅπαν, “strike substandard silver, and it will be made pure in its entirety.” The verb τύπτω in connection with silver suggests the striking of coins in a mint (see LSJ s.v. I,5; MGELS s.v. a). The adjective ἀδόκιμος, said of a silver coin, does not mean “drossy” (so Thomson, Brenton), “rusty” (so Giguet: “rouillé”), “unrefined” (so NETS, SD), “rough” (so Moro: “grezzo”), or “untested” (so King). Instead, it describes “silver that has failed the assayer’s test” (so LSG s.v., mentioning this place and Isa 1:22). The reference is to a silver coin that has been tested for genuineness, but has failed the test, and is therefore “counterfeit” (so MGELS s.v., SSG p. 462) and “not legal tender” (so LSJ s.v. 1). The verse as a whole therefore seems to express the cynical opinion that a coin made of impure silver will nevertheless be “purified,” that is, will officially be regarded as pure, by being officially struck or stamped in a mint as being of a certain value. Note that d’Hamonville in BAP adopts from manuscript A the reading κρύπτε, which he translates “fais disparaître.” He then renders καθαρὸν ἅπαν as “celui qui est vraiment pur,” but I doubt that the Greek can be made to bear that interpretation. For the predicative use of ἅπας see SSG pp. 462 and 556. 25:62. μηδὲ ἐν τόποις δυναστῶν ὑφίσασο, “and make no promises in the halls of the mighty.” Translators have been at a loss as to how to translate the verb ὑφίσασο, the present middle-passive imperative of ὑφίστημι. Proposals include “stand” (CP, King), “range thyself” (Thomson), “remain” (Brenton), “promise” (Giguet: “promets”), “install yourself” (BAP: “t’installe”), “linger” (NETS), “take a (boastful) attitude” (SD: “stelle dich … (angeberisch) auf”), “position yourself” (Moro: “ti mettere”), “come to a halt” (BG: “hagas un alto”). Muraoka has the following explanation of the verb here: “to take up a position … so as to assume and execute duties: ἐν τόποις δυναστῶν ‘in offices of men of authority.’ ”

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Although there is not enough context to be sure, I believe Giguet’s translation “promise” is most likely to be right, since this is a well-attested meaning of the middle-passive of ὑφίστημι (see LSJ s.v. B,II,1), and provides a fitting parallel to the preceding ἀλοζονεύου, “boast.” In both cola the addressee is warned against saying something that he may not be able to back up. 25:72. ἢ ταπεινῶσαί σε, “than that someone should humiliate you.” According to normal usage we might expect σε to be the subject of the infinitive, to be translated “that you should humiliate,” but that makes little sense in the context. It is better to understand an unexpressed τινὰ as the subject of the infinitive, and σε as its object. For this ellipsis of the indefinite pronoun τις as subject, especially with an infinitive, see Kühner-Gerth 1898:1.35–36; see also GG § 928, SSG § 69Aaa. The Greek is correctly understood by Brenton: “than that one should humble thee” (similarly BAP, SD, King). Others treat ταπεινῶσαι as though it were a reflexive (so Giguet, BG), a passive (so Moro), or had acquired the meaning “give place” (so Thomson). 25:82. ἐπ’ ἐσχάτῳ, “in the end.” Rahlfs has ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων. 25:101–2. μή σε ὀνειδίσῃ μὲν ὁ φίλος, ἡ δὲ μάχη σου καὶ ἡ ἔχθρα οὐκ ἀπέσται, “your friend should not insult you, but your fight and hostility should not be absent.” Although translators almost always interpret μὴ … ὀνειδίσῃ as a final clause, it is better taken as a prohibition or negative imperative (so SD: “Nicht soll dich dein Freund schmähen!”). On this imperatival usage of μή with the aorist subjunctive, see GG §1345, BDF §364(3), and SSG §29ba(ii). Similarly, the future ἔσται, here made parallel to ὀνειδίσῃ by the correlative particles μέν … δέ …, is best interpreted as a future jussive, which in the LXX frequently follows an imperative (see C&S §74b, SSG §28gc) and has the negative particle οὐ rather than μή (see C&S §74d). These two balanced clauses thus assert that, on the one hand, the friend’s insult is unjustified, but that, on the other hand, the absence of a hostile reaction to that insult is unjustified as well. Note that μάχη and ἔχθρα, being construed with a singular verb, are treated as referring to a single thing. On the use of a singular verb with multiple subjects, see GG § 891, BDF § 135(1) and SSG §77bg. 25:103. ἀλλ’ ἔσται σοι ἴση θανάτῳ, “instead, it will be like death to you.” The feminine singular adjective ἴση refers to the preceding μάχη and ἔχθρα, conceived as a single subject. This hostile fight or fighting hostility, as a reaction to a friend’s insult, is said to be like death, presumably in the sense that it is unavoidable. (Compare Benjamin Franklin’s well-known saying that nothing is certain except death and taxes.)

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25:10a3. ἀλλὰ φύλαξον τὰς ὁδούς σου εὐσυναλλάκτως, “but guard your ways through effective negotiation.” The adverb εὐσυναλλάκτως is very rare; a search of the TLG turns up only nine hits, all of which prove to be related to this text in Proverbs, and two of which refer to the patristic lexicon of Hesychius, which glosses the term rather strangely as εὐμεταδότως, “generously.” This Hesychian definition is followed by CP, which renders it as “liberaliter,” but the other existing translations give widely varying alternative renderings, including “with a placable temper” (Thomson), “peaceably” (Brenton, King), “avec loyauté” (BAP), “with fair dealing” (NETS), “in gutem Einvernehmen” (SD), “con sociovolezza [sociableness]” (Moro), “con docilidad” (BG), and “conscientiously, honestly” (SRE). The lexica attest to similar diversity: Schleusner s.v. gives as equivalent reconciliabiter, “in a conciliatory manner,” and translates its use here as ita, ut facile alteri reconcilieris, “in such a way that you are easily reconciled to another.” MGELS s.v. has the gloss “in submissive and docile manner.” Other meanings that dictionaries have assigned to εὐσυναλλάκτως here are “effectively” (see PGL s.v., citing a place where Origen quotes this verse), and “tranquilly” (GE s.v., citing this verse). How are we to find our way amidst this confusion? Though itself rare, εὐσυναλλάκτως is part of a family of Greek lexemes which has a fairly well-defined semantic profile. Consider the following cognates of the adverb used here, together with their main senses as listed in LSJ s.vv. The verb συναλλάσσω means “bring into intercourse with,” “reconcile,” and (in the middle or passive) “to be reconciled,” “to come to terms with,” “make alliance with,” and “make peace.” The noun συναλλαγή means “interchange, especially for the purpose of conciliation,” “reconciliation,” “making of peace” (in plural “treaty of peace”), but also more generally “commerce,” “dealings.” The noun συνάλλαγμα means “covenant” or “contract,” and in the plural more generally commercial “dealings,” or “transactions,” and the noun συναλλακτής means “mediator,” or “negotiator.” There is also a verb συναλλακτέομαι, which means “to be negotiated.” Of particular interest for our purposes is the adjective συναλλακτικός, which means “of or for contracts.” As is clear from these examples, the members of this word family have to do with some aspect of bridging differences in a way that leads by way of a negotiated agreement or contract to a condition of peace. To navigate this process well is to do so εὐσυναλλάκτως. In light of this, I would propose the translation “through effective negotiation,” understood to be negotiation for a peaceful resolution embodied in a formal agreement. It is significant that this verse (25:10a), which has no Hebrew counterpart, was probably added to the book of Proverbs by a Jew living in Egypt, where the large Jewish community sought to live a life of Torah observance, that is,

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“to guard their ways” in a context where they were under constant pressure to assimilate to the pagan Hellenistic culture of their overlords. They had to negotiate with the surrounding culture to find a modus vivendi. This may very well be the background also of vs 10a1 (“grace and love give freedom”) and vs 10a2 (“keep these [that is, grace and love] for yourself, so that you may be free of reproach”). In response to the threat of cultural and religious assimilation, this added verse advises: “be winsome but preserve your (Jewish) ways.” 25:111. μῆλον χρυσοῦν ἐν ὁρμίσκῳ σαρδίου, “a golden apple in a necklace of carnelian gemstones.” Σάρδιον (also mentioned in the next verse) is the precious stone carnelian or sard(ius), here used in a collective sense. BG mistakenly translates it as sardónice (sardonyx), which is a different kind of stone. I know of no reason why the word should here be taken to mean “ruby,” as tentatively suggested in SRE. 25:121. καὶ σάρδιον. Rahlfs omits the καί before σάρδιον. 25:131. ὥσπερ ἔξοδος ἐν ἀμήτῳ κατὰ καῦμα ὠφελεῖ, “just as an exodus at harvest time brings benefit in the heat.” Rahlfs has ἔξοδος χίονος, which is usually interpreted to mean “snowfall.” The omission of χίονος in B gives an entirely different meaning to the text. Presumably the “exodus” which gives benefit is now the temporary departure of harvest-workers from the fields to seek shelter in the shade during breaks in their workday. Note that Brenton and Giguet, although purportedly translating B, nevertheless render χίονος in their translations. It should also be noted that κατὰ καῦμα does not mean “against the heat” (so Brenton, NETS, SD, BG, Fox, King), nor “according to the degree of heat” (so Thomson), but simply “in (the time of) the heat” (so Giguet, BAP). For this use of κατά with the accusative, see LSJ s.v. B,II,2, MGELS s.v. II,6, and Lee 2018:156. Note also that ἄμητος here means “time of harvest” (see note on 6:8), not “summer” (pace Moro.). 25:133. ψυχὰς γὰρ τῶν αὐτῷ χρωμένων ὠφελεῖ, “for he benefits the souls of his employers.” For χράομαι used of employing a person, see the note on 5:5. 25:141. ἐπιφανέστατα. Rahlfs has ἐπιφανέστατοι. 25:171. σεαυτοῦ. Rahlfs has τὸν σεαυτοῦ. 25:181. ῥόπαλον καὶ μάχαιρα καὶ τόξευμα ἀκιδωτόν, “a club, a sword, and a pointed arrow.” The adjective ἀκιδωτόν is to be taken with the nearest noun τόξευμα (so

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most translations), not with all three nouns (so Thomson and NETS), since this would require a plural form of the adjective. Besides, a club is not something pointed. There is little dispute that ῥόπαλον means “club” or “cudgel” (see LSJ s.v. I, MGELS s.v.). However, both Thomson and NETS here have the surprising translation “nail.” I suspect that Thomson looked up the meaning of the word in a Greek-Latin dictionary (for example Schleusner 1821:4.537), found that the Latin equivalent given was clava, “club,” but mistook this for clavus, “nail.” Cook, the NETS translator, either made the same mistake or simply copied Thomson. The mistake was no doubt facilitated by the fact that the two items which follow, a sword and an arrow, are also objects with a sharp point like a nail. 25:19. ὁδὸς κακοῦ καὶ ποὺς παρανόμου ὀλεῖται ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κακῇ, “the way of the scoundrel and the foot of the transgressor will perish on the evil day.” Instead of ὁδός, the reading of B and most other manuscripts, Rahlfs has the reading ὀδούς, which is found in some manuscripts and matches the Hebrew (‫)שׁן‬. NETS mistakenly translates “the ways of an evil person and the foot of a transgressor will be destroyed,” apparently reading Rahlfs’s ὀδούς as ὁδούς (with smooth breathing), and construing the accusative as though it were a nominative. Most existing translations reflect Rahlfs’s reading ὀδούς (so CP, Giguet, BAP, SD, Moro, BG, Fox, and SRE). 25:201. ὥσπερ ὄξος ἕλκει ἀσύμφορον, “just as vinegar draws up what is harmful.” The word ἕλκει can be interpreted either as a noun (the dative singular of ἕλκος, “wound”) or a verb (present active indicative of ἕλκω, “drag” or “draw”). Most translations choose the former construal, thus making ἀσύμφορον a predicate adjective, as in NETS: “As vinegar is harmful to a wound …” A few choose the second construal, thus making ἀσύμφορον a substantivized adjective which is the direct object of the verb, as in SD: “Wie Essig unvorteilhaftes Befinden nach sich zieht …” (similarly CP, Hatch and Redpath s.v. ἕλκω, and SRE). I suspect that the grammatical ambiguity of the Greek, which bears little relation to the corresponding Hebrew, is deliberate. At first glance the nominal interpretation of ἕλκει makes better sense, given the parallelism: “as vinegar is harmful to a wound, so a bodily affliction grieves the heart.” But the ancient reader of this verse would have been brought up short by this comparison, because vinegar was commonly used to treat wounds, and was therefore considered to be beneficial, not harmful, for a wound. An eminent contemporary medical authority, himself a specialist in the healing of wounds, writes of this ancient practice that its efficacy has been confirmed by modern trials, and concludes: “Vinegar is definitely a rational wound-wash”

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(Majno 1975:186; see also Plate 4.3). In fact this medicinal use of vinegar continued until modern times. Vinegar is effective especially for infected wounds. Because vinegar is a “powerful antiseptic” (Majno 1975:186) it is especially effective against the kind of wound that is indicated by the Greek word ἕλκος used here (see LSJ s.v. I,2: “festering wound;” contrast τραῦμα). On the face of it, therefore, the first construal of the Greek has something paradoxical about it, comparable to someone saying today, “just as antibiotics are not helpful against infections …” The paradoxical nature of the first reading may well have been designed to alert the reader to the possibility of another reading, and thus to construe ἕλκει as a verb. On that reading, in which ἀσύμφορον is taken to mean “that which is harmful,” that is, the infectedness of a wound, the sentence no longer denies the healing properties of vinegar, but rather affirms them. Vinegar is conceived as metaphorically “drawing up” the infection (see LSJ s.v. ἕλκω II,4). The point of the comparison with the parallel colon then becomes the positive effect of painful experiences, a frequent theme in Proverbs. 25:20a1. ἐν ἱματίῳ. Rahlfs has ἱματίῳ, without preposition. 25:211. ψώμιζε. Rahlfs has τρέφε, a synonym. B is here influenced by the citation of this verse in Rom 12:20. 26:41–51. πρὸς τὴν ἐκείνου ἀφροσύνην … κατὰ τὴν ἀφροσύνην αὐτοῦ …, “in response to his folly … according to his folly …” Although the underlying Hebrew here has the expression ‫כאולתו‬, “according to his folly,” in both places, the translator seeks to resolve the apparent contradiction between vs 4 and vs 5 by using two different Greek prepositions in his translation. See the discussion in BAP, pp. 62–63. Although some existing translations of the Greek text give the same or virtually the same rendering for both prepositions (so Brenton, Giguet, Thomson and NETS), the LXX translator clearly intended to convey some semantic contrast. What contrast did he have in mind? It is clear that κατά plus accusative in vs 5 has its ordinary meaning “according to” or “in accordance with” (not “against,”pace Fox), but it is less clear what the translator intends to convey with πρός plus accusative in vs 4. Guesses include “in proportion to” (so BAP, BG) and “with regard to” (so SD: “mit Rücksicht auf”). Although these are possible meanings of the preposition, I would suggest that in conjunction with the verb ἀποκρίνομαι it is most likely to mean simply “(in response) to” (see LSJ s.v. πρός C,I,5, and s.v. ἀποκρίνω IV,1). Note also the contrasting ways in which the translator renders the pronominal suffix of the Hebrew: ἐκείνου before the noun, and αὐτοῦ after the noun. I take this to reflect a desire for stylistic variation, without semantic significance.

