PROV 2:4 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:1–22: Second lesson: Wisdom will spare you from the dangers of crime and adultery

Here is a summary of the advice in this section: If you accept what I teach and seek to become wise (2:1–4), you will indeed become wise, and because of your wisdom, you will know how to revere the LORD and how to do what is right. You will also be protected (2:5–11). Wisdom will protect you from wicked men (2:12–15) and from adulterous women (2:16–19). Consequently, you will follow a righteous lifestyle and enjoy a long life in your own land, but the wicked will be forced to leave their land (2:20–22).

Some other headings for this section are:

The Benefits of Wisdom (NLT)

The Rewards of Wisdom (GNT)

The rewards/benefits that wisdom gives to people

Paragraph 2:1–4

The speech by Wisdom ends in 1:33. The father’s second lesson begins in 2:1. Verses 1–4 contains a series of “if” clauses. These clauses give the conditions for the desired results that begin in 2:5. The function of this paragraph is to give advice. The father wants his son to become wise.

In some languages, it may not be natural to have one long sentence with a series of “if” clauses. Another way to translate this information is to change the “if” clauses into commands. For example:

My child, listen to me and treasure my instructions (NLT96)

The series of result clauses beginning with 2:5 can then be introduced with:

Then you will understand… (NLT)

If you do all these things, you will understand…

2:4

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^4aif you seek it like silver

^4band search it out like hidden treasure,

Both lines contain parallel similes. The similes compare looking/searching for wisdom to looking for silver/treasure.

2:4a–b

(combined/reordered)

Search for wisdom as hard/diligently as if you^(sing) were searching for money or for hidden/buried riches.

seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure: The meaning of these parallel similes is that a person should search for wisdom as diligently as he would search for valuable things like silver or hidden treasure. Another way to translate these similes is to make the point of similarity explicit and to combine the parallel verbs seek and search. For example:

Look for it as hard as you would for silver or some hidden treasure. (GNT)

2:4a

if you seek it like silver

Look for it/wisdom as hard/diligently as if you^(sing) were looking for silver/money.

silver: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as silver probably refers to silver that has already been mined and refined. It may refer here to