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26:61. ἐκ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ὁδῶν ὄνειδος ποιεῖται, “finds fault out of his own ways.” The B text is in all likelihood a corruption of an original text ἐκ τῶν ποδῶν ὄνειδος πίεται, “he will drink reproach from his feet” (this is the text printed by Rahlfs), but neither reading makes much sense. On the expression ὄνειδος ποιεῖται see the note on 8:3. The best sense that can be made of the B reading is that the individual in question finds in others faults of which he is himself guilty. Fox, who defends the B reading as authentic, misses the idiom and translates “he makes (for himself) shame from his own ways” (2015:342). Similarly d’ Hamonville in BAP, who in a note translates the B text as “de ses propres voies, il se fait reproche” (so too SD in a note). 26:71. ἀφελοῦ πορείαν σκελῶν, “take away walking from legs.” The genitive σκελῶν is to be construed, not with πορείαν (so CP, Brenton, SD), but with ἀφελοῦ. On the genitive with the middle of ἀφαιρέω, see LSJ s.v. II,1; MGELS s.v. 4,b.: SSG pp. 514, n. 3 and 564. Compare 27:13 ἀφελοῦ τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτοῦ, “take the garment from him.” 26:72. καὶ παρανομίαν ἐκ στόματος ἀφρόνων, “and transgression from the mouth of fools.” For the B reading παρανομίαν Rahlfs has παροιμίαν, “proverb.” 26:91. μεθύσμου. Rahlfs has τοῦ μεθύσμου. 26:101. πολλὰ χειμάζεται πᾶσα σάρξ ἀφρόνων, “everyone of the fools is severely battered.” All existing translations interpret πᾶσα σάρξ as “all (the) flesh,” but that makes little sense in the context. With Muraoka (SSG, p. 415, n. 1), I take it here to be a Hebraism for “everybody” which is frequently found in the LXX (see MGELS s.v. σάρξ 3,b; BDAG s.v. 3,a; Lee 2018:249). As for the verb χειμάζεται, it is not to be understood literally of the weather, as though it meant “is exposed to winter cold” or the like (so NETS, Thomson, BG, SRE), but rather metaphorically of being “battered” or “distressed” in general (so Brenton, Giguet, BAP, SD, Moro, Fox, King). For this more general meaning of χειμάζω see LSJ s.v. III,2; BDAG s.v. 2; MGELS s.v. Πολλά is to be understood adverbially, meaning “severely” or the like (see LSJ s.v. πολύς III,a; BDAG s.v. 3,a,α). 26:102. συντρίβεται γὰρ ἡ ἔκστασις αὐτῶν, “for their illusion is shattered.” Ἔκστασις is a word with a very wide range of meaning, which in the present context has been rendered in many different ways. Examples are “stupor” (CP), “fury” (Brenton), “passions” (Giguet), “esprit égaré” (BAP), “trance” (NETS), “Außersichsein” or “Verrücktsein” (SD), “bewilderment” (Fox), “lostness” (King), and “distraction” (SRE). Thomson has “soundest sleep,” which is probably based on

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the use of ἔκστασις in Gen 2:21, where it reflects Hebrew ‫תרגמה‬. Given the limited context of this verse, it is impossible to choose with confidence among the possible meanings of the word, of which the foregoing is only a selection. I have chosen the meaning “illusion” (for which see GELS s.v.), since it is something which fools have which according to proverbial wisdom is shattered. 26:11. τὸν ἑαυτοῦ ἔμετον … τῇ ἑαυτοῦ κακίᾳ … τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἁμαρτίαν … “its own vomit … his own wickedness … his own sin …” For the intensive rendering of ἑαυτοῦ see on 1:19. Note how the first part of this verse is quoted in 2 Peter 2:22 in the non-Septuagintal form κύων ἐπιστρέψας ἐπὶ τὸ ἴδιον ἐξέραμα, where ἴδιον corresponds to ἑαυτοῦ here. 26:11a. ἔστιν αἰσχύνη ἐπάγουσα ἁμαρτίαν, / καὶ ἔστιν αἰσχύνη δόξα καὶ χάρις, “shame is bringing on sin, and shame is glory and grace.” This verse has found its way into LXX Proverbs from Sir 4:21; there is no Hebrew text corresponding to it in Proverbs. To understand the rather paradoxical assertion of this verse, we need to remember that αἰσχύνη in Greek has both a negative and a positive meaning, namely “disgrace” and “(sense of) shame” or “modesty” (see TWNT 1.189). In the one sense it can be said to bring on sin, and in the other it can be said to be a person’s glory and grace. In its original context in Sirach the verse occurs at the beginning of a section (4:20–28) devoted to true and false shame (see Skehan and Di Lella 1987:175). On the periphrastic conjugation ἔστιν … ἐπάγουσα see C&S §72 and BDF §353. The translation I am proposing is different from that found in the standard renderings of Prov 26:11a (and of its source Sir 4:21). An example of this standard rendering is that of Brenton: “There is a shame that brings sin: and there is a shame that is glory and grace” (similarly NETS, SD, Moro, BG, Fox, King, as well as renderings of Sir 4:21 in KJV, NRSV, NETS etc.). The standard rendering can be partially explained with reference to the surviving Hebrew original of Sir 4:21, which reads ‫ וישׁ בשׁת כבוד וחן‬/ ‫כי ישׁ־בשׁת משׂאת עון‬, “because there is a shame which brings guilt, / and there is a shame [which brings] glory and grace.” Here the repeated ‫ ישׁ‬clearly means “there is,” and the verb ‫ משׂאת‬in the first colon, to be vocalized ‫( ַמְשׂאַת‬see HAL s.v. ‫ נשׂא‬hif.), is to be understood as repeated in the second colon, an example of “gapping” (see O’Connor 1997:122–129). However, the grandson of Ben Sira, who translated his grandfather’s Hebrew work into Greek, failed to understand the gapping in the second colon, and translated rather mechanically καὶ ἔστιν αἰσχύνη δόξα καὶ χάρις, and this translation is repeated verbatim in Prov 26:11a. This cannot mean “and there is shame which is glory and shame,” because that would have required the addition of οὖσα or the like in the Greek. Nor can it mean “and [there is] a shame which pro-

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cureth glory and honour” (so Thomson), since that would have required the accusatives δόξαν and χάριν (or χάριτα) in the Greek. As it stands, the second colon in Greek can only mean “and shame is glory and grace,” and this in turn suggests that ἔστιν … ἐπάγουσα is to be understood as a periphrastic form of the verb. 26:122. ἐλπίδα μέντοι ἔσχεν μᾶλλον ἄφρων αὐτοῦ, “yet a fool has a better hope than he.” Literally, “a fool has a hope rather than he.” Note that ἔσχεν is a gnomic aorist (see on 1:22). 26:132. λέων ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς, ἐν δὲ ταῖς πλατείαις φονευταί, “ ‘a lion on the roads!’ and ‘Murderers in the streets!’” In B the words ἐν δὲ ταῖς πλατείαις φονευταί (apparently transposed from 22:13) have been partially erased, but are still quite legible, and therefore clearly belonged to the first-hand text of B. They are not included in Rahlfs’s text, nor does he note their presence in the first-hand text of B. 26:141. ὥσπερ θύρα στρέφεται ἐπὶ τοῦ στρόφιγγος, “as a door turns on its pivot.” A στρόφιγξ is one of two “pivots working in sockets, at top and bottom of a door” (LSJ s.v. 2). The translation “socket” (so NETS) is mistaken, and the translation “hinge” (so Thomson, Brenton, GELS s.v., King, SRE) is misleading, since it suggests the metal devices affixed to the stationary vertical edge of a modern door. 26:152. στόμα. Rahlfs has τὸ στόμα. 26:172. οὕτως ὁ προεστὼς ἀλλοτρίας κρίσεως, “so is he who champions another’s dispute.” Προΐστημι is here best understood, not as “preside,” suggesting the role of a judge at a trial (so CP, SD, Moro), nor as “intervene” (so King), but as “stand before so as to guard” (LSJ s.v. B,II,3), suggesting the role of a defender or champion (so Brenton, NETS, MGELS s.v. 2). As elsewhere in Proverbs, κρίσις here refers to a dispute (see note on 6:19). 26:181. ὥσπερ οἱ ἰώμενοι προβάλλουσιν λόγους εἰς ἀνθρώπους, “just as those who heal utter words to people.” NETS translates οἱ ἰώμενοι as a passive: “those who are being treated,” but this is clearly a mistake. Not only is ἰάομαι almost always a deponent, but the rare cases where it is used in a passive sense appear to be restricted to the aorist (see LSJ s.v. II; BDAG s.v.; BDF § 311; SSG § 27dc). An erroneous passive interpretation also seems to underlie Brenton’s odd rendering “those who need correction.” Even stranger is Giguet’s translation of this colon, “on lance parmi les hommes des paroles comme des traits,” where “comme

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des traits” (“like arrows”) corresponds to οἱ ἰώμενοι, apparently because of an assumed connection of the verb ἰάομαι with the noun ἰός, “arrow.” Brenton adds the adjective “fair” to “words” (similarly BAP and SD), but there is no basis for this in the Greek. For the use of εἰς ἀνθρώπους instead of the expected dative ἀνθρώποις, see note on 24:24. 26:182. ὁ δὲ ἀπαντήσας τῷ λόγῳ πρῶτος ὑποσκελισθήσεται, “and the one who has encountered the word will be tripped up first.” I have chosen to construe πρῶτος with ὑποσκελισθήσεται (so Thomson, BAP, NETS, King), although it is also grammatically possible to take it with ἀπαντήσας (so most other translations). Although it is straightforward enough to translate ὁ ἀπαντήσας τῷ λόγῳ, it is difficult to know what “the one who has encountered the word” refers to. Presumably the λόγος in question is one of the λόγοι which “those who heal” utter (see previous colon), but what does it refer to? MGELS s.v. ἀπαντάω 1 has the cryptic note: “τῷ λόγῳ πρῶτος (had a go at) it [= the medical treatment] as the first (patient),” but I can find no reason why ἀπαντάω should here mean “have a go at,” and consider it highly speculative to assume that λόγῳ refers to “medical treatment,” or that πρῶτος should have reference to the first “patient.” Thomson and Brenton speak of someone “falling in” with the word, implying agreement or endorsement (similarly BAP), and King speaks of “replying” to the word, but these too are unattested meanings of ἀπαντάω. The fact is that the meaning of this enigmatic verse is quite opaque. 26:192. ὅταν δὲ ὁραθῶσιν, “but when they are observed.” For the B reading ὁραθῶσιν, Rahlfs has φωραθῶσιν, “they are caught in the act.” 26:202. ὅπου δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν δίθυμος, ἡσυχάζει μάχη, “and where there is no hothead, conflict dies down.” The adjective δίθυμος is very rare, and may well have been coined by the translator of Proverbs. A search of the TLG turns up only seven hits apart from Prov 26:20 itself, all of which occur in citations of, or allusions to, this verse in Proverbs. Moreover, the authors in question in each case consider it necessary to define this rare word. The third-century church father Origen defines it as δίψυχος, “double-minded” or “wavering” (Expositio in Proverbia [ fragmenta e catenis] 17.240.32), the fourth-century church father Evagrius Ponticus defines it as θυμώδης, “hot-tempered” (Expositio in Proverbia Salomonis 116.10), and the thirteenth-century poet Meletius Confessor defines it as λέγοντα μετὰ θυμοῦ, “speaking with anger” (Alphabetalphabeton 71.61). There is also a rare noun διθυμία, which according to the TLG occurs three times in Byzantine philological texts, where it is defined as διχοστασία, “dissension.”

commentary

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Given this lack of consensus among ancient Greek speakers, it is no surprise that existing modern translations of Proverbs also show a wide variety of renderings. These include “furens” [that is, “angry”] (CP), “stirrer up of quarrels” (Thomson), “double-minded” (Brenton), “contradicteur” (Giguet), “faux-jeton” [that is, “phoney”] (BAP), “agitator” (NETS), “antagonist” (SSG, p. 705), and “dissenter” (Fox; similarly SD, Moro, BG, King, SRE). As for the lexica, they favor the meaning “at variance” (so LSJ s.v., followed by GELS and MGELS) or “in disagreement” (GE s.v.; similarly SV). It should be noted, as Brenton correctly saw, that the Greek prefix δι- (a short form of δίς, “twice”) regularly denotes doubling or having two of something. See LSJ s.v. δίς. It is to be distinguished from the prefix δια-, which often has the meaning “at variance” (see LSJ s.v. διά D,II), and is not to be confused with the Latin prefix di(s)-, which means “asunder, apart” (see Allen and Greenough § 170b, Oxford Latin Dictionary s.v. dis-). Examples of words with the former prefix in the LXX are δίγλωσσος, “speaking two languages” (see note on Prov 11:13), διγομία, “double burden,” δίδραχμον, “coin of two drachmas,” διετής, “lasting two years,” διμερής, “in two parts,” δίμετρον, “double measure,” δίπηχυς, “two cubits high,” and δίστομος, “two-edged” (see Prov 5:4). Thus one would expect δίθυμος to mean “with double θυμός.” Furthermore, we know that θυμός in Proverbs almost always means “anger” or “rage” (see 15:1, 16:14, 18:14, 20:2, 21:14, 24:18, 24:22d, 27:4, 29:11). The one exception is found at 6:34, where it refers to a person’s “heart” or “spirit.” Compare also the cognates θυμώδης, “hot-tempered” (see 11:25, 15:18, 22:24, 31:4, 29:22) and θυμόω, “to anger” (frequent in the LXX outside of Proverbs). The likely meaning of δίθυμος is therefore “with double anger,” that is, “very angry.” I therefore conclude that Evagrius Ponticus, Meletius Confessor, and the CP were right to understand δίθυμος here of a person whose anger issues prevent conflict from dying down. This conclusion is reinforced by the fact that some manuscripts have replaced the rare and obscure word δίθυμος with a much better attested synonym, namely ὀξύθυμος, “quick to anger” (see Rahlfs’s apparatus). 26:221. λόγοι κερκώπων μαλακοί, “the words of cunning rogues are soft.” In Greek mythology the Κέρκωπες were two mischievous monkey-like brothers, who played a well-known role in the stories about Heracles. The word soon acquired the more general meaning “knave,” that is, “a base and crafty rogue” (Oxford English Dictionary s.v. 3), and accordingly “knave” is the meaning assigned to it here in LSJ s.v. κέρκωψ I,2 (so too Brenton, NETS and SRE). Similarly GE s.v. κέρκωψ: “crafty, malicious rogue, scoundrel.” Compare also the noun κερκωπία, meaning “trickiness” (LSJ s.v.) and the adjective κερκώπειος, meaning “cunning” (PGL s.v.).

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Curiously, LSG s.v. changes the meaning it assigns to κέρκωψ here from “knave” to “teller of false tales,” and this puzzling definition was subsequently adopted by GELS and MGELS. The puzzle can be solved by looking at the history of interpretation of the Hebrew word which corresponds to κερκώπων in the MT, namely ‫ ִנ ְר ָגּן‬. This is the Niphal participle of the verb ‫רגן‬, “to murmur” or “whisper,” and is nowadays usually translated as “whisperer” (so NASB, NRSV) or “gossip” (so NIV). Other versions, however, have chosen “talebearer” (so KJV and NAB) or “slanderer” (so NJB), and that would appear to be the source of the definition of κέρκωψ in LSG, GELS, and MGELS. However, it is illegitimate to assign the debatable definition of a Hebrew word to the Greek word corresponding to it in the LXX. It is clear in any case that the translator of LXX Proverbs did not understand the Hebrew word ‫נרגן‬, since he gives widely different renderings of it in 16:28, 18:8, 26:20, and here in 26:22. 26:232. χείλη λεῖα καρδίαν καλύπτει λυπηράν, “smooth lips conceal a hurting heart.” Notice the alliteration of repeated kappas and lambdas. For the double sense of λυπηρός, see the note on 14:10. The meaning here is probably “having pain” rather than “causing pain” (so BAP, SD, Moro, BG, Fox), so that the hurting soul of 14:10 is matched by the hurting heart of the present verse. The strange translations “wicked” (Brenton) and “mauvais” (Giguet) can be explained as reflecting the Hebrew Vorlage, which here speaks not of a hurting heart but an evil heart (‫)לב־רע‬. 26:241. χείλεσιν πάντα ἐπινεύει ἀποκλαιόμενος ἐχθρούς, “he who bewails his enemies agrees to anything with his lips.” The first-hand text of B has the reading ἐχθρούς, but the upsilon was subsequently erased, yielding the reading ἐχθρός (so Rahlfs). I am translating the uncorrected text, which strangely states that the one who agrees to anything is not the weeping enemy but he who bewails his enemies. The use of the active of ἀποκλαίω with the accusative of the person is attested elsewhere (see LSJ s.v. I,2). Here it occurs in the middle voice. 26:242. ἐν δὲ τῇ καρδίᾳ τεκταίνεται λόγους, “but in his heart he is devising words.” A marginal note in B by a later hand corrects λόγους tο δόλους, “trickery” (so Rahlfs). For the verb τεκταίνομαι, see note on 3:29. 26:252. ἑπτὰ γὰρ. A later hand in B inserted εἰσιν after γάρ (so Rahlfs). 26:262. ἐνκαλύπτει, “conceals.” A later hand in B corrects the spelling to ἐγκαλύπτει. Rahlfs has ἐκκαλύπτει, “reveals.”

commentary

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26:282. στόμα δὲ ἄστεγον ποιεῖ ἀκαταστασίας, “and the mouth that cannot be shut up causes riots.” For ἄστεγοs, see note on 10:8. The existing translations have such differing renderings as “flattering” (Thomson), “unguarded” (Brenton, NETS, King), and “indiscreet” (Giguet). 27:72. ψυχῇ δὲ ἐν ἐνδεεῖ, “but to the soul in need.” Rahlfs has ψυχῇ δὲ ἐνδεεῖ, “but to the needy soul.” Although the B text seems to be a clear case of dittography, it is not unintelligible if we understand ἐνδεεῖ here as the dative of (τὸ) ἐνδεές meaning “need.” See LSJ s.v. 2. 27:91. καὶ οἴνοις, “and wine.” For the use of the plural see note on 12:11a. 27:111. ἵνα σου εὐφραίνηται. Rahlfs has ἵνα εὐφραίνηταί μου. 27:121. πανοῦργος κακῶν ἐπερχομένων ἀπεκρύβη, “a shrewd man hides himself when the wicked approach.” For the positive sense of πανουργία and πανοῦργος in Proverbs in general, see note on 1:4; for the positive use of the adjective specifically in this verse, see LSG s.v. For ἀπεκρύβη as gnomic aorist, see note on 1:22. 27:131. ἀφελοῦ τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτοῦ, παρῆλθεν γάρ, “take the garment from him, for he has crossed a line.” The pronoun αὐτοῦ is best taken with the verb ἀφελοῦ (so BAP, Moro, BG) rather than with the noun ἱμάτιον (so CP, NETS, Fox and others). Compare the note above on 26:7 ἀφελοῦ πορείαν σκελῶν. Many translations take the subject of παρῆλθεν to be the following ὑβριστής (so VL, CP, Thomson, Giguet, Fox, King), but the colometric layout of B, in which γάρ comes last in the line, counts against this. The meaning of παρῆλθεν is usually taken to be “pass by” (so VL, Thomson, Giguet, NETS, SD, Moro, BG, Fox, King), but it is unlikely that a man’s garment should be taken for simply passing by. Instead, παρῆλθεν is best taken in the sense of “transgressing,” that is, crossing a line (so BAP: “il a passé les bornes”). For this meaning of παρέρχομαι see LSJ s.v. IV,2 and MGELS s.v. 9. 27:132. ὑβριστὴς ὅστις τὰ ἀλλότρια λυμαίνεται, “a violent man who ruins what belongs to others.” Like its cognate ὕβρις (see notes on 14:3 and 19:18), the noun ὑβριστής suggests both arrogance and violence. In the present verse, which speaks of someone who ruins other people’s belongings, it means not so much a “scorner” (so Thomson, Brenton), or a person who is “insolent” (so BAP, BG) or “arrogant” (so Fox), but rather “ein übermütiger Gewalttäter” (so SD). Hence my translation “a violent man.”

256

commentary

It should also be noted that in post-classical Greek the indefinite pronoun ὅστις (which occurs only here in Proverbs) often loses its indefinite sense, and therefore should not be translated “who(so)ever” or the like (pace Brenton, Giguet, BAP, SD, BG), but simply as “who.” On this semantic development see MGELS s.v.; BDAG s.v. 3; BDF §293; SSG §17b, Lee 2018:230. Despite the clarifications here offered it must be admitted that this verse in the LXX “ist kaum verständlich” (SDEK 1995). 27:151. ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου. Rahlfs has ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ. 27:172. ἀνὴρ δὲ παροξύνει πρόσωπον ἑταίρου, “and a man stimulates his fellow.” Literally, “sharpens the person of his fellow.” On this redundant use of πρόσωπον meaning “person,” see note on 18:5. Thus πρόσωπον should here not be translated “face” (so CP, Brenton, Giguet, SD, Fox, King), nor “humeur” (so BAP), but rather understood to mean “person” (so NETS, BG), but used redundantly. It is unlikely that the verb παροξύνω here means “irritate” or “provoke” (pace MGELS s.v. 2). Instead, it seems to be playing on two meanings of the verb. On the one hand it is used in its etymological sense of “sharpening,” given the parallelism with ὀξύνω in the previous colon (so most existing translations). Though this meaning of the compound verb παροξύνω is rare (it is not recorded in LSJ, GELS, or GE), it is attested elsewhere in the LXX (see Deut 32:41; compare MGELS s.v. 1), and is here confirmed by its Hebrew Vorlage (‫)יחד‬. On the other hand the verb is being used metaphorically in its well-attested positive sense “urge, spur on, stimulate,” as in Prov 6:3 (see LSJ s.v. I,1). Oddly enough, this meaning is not recorded in GELS or MGELS s.v. (see note on 6:34). 27:192. διάνοιαι. Rahlfs has καρδίαι. 27:20a1. βδέλυγμα κυρίῳ στηρίζων ὀφθαλμόν, “He who ogles with his eyes is an abomination to the Lord.” For the unusual use of an anarthrous participle as the subject of a sentence, see note on 2:7. Clearly, the activity described as στηρίζων ὀφθαλμόν refers to something thoroughly reprehensible. See note on 16:30. 27:211. δοκίμιον ἀργύρῳ καὶ χρυσῷ πύρωσις, “testing is for silver and proving by fire for gold.” Many translations mistakenly take this as a single clause, with πύρωσις as subject and δοκίμιον as predicate. So for example NETS: “Burning is a test for silver and gold” (similarly Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, BG, Fox, King). But this fails to respect the chiastic structure of the colon, which here faithfully reflects the Hebrew.

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There is some confusion about the meaning of πύρωσις. In connection with precious metals it refers to the procedure by which the metal is tested and purified in a crucible or melting-pot. See LSJ s.v. II,2 (“proving by fire,” citing this verse) and BDAG s.v. 2. See also the note on πεπυρωμένος in 10:20. The translations “fire” (so VL, Thomson, Brenton, Giguet), “burning” (so NETS, Fox), “melting” (so Moro), and “heat” (so BG) capture only associated aspects of this meaning. MGELS s.v. has the spelling δοκιμεῖον. I follow the spelling found in B, which is also that of GELS and Rahlfs’s edition. On this question see BDF § 23. The gloss in SRE tentatively suggests that the word here means “annealing,” but I can find no evidence to support this suggestion. 27:21a2. ζητεῖ. Rahlfs has ἐκζητεῖ, as in the preceding colon. 27:231. γνωστῶς ἐπιγνώσῃ ψυχὰς ποιμνίου σου, “you must knowingly know the animals of your flock.” The future tense of ἐπιγνώσῃ is jussive or injunctive, “you must know” (see C&S §74; SSG §28gc); as such it can also be translated as an imperative (so Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, King), but not as a simple future (so BAP, NETS), since that would turn a command into a prediction. The awkwardness of the English “knowingly know” reflects the awkwardness of the Greek, which seeks to give a quasi-literal translation of the Hebrew idiom in which an infinitive absolute is used with a finite verb of the same root. Compare νοητῶς νόει in 23:1. See note on 24:22a above. Many translations render ψυχάς here as “souls,” but it seems odd to speak of knowing the souls of a flock of sheep and goats. Accordingly, various alternative renderings have been proposed. Thomson translates “state,” King “condition,” Brenton “number,” Giguet “besoins” (that is, “needs”), while Fox equates it with “appetites,” but none of these meanings seem to be attested elsewhere. It is more likely that the reference here is to the individual animals of the flock (see note on 12:10 ψυχὰς κτηνῶν αὐτοῦ). 27:251. ἐπιμελοῦ τῶν ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ χλωρῶν καὶ κερεῖς πόαν, “take care of the green growth on the plain, and cut the grass.” Note that κερεῖς, coming after an imperative, is a jussive future, to be translated as an imperative (so correctly VL, Thomson, Giguet, SD, Fox). See C&S §74b. SD and Moro take πόα to mean “fodder,” but that is not an attested sense of the word. 27:252. καὶ σύναγε χόρτον ὀρεινόν, “and harvest the mountain hay.” For συνάγω meaning “harvest” see note on 9:12c. It is correctly rendered in BAP (“récolte”).

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commentary

For χόρτος meaning “hay” (so VL, CP, Brenton, Moro), see LSJ s.v. II,1,a; BDAG s.v.; GE s.v. C. 28:21. δι’ ἁμαρτίας ἀσεβῶν κρίσεις ἐγείρονται, “on account of the sins of the ungodly disputes arise.” It is unclear whether ἁμαρτίας is accusative plural (so CP, Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, Moro, King) or genitive singular (so NETS, SD, BG, Fox). The corresponding Hebrew is singular (‫)פשׁע‬, but can be plausibly read as a collective. I can think of no reason why one interpretation should be preferred over the other. 28:31. ἀνδρεῖος ἐν ἀσεβείαις συκοφαντεῖ πτωχούς, “a man bold in ungodliness preys on the poor.” Although elsewhere in Proverbs ἀνδρεῖος is used in a positive sense, suggesting industry or courage (see note on 10:4), here it clearly has the negative connotations of being daring in impiety. I take ἐν ἀσεβείαις with ἀνδρεῖος, defining the sphere of the boldness in question (so VL, CP, Giguet); most other translations take it with συκοφαντεῖ. An example is NETS: “A bold man blackmails the poor with impious acts.” Both construals of the Greek are possible, but the likely Hebrew Vorlage (‫ גבר רשׁע‬instead of the Masoretic reading ‫ )גבר רשׁ‬suggests that the translator had the former in mind. On this Vorlage see the apparatus in BHS and Fox 2015:361. The negative usage of ἀνδρεῖος is remarkable in light of the fact that ἀνδρεία was one of the four cardinal virtues in Greek philosophy. As elsewhere in Proverbs, συκοφαντέω does not mean “slander” (so VL, CP, BG), but rather “oppress” or “exploit.” See note on 14:31. 28:32. ὥσπερ ὑετὸς λάβρος καὶ ἀνωφελής, “like a torrential rain that does no good.” Translators and editors differ on whether this colon should be construed as the conclusion of the foregoing sentence (so CP, Giguet, King) or as the beginning of the following one (so VL, Thomson, Brenton, BAP, NETS, SD, Moro, BG, Fox, Swete, Rahlfs). Given the regular pattern elsewhere in Proverbs of sentences which begin with ὥσπερ and continue with οὕτως (see for example 26:1, 2, 3, 11, 14, 17, 18–19, and 27:8, 19) I have opted for the latter. Unfortunately, the traditional verse division of the biblical text (based on the Vulgate) favors the former, so that the resulting sentence straddles vss 3 and 4. 28:41. οἱ ἐγκαταλιπόντες νόμον, “those who have forsaken the law.” Instead of the aorist participle ἐγκαταλιπόντες Rahlfs reads the present participle ἐγκαταλείποντες, “those who forsake,” without noting the B reading. Possibly he understood the B reading εγκαταλιποντες, given the parallel present participle ἀγαπῶντες in the next colon, to be an orthographical variant of εγκαταλειπον-

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τες. I have followed Swete (and the ancient scribe who added the accents in B) in reading the aorist rather than the present participle, and take the contrast in tense between it and ἀγαπῶντες to be deliberate. 28:51. συνήσουσιν. A later hand in B has corrected this to νοήσουσιν (so Rahlfs). The same two synonymous verbs alternate in 29:7. 28:72. ὃς δὲ ποιμαίνει ἀσωτίαν, ἀτιμάζει πατέρα, “but the one who leads an immoral life disgraces his father.” The phrase ποιμαίνει ἀσωτίαν (based on a misreading of ‫ רעה זוללים‬in the Hebrew text) means literally “(he) shepherds debauchery,” which sounds as strange in Greek as it does in English. The implicit comparison is this: just as a shepherd leads and feeds his flock, so an immoral man leads and feeds his immoral life. Attempts to render the phrase into intelligible English include “feedeth prodigality” (Thomson), “keeps up debauchery” (Brenton), “feeds debauchery,” “cares for dissipation” (King), and “nurture[s] … extravagant life” (MGELS s.v. ποιμαίνω 1,b). The last of these is based on the assumption that ἀσωτία means “extravagant, spendthrift life-style” (MGELS s.v.), but the word refers to much more than financial extravagance. See note on ἄσωτος, “promiscuous,” in 7:11. 28:82. ἐλεῶντι. A later hand in B corrects this to ἐλεοῦντι. See note on 13:9a. 28:91. αὐτοῦ μὴ. Rahlfs has αὐτοῦ τοῦ μὴ. Evidently τοῦ has dropped out in B because of haplography, although the meaning is not materially affected. 28:132. ὁ δὲ ἐξηγούμενος ἐλέγχους ἀγαπηθήσεται, “but he who tells of admonitions will be loved.” I take this to refer to someone who tells others of admonitions he has himself received, that is, someone who openly acknowledges his own faults. This colon therefore stands in antithetical parallelism to the preceding one about someone who “covers up his own ungodliness.” Similarly BAP, which translates “qui expose ses torts,” and King, who has “who recount their disgrace.” For ἐξηγέομαι in the sense “tell (at length)” see LSJ s.v. III; GELS s.v.; MGELS s.v. 2; BDAG s.v. 1. Some translations understand the reference to be to someone who himself “pronounces rebukes,” presumably rebukes directed against others (so Fox, following SD), or who “expounds reproofs” (so NETS, BG), or “values reprimands” (so Moro: “fa tesoro dei rimproveri”). Others indicate that he “blames himself” (so Brenton; similarly Giguet), presumably by directing admonitions or reproofs against himself. All of these seem strained and contextually implausible.

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commentary

CP has the reading ὁ δὲ ἐξηγούμενος καὶ ἐλέγχων, and translates “qui autem narrat & redarguit,” that is, “he who tells and refutes (it),” where “it” refers to the ungodliness of the previous colon. This reading also seems to be the background of Thomson’s curious rendering “who confesseth and forsaketh.” 28:141. μακάριος ἀνὴρ ὃς καταπτήσσει πάντα δι’ εὐλάβειαν, “blessed is the man who stands in awe of all things out of reverence.” The verb καταπτήσσω means “crouch, cower, especially from fear” (LSJ s.v. 1), and then more generally “to fear, to tremble before” (GELS s.v.), often construed with the accusative. It is in this sense that we find it used in 30:30 and 29:9 (see also Josh 22:24 and Sir 32:18). By a further semantic extension it is also attested in the sense “admire” (GE s.v. C), no doubt because of the association of fear with standing in awe. Compare the way verbs like φοβέομαι include in their semantic range the meanings “fear,” “stand in awe of,” and “respect.” For καταπτήσσω in the present context translators have chosen from the whole spectrum of its possible meanings, ranging from “cower” (so SD: “duckt sich;” similarly BAP: “baisse le front;” MGELS s.v.), “fear” (so CP, Thomson, Brenton, Moro, Fox), “revere” (so VL, NETS), “respect” (so Giguet), and “be amazed at” (so BG; “se admire de”). I have chosen “stand in awe (of)” as the meaning that fits the present context best. Curiously, some translators take πάντα here in an adverbial sense, meaning either “always” (so Brenton, BAP, Fox, King; compare the ‫ תמיד‬of the MT) or “wholly” (MGELS s.v. καταπτήσσω). However, although the accusative plural πάντα does have adverbial uses (see LSJ s.v. πᾶς D,II,4), the meaning “always” is highly unusual (see BDAG s.v. 1,d,β), αnd in any case an adverbial sense is not called for here, since καταπτήσσω is regularly construed with the accusative. The meaning here is simply that someone stands in awe of “all things,” that is, the entire created order. There is similar confusion surrounding the noun εὐλάβεια, which has been variously translated as “fear” (so VL), “caution” (so CP, SD, Moro), “piety” (so Giguet), “discretion” (so BAP, NETS; MGELS s.v.), “shyness” (so BG: “timidez”), and “respectfulness” (so Fox), while the phrase δι’ εὐλάβειαν was rendered “piously” by Thomson and “religiously” by Brenton. Although εὐλάβεια can mean all these things, it seems to me that the meaning “reverence” makes the best sense in the context. The wondering awe before the cosmos suggested by the verb καταπτήσσει is rooted in a sense of religious reverence. For this wellattested sense of the word, see LSJ s.v. 3a; BDAG s.v., TWNT 2.749–751. Oddly enough, this meaning of the word is not listed in MGELS. 28:152. ὃς τυραννεῖ πτωχὸς ὢν ἔθνους πενιχροῦ, “he who, being poor, rules an impoverished nation.” The basic meaning of τυραννέω in classical Greek is “to

commentary

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be a monarch, absolute ruler,” and when construed with the genitive, “to be ruler of,” without pejorative connotations (see LSJ s.v. I,1 and 2). It is a mistake to assume, on the basis of later Greek usage, that τυραννέω here means “tyrannize” (so CP, Giguet, SD, BG, Fox, SRE). Compare the note on τύραννος in 8:16. This point is unaffected by the fact that the corresponding Hebrew of this verse speaks of a “wicked ruler” (‫)משׁל רשׁע‬. 28:161. βασιλεὺς ἐνδεὴς προσόδων μέγας συκοφάντης, “a king in need of revenues is a great oppressor.” For πρόσοδος in the sense of “revenue” see LSJ s.v. II,2, MGELS s.v., SDEK 1997. For συκοφάντης see the note on the cognate verb συκοφαντέω in 14:31. 28:17a2. καὶ δώσει κόσμον τῇ σῇ ψυχῇ, “and he will be a credit to your soul.” κόσμος here is not so much “ornament” (so most translations) or “beauty” (so BAP, King), as “honour, credit” (see LSJ s.v. II,2). The phrase appears to be borrowed from 29:17. 28:17a3. οὐ μὴ ὑπακούσῃς ἔθνει παρανόμῳ, “never obey a lawless nation.” The B reading ὑπακούσῃς is adopted by Rahlfs. According to his apparatus, it is to be interpreted as the equivalent of ὑπακούσεις, the second person future active of ὑπακούω. On οὐ μή followed by either the aorist subjunctive or future indicative, see BDF §365, which states that this construction represents “the most definite form of negation regarding the future.” See also SSG § 83ca and Lee 2018:54–58. Note that some translations reflect a third person form (so Thomson, Brenton, and Giguet). 28:211. ὃς οὐκ αἰσχύνεται πρόσωπα δικαίων, οὐκ ἀγαθός, “he who has no respect for the righteous is not good.” Literally, “he who has no respect for the persons of the righteous,” but in this context “persons” is redundant, and can be omitted in translation (so BAP, Fox, and King). For this redundant use of πρόσωπον meaning “person” see note on 18:5. For αἰσχύνομαι meaning “have respect for,” see note on 22:26. 28:221. ἀνὴρ βάσκανος, “a man with the evil eye of envy.” For the semantics of βάσκανος, and its association with envy, see note on 23:6. Note that here, as in 23:6, the Hebrew Vorlage has ‫רע עין‬. 28:251. ἄπιστος. Rahlfs has ἄπληστος, “insatiable,” “greedy.” 29:12. ἐξαπίνης γὰρ φλεγομένου αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἴασις, “for when he suddenly flares up there is no remedy.” A remarkable feature of chapter 29 is the high incidence

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of the genitive absolute construction, here φλεγομένου αὐτοῦ. It occurs again in vss 2 (bis), 3, 12, 13, 14, 16 (bis), and 24. These ten examples in chapter 29 contrast with the eight examples found in all of the rest of Proverbs (see 3:28, 6:7, 10:25, 11:7, 15:13, 19:25, 27:12, 28:1). 29:32. ὃς δὲ ποιμαίνει πόρνας, ἀπολεῖ πλοῦτον, “but he who entertains prostitutes will squander his wealth.” Literally the Greek says “he who shepherds prostitutes.” As was the case in 28:7, the translator misinterprets the Hebrew verb ‫רעה‬ in this context to mean “shepherd,” and accordingly produces a phrase which must have sounded as strange to Greek-speakers as it does to us. Although some translations give a literal rendering of the verb (so CP, BG, Fox), others give it a conjectural contextual meaning, for example “feed” (so Thomson, Giguet), “keep” (Brenton), “cherish” (NETS), “concern oneself with” (BAP: “s’occupe de;” SD: “sich abgeben mit”), “frequent” (Moro), or “keep up with” (King). In my judgment the last four of these are influenced more by the Hebrew than the Greek, and can be safely discarded. It is more likely that “shepherding” prostitutes evokes the image of feeding them, that is “entertaining” them in the sense of wining and dining them, which would have involved considerable expense. 29:51. ὃς παρασκευάζεται ἐπὶ πρόσωπον τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ φίλου δίκτυον, “he who prepares a net against his own friend.” Literally, “against the person of his own friend,” but here the πρόσωπον is redundant, and can be omitted in the translation (so Thomson). Note that there is nothing corresponding to πρόσωπον in the Hebrew. For this redundant use of πρόσωπον meaning “person,” see note on 18:5. This interpretation of ἐπὶ πρόσωπον is to be preferred to such alternative translations as “before the face” (VL, NETS), “in the way” (Brenton), “sous le regard” (BAP), or simply “before” (Moro, Fox). None of these proposed meanings seem to be attested for this phrase elsewhere. 29:72. νοεῖ. Rahlfs has συνήσει. The same two verbs alternate in 28:5. 29:81. ἄνδρες ἄνομοι ἐξέκαυσαν πόλιν, “lawless men burn down a city.” Note that both ἐξέκαυσαν and the parallel ἀπέστρεψαν in the next colon are gnomic aorists (see on 1:22). They are correctly rendered as presents by most translators, but not by BAP and Moro. NETS renders the first as a present but the second as a past. Note that both the preceding and the following verses have verbs in the present tense: ὑπάρχει, κρίνει, καταγελᾶται, καταπτήσσει. For the B reading ἄνομοι Rahlfs has λοιμοί.

commentary

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29:92. ἀνὴρ δὲ φαῦλος ὀργιζόμενος καταγελᾶται καὶ οὐ καταπτήσσει, “but an inept man is laughed at when he gets angry, and yet is undaunted.” For the meaning of φαῦλος, see note on 5:3. We find here the same contrast between “wise” and “inept” as in 16:21. The verb καταπτήσσω does not mean “terrify” (so CP, Thomson, Giguet), nor does it here have its original meaning “crouch” or “cower” (so BAP, SD, BG, King), let alone “hold back” (so the gloss in SRE), but rather its extended meaning “fear” (so Brenton, NETS, Fox). See note on 28:14. The verb καταγελᾶται is to be understood as a passive, “is laughed at” (so most translations), although it is classified as a middle in GELS s.v. and MGELS s.v., no doubt under the influence of the corresponding Hebrew ‫שׂחק‬. The middle interpretation of the verb also appears to underlie the translations of Brenton (“laughs”), NETS (“ridicules”), Fox (“mocks”), and King (“laughs to scorn”). However, apart from forms of the future indicative, where γελάω and its compounds regularly have middle forms with an active meaning (for example ἐπιγελάσομαι in 1:26), the dictionaries do not record a middle use of καταγελάω, This is confirmed by a search of the TLG, which shows up no unambiguously middle forms of καταγελάω outside of the future. On the other hand, the verb does often occur with passive forms and meaning (see Gen 38:23, Job 9:23, Mic 3:7, 4 Mac 6:20). 29:101. μισοῦσιν. Rahlfs has μισήσουσιν. 29:102. οἱ δὲ εὐθεῖς ἐκζητήσουσιν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, “but the upright will seek out his soul.” Note that the expresssion ἐκζητέω ψυχήν τινος used here is to be distinguished from ζητέω ψυχήν τινος. The latter occurs frequently in the LXX in the sense “to try to kill someone” (see Exod 4:19, Ps 39[40]:15, 53[54]:5, 62[63]:10, 69[70]:3, 85[86]:14), but the former appears to mean almost the opposite, namely “to look out for someone’s welfare.” It is therefore important to note the difference between ἐκζητέω and ζητέω, pace SDEK 1998. 29:112. σοφὸς δὲ ταμιεύεται κατὰ μέρος, “but the wise man pays it out bit by bit.” Ταμιεύω (here used in the middle) is a denominative verb based on ταμίας, and thus originally meant “to be treasurer, paymaster, controller” (see LSJ s.v. I). From this it developed a number of quite different senses, notably including “dispense,” “control,” and “store up” (LSJ s.v. II, 1–3). Consequently, existing translations disagree on whether ταμιεύεται here means “dispense” (so VL, Thomson, BAP, MGELS s.v.), “control” (so Giguet, SD), or “store up”/“reserve” (so CP, Brenton, NETS, Moro, BG, Fox). Given the context, I believe the first meaning is intended, although the second is also in play. Unlike the fool, who gives vent to all his rage in a single uncontrolled outburst, the wise man “dispenses” it, that is, pays it out in a controlled process. So too King: “measure it out.”

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This interpretation is confirmed by the phrase κατὰ μέρος, meaning “bit by bit” (so King, MGELS s.v. μέρος 1,b) or “gradually” (so Thomson; similarly VL, CP, Giguet, BAP). The phrase illustrates the distributive use of κατά (see LSJ s.v. II,1; MGELS s.v. 8,b, citing this place). The translation “in part” (so Brenton, NETS, Moro, Fox) or “entsprechend einem Teil” (so SD) fails to capture this nuance of the preposition. 29:121. ἐπακούοντος. Rahlfs has ὑπακούοντος. 29:132. ἐπισκοπὴν ἀμφοτέρων ποιεῖται ὁ κύριος, “the Lord visits them both.” For the idiom ἐπισκοπὴν ποιεῖται, see note on 6:8. Note that in Rahlfs ἀμφοτέρων comes after ποιεῖται, not before. 29:172. καὶ δώσει κόσμον τῇ ψυχῇ σου, “and be a credit to your soul.” See note on 28:17a. 29:181. οὐ μὴ ὑπάρξῃ ἐξηγήτης ἔθνει παρανόμῳ, “a lawless nation will certainly have no interpreter.” The “interpreter” in question probably referred originally (that is, in the translator’s mind) to the Hebrew prophet in his capacity as “exegete” of the Torah, since ἐξηγήτης corresponds to ‫חזון‬, “prophetic vision.” See Rüterswörden 1991. However, this hardly justifies translating ἐξηγήτης here as “prophet” (so King). Since the Greek-speaking readers of the LXX in antiquity would have been unaware of the Hebrew, the specific reference to prophets would have been lost on them. 29:192. ἐὰν γὰρ καὶ νοήσῃ, ἀλλ’ οὐχ ὑπακούσεται, “for even though he understands, yet he will not obey.” It is important to distinguish between εἰ/ἐὰν καί, meaning “even though,” and καὶ εἰ/ἐάν, meaning “even if” (see LSJ s.v. εἰ B,VIII,1 and s.v. καί B,8). The distinction runs parallel to German “wenn auch” and “auch wenn.” Most translations miss the force of the idiom here, but it is correctly rendered by CP (“licet enim & intelligat”), BAP, Moro, BG, and King. Furthermore, the particle ἀλλά in the apodosis of a hypothetical sentence, as here, has the meaning “yet” or “still” (see LSJ s.v. I,2,a; MGELS s.v. 5). So correctly Brenton (“still”); similarly BAP and NETS. 29:201. ταχύν. A later hand in B corrected this to τραχύν, “rough.” 29:221. ἀνὴρ θυμώδης ἐγείρει νεῖκος, “a hot-tempered man stirs up strife.” Instead of ἐγείρει Rahlfs has ὀρύσσει, “digs up.” The B reading appears to echo 10:12.

commentary

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29:222. ἀνὴρ δὲ ὀργίλος ἐξώρυξεν ἁμαρτίας, “and a short-tempered one dredges up sins.” Note the gnomic aorist of ἐξώρυξεν (see on 1:22), here parallel to the present tense of ἐγείρει. The meaning seems to be that a short-tempered man in his anger against another person reminds the latter of transgressions in his past. 29:232. τοὺς δὲ ταπεινόφρονας ἐρίζει δόξῃ κύριος, “and the Lord challenges the humble with his glory.” The B reading ἐρίζει is no doubt the result of a scribal misreading of an original ἐρίδει, a variant spelling of ἐρείδει, “supports” (so Rahlfs), which makes good sense in the context. The B reading ἐρίζει is very odd, not only because we would expect the Lord to help the humble, not quarrel or vie with them, but also because ἐρίζω is not otherwise construed with the accusative of the person (see the relevant entries in LSJ and GE). Note that even Swete, whose edition is meant to reproduce B, here changes the anomalous ἐρίζει to ἐρείδει. If we do take the B text as our point of departure, the most suitable meaning of ἐρίζει here is probably “rival, vie with, challenge” (LSJ s.v. I,2). Perhaps the B text can be understood as referring to a scenario like that of the divine speeches in Job 38–41, where God can be said to “challenge Job with his glory.” In that case δέ in this colon is best translated “and,” not “but.” 29:242. ἐὰν δὲ ὅρκου προτεθέντος ἀκούσαντες μὴ ἀναγγείλωσιν, “But if, when an oath has been taken beforehand, those who have heard (something) do not report it.” Most translations take ὅρκου to be a genitive dependent on ἀκούσαντες, and προτεθέντος to mean “administered” (so Thomson), “proposed” (so CP, BG, NETS, MGELS s.v., SRE), “uttered” (so Brenton, BAP, Moro, GELS s.v.), or “offered” (so King). So for example NETS: “And if, having heard an oath proposed, they do not disclose it.” The difficulty with this interpretation is that an oath is not normally “proposed,” and προτίθημι does not normally mean “administer,” “utter,” or “offer” (see LSJ s.v.). Moreover, on this reading it is unclear who the subject of the sentence is, since “they” has no antecedent. In the light of these difficulties, I take ὅρκου προτεθέντος to be a genitive absolute, the passive participle to mean “taken beforehand,” and ἀκούσαντες to supply the missing subject. For the frequent use of the genitive absolute in this chapter, see note on 29:1. For the unusual use of an anarthrous participle as the subject of a sentence, see on 2:7. Note that τίθημι, whether in the active or middle, is attested in the sense of “taking” an oath (see LSJ s.v. ὅρκος I,1; see also s.v. τίθημι C,4), and the preverb προ- routinely means “beforehand” (LSJ s.v. πρό D,III,5). Construed in this way, the protasis of this sentence envisages a situation in which people have sworn an oath to report untoward behavior when they have heard of it, but break their oath by failing to do so.

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29:251. φοβηθέντες καὶ αἰσχυνθέντες ἀνθρώπους ὑπεσκελίσθησαν, “out of fear and respect for people, they trip and fall.” For αἰσχύνομαι meaning “have respect for” see note on 22:26. Note the gnomic aorist ὑπεσκελίσθησαν (see note on 1:22), here parallel to the present tense μισεῖ in the previous verse. BAP adopts the variant reading ὑποσκελισθήσονται. 29:252. ἐπὶ κυρίῳ. Rahlfs has ἐπὶ κύριον. Compare ἐπὶ τῷ δεσπότῃ in 29:254. 29:261. πολλοὶ θεραπεύουσι πρόσωπα ἡγουμένων, “many wait on leaders.” Literally “many wait on the persons of leaders,” an almost verbatim repetition of 19:61. For the redundant use of πρόσωπον meaning “person” (here recognized by BAP and King), see note on 18:5. 29:271. βδέλυγμα δίκαιος ἀνὴρ ἀδίκῳ, “a righteous man is an abomination to an unrighteous one.” This is the first-hand text of B, which a later hand modified by the insertion of ἀνδρί before ἀδίκῳ. Rahlfs has βδέλυγμα δικαίοις ἀνὴρ ἄδικος, “an unrighteous man is an abomination to the righteous.” Section 5: “A Valiant Woman” (31:10–31). This is the shortest of the five sections of LXX Proverbs, and the only one that is thematically unified throughout. Its genre is that of “hymn,” in this case in praise of an active God-fearing woman (see Wolters 2001:3–14). Although in the Hebrew original the literary unity of this section is further reinforced by being composed as an alphabetic acrostic, this feature of the text apparently escaped the LXX translator (see on vs 22). 31:101. γυναῖκα ἀνδρείαν, “a valiant woman.” It is striking that the adjective ἀνδρεῖος, literally “manly,” is here used of a woman. This is not without precedent, however; see 12:4 and LSJ s.v. II,1: “even of women.” Since the word generally has the extended meaning “courageous” or “valiant,” it fits well with the heroic temper of this concluding pericope of the book of Proverbs about the domestic exploits of the valiant woman. See Wolters 2001:9–12. For that reason “valiant” is here to be preferred to “staunch” (so MGELS s.v. 1). In the present verse the adjective ἀνδρεῖος also plays on the meaning “industrious,” an unusual sense which seems to be peculiar to LXX Proverbs; see note on 10:4. Certainly it is indisputable that the woman here described is also very industrious. 31:131. μηρυομένη ἔρια καὶ λίνον ἐποίησεν εὔχρηστον ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῆς, “by spinning wool and flax she makes something useful with her hands.” The verb μηρύομαι has two quite different meanings: “draw out” and “roll up,” both of which apply

commentary

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to aspects of the process of spinning thread. The fibers of wool or flax are first drawn out into a rove, subsequently twisted into a thread on a spindle, and finally rolled up as spun thread on the spindle. See Blümner 1912:109 n. 2, 112 n. 5, 120–131 and Barker 1991:266. The verb is therefore appropriately rendered “spin” in most translations (so CP, Thomson, BAP, NETS, SD). Unfortunately, LSJ s.v. I,2,b lists the meaning “wind off thread,” which it mistakenly assigns to its use here and in Lucian, Hermotimus 47 (where it actually means “roll up”), with the result that this erroneous gloss has found its way into GELS and MGELS s.v., and is adopted by Fox and King. Other mistaken renderings are those of SV, which glosses the verb here as “zusammenziehen,” and of BG, which has the translation “de lana cardada y lino hace algo útil,” as though μηρυομένη had to do with the carding of wool. Note also that the present participle μηρυομένη should not be translated “after spinning” (so NETS), thus mistakenly suggesting that the “something useful” that the Valiant Woman makes is something other than the spun thread itself. 31:131. ἐποίησεν, “she makes.” Throughout the concluding Song of the Valiant Woman the actions of the heroine and her associates are described by indicative verbs which alternate between the gnomic aorist (as here) and the present tense. Other gnomic aorists are ἐγένετο (14), ἔδωκεν (15), ἐπρίατο, κατεφύτευσεν (16), ἤρεισεν (17), ἐγεύσατο (18), διήνοιξεν, ἐξέτεινεν (20), ἐποίησεν (22), ἐποίησεν, ἀπέδοτο (24), διήνοιξεν, ἐστείλατο (25), ἐνεδύσατο, εὐφράνθη (26), ἔφαγεν (27), ἀνέστησεν, ἐπλούτησαν, ᾔνεσεν (28), ἐκτήσαντο, ἐποίησαν, ὑπερῆρας (29). On the gnomic aorist, which is appropriately translated by the English present tense, see note on 1:22. Alternating with these aorists are verbal forms in the present tense, often in parallel with these aorists: ἐστιν (10), ἐνεργεῖ (12), συνάγει (14), ἀνίσταται (15), ἀποσβέννυται (18), ἐκτείνει, ἐρείδει (19), φροντίζει, ἐνδιδύσκονται (21), γίνεται (23), ἀνοίγει (28), εὐλογεῖται (30). Although many translators recognize the aorists in this pericope as gnomic, or at least translate them as presents throughout (so Brenton, Giguet, SD, Moro, BG, and King), others alternate between past and present tenses (so VL, CP, BAP, NETS, and Fox). Oddly, Thomson translates all the verbs, whether aorist or present, as past tenses. 31:141. ἐγένετο ὡσεὶ ναῦς ἐμπορευομένη μακρόθεν, “she is like a ship bringing merchandise from afar.” The verb ἐμπορεύομαι is to be understood in its commercial sense (compare its use in 3:14, as well as cognates like ἐμπορία, ἐμπόριον, and ἔμπορος), not as meaning simply “arrive” (so Giguet), “sail” (NETS), “come” (BG), or “travel” (King). Note also that the Hebrew speaks explicitly of “merchant ships” (‫)אניות סחר‬.

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commentary

It is clear from the position of δέ in the next colon, as well as from the colometric layout of B, that μακρόθεν is to be understood as coming at the end of the first colon of this verse, not at the beginning of the second. Rahlfs underscores this by putting a comma after μακρόθεν. Nevertheless a number of translations, taking their cue from the Hebrew, mistakenly construe μακρόθεν with the following colon. So for example Thomson: “she was like a merchant ship, which bringeth riches [reading πλοῦτον for βίον] from afar” (similarly VL and CP). 31:142–151. συνάγει δὲ αὐτὴ τὸν βίον καὶ ἀνίσταται ἐκ νυκτῶν, “and she herself gathers her livelihood, and gets up at night.” The scribal layout of B has both clauses written as a single colon, contrary to the standard verse-division of modern Bibles. The first-hand text of B has the reading αυτη, without breathing or accent, and it is an open question whether this should be interpreted as αὕτη, “this one, she” (so a later hand in B, the editions of Swete and Rahlfs, and most translations), or as αὐτή, “she herself” (so BAP, BG), or even as αὑτῇ, “for herself” (so possibly VL, although its sibi may reflect the variant reading ἑαυτῇ). Note that there is an inconsistency in BAP between the translation of this verse (which has “elle-même”) and the accompanying note (which has haútē). An additional ambiguity is that the pronoun αυτη could refer to either the Valiant Woman or the merchant ship to which she is being compared. I have chosen the reading αὐτή, and take it to refer to the woman, not the ship. The point of this colon is then that the mistress of the household herself gathers the necessary “means of living” or “livelihood” for her household (on this meaning of βίος see LSJ s.v. II), and she herself gets up before dawn. She does not delegate these activities to servants. 31:172. ἤρεισεν τοὺς βραχίονας αὐτῆς εἰς ἔργον, “she applies her arms to the work.” A favorite verb of the Proverbs translator is ἐρείδω, and he uses it in a wide range of senses. See also 3:26, 4:4, 5:5, 9:12a, 11:16, 29:23 (not in B), 30:28, and 31:19. The only other place it occurs in the LXX is Gen 49:6. Here and in 31:19 its direct object is parts of the body (arms and hands), and it is construed with the preposition εἰς. In these two places it seems to refer to the Valiant Woman “firmly bringing to bear,” that is, applying, her arms and hands to the task before her. This translation is to be preferred to the rendering “strengthen” (so VL, CP, Thomson, Brenton, NETS, SD, Moro, Fox, and GELS s.v.), which seems to be based more on the Hebrew (‫ )תאמץ‬than on the Greek. Compare MGELS s.v. ἐρείδω 2: “(set) her arms to work (with determination).”

commentary

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31:181. καὶ ἐγεύσατο. Rahlfs has ἐγεύσατο, without καὶ. 31:182. ὁ λύχνος αὐτῆς ὅλην τὴν νύκτα. Rahlfs has ὅλην τὴν νύκτα ὁ λύχνος αὐτῆς. 31:192. τὰς δὲ χεῖρας αὐτῆς ἐρείδει εἰς ἄτρακτον, “and applies her hands to the spindle.” For the translation of ἐρείδει here as “applies” (so Brenton), see note on 31:17. Most other translations again have “strengthens,” following the Hebrew (so VL, CP, NETS, SD), but others offer a wide range of alternative renderings, for example “supports” (Moro, BG), “keepeth at” (Thomson), “ne quitte pas” (Giguet), and “arrime (à)” (BAP). I find the last translation especially puzzling, since “arrimer” in French normally means “to stow (cargo).” 31:202. καρπὸν δὲ ἐξέτεινεν πτωχῷ, “and stretches out a hand to the poor.” In Greek there are two distinct lexemes spelled καρπός, distinguished in LSJ as “καρπός (A),” meaning “fruit,” and “καρπός (B),” meaning “wrist” or “hand.” The first lexeme is the more common one, occurring in the LXX some 150 times. Fourteen of these occur in Proverbs, including two in the concluding Song of the Valiant Woman (31:16, 31). The second lexeme occurs only three times in the LXX, namely 1Kgdms 5:4 and Ps 127[128]:2, where it translates ‫כף‬, and the present verse, where it translates ‫יד‬. Because of the Hebrew Vorlage there is a broad lexicographical consensus that καρπόν here means “hand” (see the relevant entry in SV, GELS, MGELS, and GE). Nevertheless, almost all translations render it here as “fruit.” The only exceptions are Thomson, who has “handful,” and Moro, who has “palmo.” Perhaps the reasoning behind the common translation “fruit” in this verse is that, whatever the translator may have intended, καρπόν was bound to be read as “fruit,” given the fact that this is by far the more common meaning, and in fact occurs twice in the immediate context. Besides, it does make a kind of sense to say that the Valiant Woman would extend “fruit” to the poor, if this is understood to mean the “fruit of her hands” (vss 16 and 31), that is, the textile products which she makes. Nevertheless, I would argue that there are clues in the Greek text which alert the discerning reader of the LXX to the fact that καρπόν here means “hand,” not “fruit.” The first clue is the parallelism with the preceding three cola, each of which speaks of stretching out arms or hands. A second clue is the very common association in the LXX of the verb ἐκτείνω with words for “hand.” The verb is found some 125 times in the LXX, and in approximately 70% of the cases it is construed with a word for “hand” (usually χείρ). Furthermore, a well-versed reader of the LXX would be familiar with the less ambiguous examples of καρπός meaning “wrist” or “hand” in 1 Kgdms 5:4 and Ps 127[128]:2. Finally, such a reader would have been familiar with Sir 7:32

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πτωχῷ ἔκτεινον τὴν χεῖρά σου, “extend your hand to the poor,” which reads like a direct allusion to this verse, with χεῖρα substituting for καρπόν. Accordingly, I translate καρπόν here as “hand,” not “fruit.” 31:211. ὅταν που χρονίζῃ, “when he is delayed somewhere.” Moro translates “qualora nevichi” (“when it snows”) reflecting the conjectural emendation χιονίζῃ, first suggested by Cotelerius (1698:207 n. 24) and adopted in the edition of Grabe (1709: Prolegomena, Cap. IV, §3 ad finem; see also the marginal note ad locum). The manuscript reading χρονίζῃ, however, suggests that the husband is the subject, and that he is staying a long time somewhere before returning home. See MGELS s.v. 2: “to fail to arrive for a long time.” 31:212. πάντες γὰρ οἱ παρ’ αὐτῆς ἐνδιδύσκονται, “for all her people are being clothed.” The expression πάντες οἱ παρ’ αὐτῆς does not just mean “all who are with her,” as many translations have it (for example Giguet, BAP, SD, BG, Fox). The idiom οἱ παρά τινος in classical Greek would mean “someone’s envoys” (see LSJ s.v. παρά A,II,1), but in the Koine it was also used “to denote others who are intimately connected with someone, e.g. family, relatives” (BDAG s.v. παρά A,3,b, β, ‫)ב‬. It is the latter meaning that applies here. So correctly King: “all her people.” Note that the idiomatic phrase is here used to render Hebrew ‫ביתה‬, “her household.” Compare the phrase οἱ παρ’ αὐτοῦ in Mk 3:21 and the comment on it in BDF §237 (2). The verb in this sentence is often translated “are (have been) clothed,” suggesting the state of being clothed (so VL, CP, Thomson, Brenton, Moro, BG, Fox, King), but this rendering more properly reflects the variant reading ἐνδεδυμένοι εἰσί (not recorded in Rahlfs’s apparatus, but printed in the Greek text accompanying Brenton’s translation) than the reading ἐνδιδύσκονται found in B and Rahlfs. The latter reading refers to the process rather than the state of being clothed. So correctly NETS (“are being clothed”) and SD (“werden bekleidet”). 31:221. δισσὰς χλαίνας ἐποίησεν τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς, “she makes two cloaks for her husband.” It should be noted that δισσός, when modifying a plural noun, means “two,” not “double.” See Prov 20:10, as well as LSJ s.v. II, MGELS s.v. 1,b (citing this verse), and Wolters 2001:67, 69–71. Of the existing translations, only BG gets it right. As a result, we have translations like that of NETS, which has “she duplicated coats,” and that of Fox, who speaks of “a two-ply mantle.” These are based on the Hebrew (as commonly understood) rather than on the Greek. Note that the corresponding Hebrew is ‫שׁנים‬, which the LXX translator evidently vocalized as ‫ְשׁ ַנ ִים‬, “two,” although the Masoretes later vocalized it as ‫ָשׁ ִנים‬,

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“scarlet.” It should also be pointed out that the translator, not noticing that the alphabetic acrostic pattern of the Hebrew poem required the mem-initial ‫ מרבדים‬to begin verse 22, took ‫ שׁנים‬to begin it instead, and thus mistakenly construed it with ‫מרבדים‬. 31:232. μετὰ τῶν γερόντων κατοίκων τῆς γῆς, “with the resident elders of the land.” A marginal note in B, written in another hand, reads as follows: μετὰ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων τῆς γῆς, thus replacing the two words γερόντων κατοίκων with the single word πρεσβυτέρων, which more closely matches the Hebrew. 31:241–2. καὶ ἀπέδοτο / περιζώματα τοῖς Χαναναίοις, “and sells / loincloths to the Canaanites.” Rahlfs has περιζώματα δὲ τοῖς Χαναναίοις. The absence of δέ in B has the effect of making ἀπέδοτο in the previous colon the beginning of a new sentence, with περιζώματα as its object. So Thomson, Brenton, and Giguet. All existing translations render περιζώματα here as “girdles” or “belts.” However, a περίζωμα is more precisely a garment worn around the waist to cover the genitals, usually a loincloth or apron. Other places where it occurs in the LXX are Gen 3:7 (the garment which Adam and Eve fashioned from fig leaves to cover their nakedness), Ruth 3:15 (Ruth’s apron which held six measures of barley), and Jer 13:1ff. (the linen loincloth which the prophet was commanded to bury). The “girdle/belt” interpretation is also corrected in LSG s.v., MGELS s.v., Lee 1983:95, and SRE. On the perizoma in general see Hirschmann 2007. 31:25–26. It should be pointed out that these two verses in the LXX occur in the reverse order to that found in the MT. They reflect a Hebrew text in which the alphabetic acrostic pattern follows an alphabetic order in which ‫ פ‬precedes ‫ע‬, rather than the other way around. This order of the alphabet is also attested elsewhere, for example in Lamentations 2–4. On this question see Demsky and Kochavi 1978. 31:252. καὶ τάξιν ἐστείλατο τῇ γλώσσῃ αὐτῆς, “and establishes order with her tongue.” The verb στέλλω has a bewildering range of meanings, and it is not clear in what sense it is used here. In the LXX it occurs seven times (always in the middle), but each time with a different sense. Thus in NETS it is translated “obtain” (friendship with God) (Wis 7:14), “prepare for” (a voyage) (Wis 14:1), “avoid” (the presence of God’s name) (Mal 2:5), “make” (an invasion into Egypt) (2Mac 5:1), “dress” (for one’s wedding) (3Mac 1:19) and “go abroad” (into the country) (3Mac 4:11). As for the present verse, ἐστείλατο (together with τάξιν) is translated in NETS as “reined in” (her tongue). On the semantic range of the verb, see the relevant entries in LSJ and GE, as well as BDAG and TWNT 7.588– 589.

272

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Jaeger addressed the difficulty in 1788, suggesting that ἐστείλατο should here be understood in the light of ἐνεδύσατο in the next verse, and thus be interpreted to mean “was clothed (in)” (1788:227). Jaeger is quoted with apparent approval by Schleusner, Novus Thesaurus, s.v. στέλλω. De Lagarde in 1863 pointed out that Clement of Alexandria, when quoting this verse, substitutes ἔθετο for ἐστείλατο (1863:92), which seems to indicate that Greek-speaking church fathers were also puzzled by ἐστείλατο in the present context. Most existing translations of the verse assume that the verb here means something like “impose” (order on the tongue), and thus to “control” or “rein in” the tongue. This is the interpretation reflected in VL, Thomson, Brenton, Giguet, BAP, NETS, SD, BG, and King, as well as in GELS s.v. στέλλω. Despite its popularity, I have not been able to find lexicographical support for it. MGELS, on the other hand, has the following cryptic entry under στέλλομαι B,b: “to create a condition to one’s advantage and conducive to: + acc. rei, πρὸς θεὸν φιλίαν ‘friendship with God’ Wi 7.14, τάξιν … τῇ γλώσσῃ αὐτῆς ‘orderliness … to her own tongue’ Pr 31.15.” If I understand this correctly, the meaning of the present colon would accordingly be “she created to her own advantage an orderliness conducive to her own tongue.” In the absence of supporting evidence, this strikes me as quite implausible. In coming to my own (necessarily tentative) interpretation of this enigmatic sentence I have been guided by two considerations: first that the primary meaning of στέλλω is “stellen, stehen lassen,” that is, “place, cause to stand” (see TWNT 7.588), and second that τῇ γλώσσῃ αὐτῆς is most likely a dative of instrument. On this second point I am taking my cue from the translation of Moro, who has “ha dato un ordine con la sua lingua” (my emphasis). The point is therefore that the Valiant Woman is here said to “cause order to stand” by means of her tongue. In other words, she establishes or maintains order with the words she speaks. This interpretation is consistent with Clement’s paraphrase, and also with the overall depiction of the Valiant Woman as an effective manager of a large estate. 31:271. στεγναὶ διατριβαὶ οἴκων αὐτῆς, “the activities of her household are covered.” The plural οἴκων is best understood as equivalent to the singular (see note on 5:8), and taken to refer to the Valiant Woman’s house or household; compare οἶκος in verses 15 and 21. The singular interpretation is supported by the underlying Hebrew (‫)ביתה‬. Some translations understand the διατριβαί of this household to be physical features of one kind or another, for example “semitae” (CP), “gates” (Thomson), “séjours” (BAP), or “Aufenthalte” (SD), but others take them to refer to activities that go on in the household, variously translated “conversationes” (VL), “habitudes” (Giguet), or “ocupaciones” (BG). Among these we

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could also classify the translations “passing of time” (Gerleman 1956:61), and “ways” (so Brenton, Moro, Fox, King), although the latter seems to reflect the Hebrew ‫ הליכות‬more than the Greek. Although διατριβή does on occasion refer to a physical “place of resort” (see note on 12:11a), it is much more probable that it here refers to the activities that go on in the Valiant Woman’s household, since these activities constitute the predominant theme of the concluding poem as a whole. Depending on how διατριβαί is understood, the adjective στεγναί will also be interpreted differently. Thus we find the following note in MGELS, s.v.: “impeccable, difficult to pick holes in (?) s διατριβαὶ οἴκων αὐτῆς ‘the ways her household is managed’ or poss. lit. ‘the buildings on her estate are waterproof (against leakage).’” Since the interpretation of διατριβαί as physical “buildings” is unlikely, στεγναί (literally “watertight” or “covered”) is to be taken in a metaphorical sense. In addition to Muraoka’s just-cited tentative translations, other proposed renderings of the adjective here have been “severae” (VL), “careful” (Thomson, NETS, King; GELS s.v.), “réglées” (Giguet), “bien couverts” (BAP), “impenetrabili” (Moro), “discretas” (BG), “guarded” (GE s.v.), and “meticulous” (SRE). To the best of my knowledge none of these meanings are attested for στεγνός elsewhere. (The translation “angustae” in CP appears to reflect the reading στεναί.) I have judged it prudent to stay with the well-attested rendering “covered,” without specifying its metaphorical meaning. Perhaps it is to be understood with GE in the sense of “protected” or “guarded,” highlighting the role of the Valiant Woman as guardian of her household. 31:281. τὸ στόμα δὲ ἀνοίγει σοφοῖς νομοθέσμως, “and she opens her mouth to the wise in a law-abiding way.” Rahlfs has τὸ στόμα δὲ ἀνοίγει σοφῶς καὶ νομοθέσμως, “and she opens her mouth wisely and in a law-abiding way.” 31:292. πολλαὶ ἐποίησαν δυνατά, “many do mighty deeds.” A later hand in B corrected δυνατά to δύναμιν, reflecting the Hebrew ‫חיל‬. 31:311. δότε αὐτῇ ἀπὸ καρπῶν χειλέων αὐτῆς, “give her of the fruit of her lips.” For the partitive use of ἀπό see C&S §92a and MGELS s.v. 3,b. It is not immediately clear what could be meant by this concluding exhortation to a plural audience that they should give her of the fruit of her lips. Does it mean that something of her own words should be directed back to her herself? Instead of the B reading χειλέων, Rahlfs has χειρῶν, which matches the Hebrew, and makes better sense in the context. After 31:31. Παροιμίαι. In B the book’s title is repeated at its conclusion (not recorded in Rahlfs).

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Tov, Emanuel. “The Impact of the LXX Translation of the Pentateuch on the Translation of the Other Books,” in Pierre Casetti, Othmar Keel, and Adrian Schenker, eds., Mélanges Dominique Barthélemy. Études Bibliques Offertes à l’Occasion de Son 60e Anniversaire. Fribourg Suisse: Éditions Universitaires / Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1981, 577–592. de Waard, Jan. “Metathesis as a Translation Technique?” in Justa Holz-Mänttäri and Christiane Nord, eds., Traducere Navem. Festschrift für Katharina Reiß. Studia Translatologica A,3; Tampere: Tampereen Yliopisto, 1993, 249–260. de Waard, Jan. “The Septuagint of Proverbs as a Translational Model?” The Bible Translator 50 (1999), 304–314. de Waard, Jan. “Some Unusual Translation Techniques Employed by the Greek Translator(s) of Proverbs,” in Raija Sollamo and Seppo Sipilä, eds., Helsinki Perspectives on the Translation Technique of the Septuagint. Proceedings of the IOSCS Congress in Helsinki 1991. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht / Helsinki: The Finnish Exegetical Society, 2001, 185–193. de Waard, Jan. “The Exit of the Nagging Wife in Proverbs 21.9 LXX,” The Bible Translator 55 (2004), 360–364. de Waard, Jan. “Indices phonétiques hébreux dans et derrière le grec de la Septante de Proverbes,” in Jan Joosten and Philippe L. Moigne, eds., L’apport de la Septante aux études sur l’antiquité. Actes du colloque de Strasbourg 8-9 novembre 2002. Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 2005, 105–117. de Waard, Jan. “Lexical Ignorance and the Ancient Versions of Proverbs,” in Yohanan A.P. Goldman, Arie van der Kooij, and Richard D. Weis, eds., Sôfer Mahîr. Essays in Honour of Adrian Schenker Offered by Editors of Biblia Hebraica Quinta. SVT 110; Leiden: Brill, 2006, 261–268. de Waard, Jan. “Difference in Vorlage or Lexical Ignorance? A Dilemma in the Old Greek of Proverbs,” JSJ 38 (2007), 1–8. Walcot, Peter. Envy and the Greeks. A Study of Human Behavior. Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 1978. Waltke, Bruce K. The Book of Proverbs. Chapters 1–15. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004. Waltke, Bruce K. The Book of Proverbs. Chapters 16–31. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005. Winston, David. The Wisdom of Solomon. A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. AB. New York: Doubleday, 1979. Wolters, Al. The Song of the Valiant Woman. Studies in the Interpretation of Proverbs 31:10–31. London: Paternoster, 2001. Wolters, Al. Zechariah. Leuven: Peeters, 2014.

Index of Authors Note: an asterisk marks the names of very frequently cited translators and editors, for whom only a selection of especially significant page references are given. Allen, H.H. 253 Bady, G. 132, 204, 225 Barker, E.J.W. 267 Bataillon, M. 6 Bathaie, S.Z. 162 Bauernfeind, O. 128 Baumgartner, A.J. 5 Bertram, G. 5, 170 Blümner, H. 267 *Brenton, L.C.L. 6, 189, 246, 251, 252, 253, 270 Brookins, T. 130 Cañas Reíllo, J.M. 7 Carmignac, J. 222 Chadwick, J. 211 Conybeare, F.C. 8, 204 Cook, J. 5, 7, 126, 130, 132, 133, 150, 153, 154, 167, 168, 171, 173, 177, 209, 247 Cotelerius, J.B. 270 Delling, G. 226 Demski, A. 271 Díaz-Caro, M.V.S. 7 Di Lella, A.A. 250 Dick, M.B. 5, 12, 126, 142, 169, 171, 178, 195, 227, 238 Estienne, H. 136 Eynikel, E. 8 Fanfani, G. 127 Fanning, B.M. 130 Fernández Marcos, N. 7 Field, F. 183 Foerster, W. 150 *Fox, M.V. 5, 7, 126, 143, 146, 150, 154, 158, 161, 164, 171, 173, 185, 193, 202, 206, 209, 211, 222, 223, 226, 248, 249, 258, 268, 270

Gammie, J.G. 5 Gerleman, G. 5, 126, 140, 144, 145, 150, 163, 169, 170, 172, 173, 187, 193, 197, 207, 208, 272 Gesenius, W. 238 Giese, R.R. 5 *Giguet, P. 61, 171, 201, 231, 244, 246, 251–252 Glare, P.G.W. 8 Grabe, J.E. 148, 213, 270 Greenough, J.B. 253 Grundmann, W. 137 *d’ Hamonville, D.M. 1, 7, 132, 139, 147, 196, 206, 217, 238, 240, 243, 249 Hanhart, R. 4 Harlow, M. 127 Hatch, E. 229, 247 Hauck, F. 220 Hauspie, K. 8 Hengel, M. 167 Hirschmann, R. 271 Horrocks, G. 236 Jaeger, J.G. 5, 8, 154, 176, 177, 190, 272 Jüngling, H.-W. 1, 7, 8, 150 Kalvesmali, J. 8 Karrer, M. 7, 8 Kindstrand, J.F. 227 *King, N. 7, 184, 187, 198, 200, 237, 241, 264, 267, 270 Kochavi, M. 271 Kraus, W. 7, 8 Kruse, T. 174 de Lagarde, P. 5, 8, 144, 190, 193, 272 Lanier, G.R. 9 Larcher, C. 126 Lee, J.A.L. 128, 164, 168, 172, 207, 225, 246, 249, 256, 261, 271 Lemmelijn, B. 5 Lewy, H. 171 von Lips, H. 7, 8

282 van der Louw, T.A.W. 5, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 155, 156 Lust, J. 8 Majno, G. 248 Marcone, M.F. 162 Martone, C. 7 Melnyk, J. 162 Mezzacasa, G. 5, 132 Montanari, F. 9 *Moro, C. 7, 186, 190, 194, 205, 209, 211, 225, 230, 240, 269, 270, 272 Mosavi, S.Z. 162 Muraoka, T. 8, 9, 10, 129, 137, 138, 139, 142, 146, 147, 153, 158, 159, 166, 170, 178, 186, 190, 191, 199, 207, 208, 211, 214, 219, 221, 222, 223, 238, 243, 249 Neirynck, F. 157 Nestle, E. 197 Nosch, M.-L. 127 O’Connell, S. 6 O’Connor, M. 250 Parker, V. 167 Pells, S.F. 6 Pietersma, A. 7 Pompella, G. 127 Porter, S. 130 *Rahlfs, A. 3, 4, 7, 132, 134, 137, 148, 152, 153, 158, 165, 166, 167, 168, 174, 182, 189, 192, 194, 204, 206, 209, 211, 213, 218, 220, 227, 228, 229, 232, 233, 238, 247, 251, 258, 268

index of authors Ransom, C.L. 160, 161 Redpath, H.A. 229, 247 Rehkopf, F. 8, 211 Renehan, R. 140 Richter, G.M.A. 160, 162 Ross, W.A. 9 Rüterswörden, U. 264 Sabatier, P. 6, 132, 169 Sáenz-Badillos, A. 6 Schleusner, J.F. 8, 126, 245, 247, 272 Schrenk, G. 206 Scoralick, R. 7, 8 Skehan, P. 250 Slifkin, N. 238 Stock, S.G. 8, 204 Stumpff, A. 138 *Swete, H.B. 2, 4, 132, 147, 148, 153, 161, 167, 168, 179, 182, 189, 194, 204, 206, 211, 213, 218, 220, 227, 229, 231, 232, 233, 259, 265 Tauberschmidt, G. 5 *Thomson, C. 6, 132, 220, 247, 267, 269 Tov, E. 238 de Vergara, J. 6 de Waard, J. 5, 145, 171, 183, 192, 193, 203, 218, 224 Walcot, P. 227 Waltke, B. 226 Winston, D. 126 Wolters, A. 266, 270 Wright, B.G. 7 Wycherly, R.E. 140

Index of References to Ancient Literature Septuagint NB: Unless otherwise indicated, the numbering of the chapters and verses is that of the LXX, which may be different from that of the MT and English Bibles. The sequence of books is that of Rahlfs’s edition. Genesis 3:7 19:15 24:13 37:7 38:23 41:6–7 41:23–27 49:6

271 193 213 188 263 178 178 268

Exodus 2:16–19 4:19 21:10 22:27 23:10

213 263 145 235 186

Leviticus 11:5–6 13:46 23:42 25:3 25:20

238, 239 190 207 186 186

Numbers 16:14 24:22

237 128

Deuteronomy 1:44 14:7 18:10 25:19 28:6 28:54 28:56 32:41

149 238, 239 199 168 226 226 226 256

Joshua 9:4 22:24

155 260

Judges 16:21 [B]

237

Ruth 1:5 2:15–16 3:15

215 188 271

1 Kingdoms 1:16 5:4 6:4 25:25

212 269 157 164

2 Kingdoms 23:20 13:33

146 164

3 Kingdoms 2:35a

157

4 Kingdoms 17:17

199

Judith 13:15

230

2 Maccabees 5:1

271

3 Maccabees 1:19 4:11 6:30

271 271 190

284

index of references to ancient literature

4Maccabees 1:26 2:15 5:30 6:20

226 226 237 263

Psalms 1:1 11:6 36:3 39:15 46:14 53:5 61:11 62:10 69:3 73:11 85:14 86:10 (MT) 103:18 110:10 117:12 127:2 128:7

212 181 166 263 164 263 164 263 263 155 263 187 238, 239 128, 221 149 269 155, 188

Proverbs 1:1–7 1:1–4 1:1 1:3 1:4 1:7 1:9 1:16 1:19 1:20–33 1:20 1:21 1:22

1:24 1:26 1:28 1:31 1:32 2:3

125 124, 125 4 11, 125, 126 10, 255 221 140, 154, 188 3 169, 170, 173, 193, 196, 200, 250 126 9, 11, 164 163 138, 147, 151, 159, 166, 175, 183, 194, 195, 198, 203, 207, 217, 220, 221, 234, 239, 251, 255, 262, 265, 266, 267 182 263 191 128 9 4

2:4 2:6 2:7 2:8 2:9 2:16 2:17 2:18 2:19 2:21 3:3 3:5 3:6 3:9 3:10 3:12 3:14 3:15 3:16a 3:18 3:19 3:20 3:21 3:22 3:22a 3:23 3:24 3:26 3:28 3:29 3:31 3:33 3:35 4:1 4:4 4:6 4:7 4:8–9 4:8 4:9 4:14 4:18 4:20 4:21 4:22 4:25 4:27a–b 5:3–23

170 10, 205, 207, 220 12, 140, 144, 185, 199, 201, 256, 265 3 11, 173 10, 147 133 9, 132, 218 12 3, 166 156 148 183, 197 150 216 241 10, 267 10, 12, 133, 166, 207, 214 3 4 170, 199 137 9, 10 143 3 134 175 268 262 10, 254 138, 140, 149, 227, 230, 233 187 130 10 268 124, 125, 141, 154, 155 3, 139 139 124, 125 11 9, 138, 149 140 141 144 139, 154 152, 155, 190, 201 3 126

285

index of references to ancient literature 5:3 5:4 5:5 5:8 5:10 5:11 5:13 5:15 5:16 5:17 5:19 5:20 5:22 5:23 6:1 6:3 6:6 6:7 6:8 6:8a–c 6:8a 6:8b 6:8c 6:9 6:11 6:11a 6:13 6:14 6:17–18 6:18 6:19 6:21 6:22 6:24 6:25 6:25–35 6:26 6:27 6:29 6:31 6:34 7:1a 7:3 7:4–27 7:4 7:5 7:7 7:8 7:9

9, 11, 131, 200, 263 253 178, 246, 268 10, 158, 189, 207, 272 143, 147 211 131, 241 167 143 131, 132, 147 10, 162, 188, 207 9, 10, 11 128, 228 128, 130 149, 204 4, 10, 256 10, 132, 138, 148, 205 3, 262 150, 152, 246, 264 3 149, 164, 198 134 130 205, 230 10, 11 3 141, 179 4, 138 4 138 10, 195, 196, 208, 251 11 139, 141 11, 147 141 126 9, 11 10, 202, 204 199 144 11, 253 3 9, 10, 224 126 11 10, 147 158, 180 143, 163 3, 10

7:10–12 7:10 7:11 7:13 7:15 7:16 7:17 7:18 7:21 7:21–22 7:22–23 7:22 7:27 8:2–36 8:2 8:3 8:4 8:5 8:6 8:7 8:9 8:10 8:11 8:12 8:13–21 8:16 8:19 8:21a 8:22–31 8:22–24 8:22 8:24 8:25 8:26 8:27 8:28 8:29 8:31 8:33 8:34 8:35 8:36 9:1–6 9:2 9:3 9:4 9:5 9:7 9:9

159 191 9, 10, 182, 259 130, 162 148 10 4 10, 207 9, 10, 145, 159 130 159 159 135, 158 126 130 129, 249 132 10, 12, 128 150, 191 9, 10, 182, 198, 213, 230 9 4 166 4, 10, 11, 130 166 261 2, 4 3 167 168 11 143 167 4, 10 128 168 143 10, 168 3 191 9, 10 128 126 128 10, 11, 128 180 170 241 10, 12, 197

286 Proverbs (cont.) 9:10 9:10a 9:12 9:12a–c 9:12a 9:12b 9:12c 9:14 9:15 9:16 9:17 9:18 9:18a–d 9:18b 10:4 10:4a 10:5 10:6 10:8 10:9 10:10 10:11 10:12 10:13 10:17 10:20 10:24 10:25 10:29 10:30 10:32 11:1 11:2 11:3 11:4 11:5 11:9 11:10 11:10–11 11:11 11:12 11:13 11:16 11:21 11:22 11:23 11:24 11:25

index of references to ancient literature

221 3 9, 10 3 185, 268 128, 129, 132 10, 186, 257 128, 130 3 180 10 10, 11, 147, 191 3 177 9, 184, 192, 207, 258, 266 3, 142 11, 149 11, 179 204, 255 10, 195 152 178, 179 207, 264 3, 9, 10, 203 11 234, 257 9, 181 188, 262 11, 216 2, 4 9 181 165, 213 10 3, 144 10, 262 10 4, 140, 183 130 183 183 10, 11, 253 9, 10, 177, 205, 268 131, 132, 199 10, 200, 210 187 9, 10, 174 10, 11, 253

11:26 11:27 11:29 12:4 12:7 12:8 12:9 12:10 12:11 12:11a 12:13a 12:15 12:16 12:17 12:19 12:20 12:22 12:23 12:26 12:36 13:1 13:3 13:4 13:6 13:9a 13:10 13:11 13:12 13:13a 13:15 13:16 13:21 13:24 13:25 14:1 14:2 14:3 14:3–13 14:5 14:8 14:9 14:10 14:11 14:14 14:15 14:18 14:19 14:22 14:22a

10 131, 132, 138 145 10, 196, 202 10, 143 11 10 257 128 3, 10, 128, 229, 255, 273 3, 10, 141, 191 11 128 10 9 131, 138 181 191 129, 131, 193 128 128 128 177 3 3, 197, 220, 259 129, 192 9, 10, 214 11, 131, 132 3 131 10, 128, 130 131 195 9, 195 130 195, 204 210, 255 12 153 128 181 197, 204, 254 140, 188 128 128 128 207 131, 132, 138 12

index of references to ancient literature 14:24 14:25 14:31 14:32 14:34 14:35 15:1 15:5 15:8 15:9 15:13 15:18 15:18a 15:19 15:22 15:25 15:26 15:27a 15:28 15:28a 15:29a–b 15:31 16:1 16:3–4 16:5 16:6 16:7 16:13 16:14 16:17 16:18 16:20 16:21 16:27 16:28 16:29 16:30 16:31 16:32 16:33 17:5 17:6 17:6a 17:9 17:10 17:12 17:13 17:14 17:16

128, 188 153 10, 148, 193, 222, 258, 261 128 186 128, 181 196, 253 128 181 131 262 253 3, 153 177 11, 131 130 150 3 165, 213, 230 3, 181 3 3 3 3 131, 132, 156, 185 3 3, 181 181 253 128 185 131, 132 142, 263 128 254 9, 182 10, 131, 132, 141, 202, 256 188 131 155 131, 199 188 3 202 202 201 9, 10 11 9, 130, 180

17:16a 17:18 17:20 17:21 17:22 17:23 17:24 17:28 18:5 18:8 18:14 18:17 18:18 18:22 18:22a 19:1–2 19:6 19:7 19:9 19:12 19:14 19:15 19:16 19:18 19:19 19:20 19:21 19:25 19:27 19:28 19:29 20:2 20:3 20:4 20:9a–c 20:9a 20:9b 20:10 20:11 20:12 20:14–22 20:18 20:20–22 20:21 20:24 20:30 21:1 21:5

287 3, 11, 128 128 191 170 195 131, 155, 202 169 231 131, 224, 235, 256, 261, 262, 266 10, 209, 254 253 11 10 130 3 3 10, 131, 196, 266 10, 11 153, 186 10 10 11, 205 128 10, 241, 255 10, 11 177 4 128, 211, 231, 262 165 204 11 128, 148, 253 11, 213 149 3, 216 131 193 215, 216, 270 3, 10 215 3 135 3, 216 135, 187, 191 217 216, 221 130 3

288 Proverbs (cont.) 21:6 21:9 21:11 21:13 21:14 21:15 21:18 21:19 21:22 21:24 21:26 21:29 22:2 22:3 22:4 22:5 22:6 22:8 22:8a 22:9 22:9a 22:10 22:11 22:13 22:14a 22:16 22:17 22:19 22:20 22:23 22:24 22:26 23:1 23:2 23:3 23:5 23:6 23:11 23:13 23:17 23:21 23:23 23:24 23:25 23:27 23:29 23:30 23:31

index of references to ancient literature

10 4, 220 128 191 9, 10, 253 216 9 4, 218 130 212, 231 193 10, 11, 131 130, 191 128, 130 11 128 3 10, 142, 222 3 128 3 212 181 251 3 128, 197 234 197, 218 157 9 253 131, 235, 261, 266 9, 10, 11, 234, 237, 257 3 140 3 9, 10, 261 224 241 3, 4, 138 9, 11 3 151, 170 170 147 4, 10, 153 190 190, 229

23:33 24:1 24:2 24:4 24:8 24:9 24:11 24:14 24:15 24:18 24:19 24:22a–e 24:22a 24:22d 24:24 24:25 24:28 24:33 24:34 25:3 25:5 25:6 25:7 25:8 25:10 25:10a 25:13 25:17 25:20 25:20a 25:23 26:1 26:2 26:3 26:6 26:7 26:10 26:11 26:11a 26:12 26:13–16 26:14 26:17 26:18–19 26:18 26:19 26:20 26:22 26:23

147 138 165, 198, 213 135 191 11, 212 11, 131, 232 4, 11 2, 3, 4 253 138 3 3, 225, 257 253 10, 252 11 10 151 9 181 140 11 11 211 11 3, 10, 11 3, 142, 149 128 11 3 208 149, 258 258 258 3, 128, 149 234, 255 9, 12 128, 258 3 130 205 258 147, 258 258 10, 11, 236 128 10, 11, 183, 254 9, 10, 135 9, 196

289

index of references to ancient literature 26:24 26:26 26:27 26:28 27:2 27:4 27:5 27:8 27:9 27:12 27:13 27:17 27:18 27:19 27:20a 27:21 27:21a 27:23 27:25 27:26 28:1 28:2 28:3 28:4 28:5 28:7 28:8 28:9 28:13 28:14 28:15 28:16 28:17a 28:19 28:20 28:21 28:22 29 29:1 29:2 29:3 29:5 29:7 29:8 29:9 29:10 29:11 29:12 29:13

138 128 138 179 147 253 207 258 190 128, 130, 262 3, 4, 11, 147, 249 10, 131, 148 128 258 3, 131, 132, 141, 201 131 3 3, 190, 225 174 3 262 11, 128, 153 11, 197 4 262 10, 159, 262 193 191 128 9, 10, 263 167 197 3, 264 128 187 131, 224 226 261 265 262 262 128, 131 259 130, 153, 212 9, 10, 11, 142, 200, 260 216 253 262 149, 262

29:14 29:15 29:16 29:17 29:18 29:22 29:23 29:24 29:25 29:26 30:4 30:5 30:10 30:12 31:13 31:14 30:15 30:23 30:26 30:27 30:28 30:30 30:33 31:1 31:2 31:3 31:4 31:10 31:12 31:13 31:14 31:15 31:16 31:17 31:18 31:19 31:20 31:21 31:22 31:23 31:24 31:25 31:26 31:27 31:28 31:29 31:30 31:31

262 222 262 261 9, 11 130, 253 2, 268 10, 128, 131, 132, 262 130, 266 131, 196, 205, 207, 224 128, 169 181 188 10, 130 130 11 3, 225, 272 128 4, 9, 11, 128, 130 11 185, 268 260 9, 10, 153 11 128 11 253 10, 177, 188, 267 267 10 9, 267 3, 267, 272 267, 269 267, 269 267 9, 267, 268 11, 187, 267 4, 267, 272 9, 214, 266, 267 4, 267 3, 267 10, 11, 267 267 9, 10, 143, 205, 267 267 267 267 269

290 Canticles 1:13 2:9 6:5

index of references to ancient literature

155 157 159

Job 1:15 2:2 2:11 9:6 9:23 18:4 19:26 31:1 34:13 38–41 38:18 38:24 41:3 42:15 42:17e

181 168 167 168 263 168 171 141 168 265 168 168 168 168 167

Wisdom 4:12 6:14 6:21 7:14 8:8 14:1

226 130 171 271, 272 126 271

Sirach 4:20–28 4:21 7:32 14:6 14:8 19:23 25:1 32:18 32:22 34:1

250 250 269 226 226 128 145 260 224 159

Micah 3:7 7:1

263 186

Joel 2:24 3:13

144 144

Obadiah 5

188

Habakkuk 1:5 1:10

188 167

Malachi 2:5

271

Isaiah 1:22 7:18 8:21 12:3 14:4 17:5 28:27 33:11 51:17 53:3 54:2 58:1 62:9

243 149 235 213 193 186 217 233 171 231 232 232 186

Jeremiah 13:1 14:4 17:1 (MT) 30:28 32:15 32:17 32:28

271 174 156 190 172 172 172

Ezekiel 11:19 21:36 28:7

187 153 212

291

index of references to ancient literature New Testament Matthew 5:28

141

Mark 3:21 7:22 12:37

270 227 149

Luke 6:38 20:23

155 128

John 1:1 4:7 11:44 12:9 12:12

148 213 160 149 149

Acts 24:5

128 147 159 187

Colossians 3:22

187

1 Thessalonians 2:19

202

2 Timothy 2:15

134

Hebrews 2:1

137

James 5:20

180

1 Peter 4:4 4:8

159 180

2 Peter 2:22

250

Revelation 14:10

170

212

Romans 12:20

248

1Corinthians 13:4 15:33

220 127

2Corinthians 3:3

Ephesians 4:14 5:5 5:18 6:5

156

Other Ancient Literature Anthologia Graeca 11.34.6 162

Cato the Elder, De agri cultura 10.5 161

Aristophanes, Acharnenses 92 237

Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 1.29 142, 146

Aristotle, Historia animalium 622B 150 627A 150 760B 150

Clement of Alexandria, Paedagogus 2.10.93.3 213 Democritus, Fragments B 238 225

292

index of references to ancient literature

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica 3.15.5.4 239

Plato, Gorgias 493B

228

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Antiquitates romanae 2.14.4.12 239

Plato, Laws 641A 641C 645C

190 190 190

Plato, Lysis 210

207

Inscriptiones Graecae II,5, 178, 682C, i, 22 160

Plato, Republic 360B

156

Lucian, Hermotimus 47 267

Plato, Symposium 189C–195A 209

Meletius Confessor, Alphabetalphabeton K.71.61 252, 253

Pseudo-Plato, Eryxias 400A 155

Menander, Sententiae 793 127

Plutarch, Parallel Lives Otho 2 162

Origen, Expositio in Proverbia PG 17.225.46 232 PG 17.240.32 252

Thucydides, History 2.92.1 239 2.100.2 134

Papyri PCairZen 179.9 175 POxy 899.22 174

Vettius Valens, Anthologiae 115.15.17 162

Evagrius Ponticus, Expositio in Proverbia 116.10 252, 253

Pindar, Nemea 4.39

Xenophon, Cyropaedia 8.1.6 196 141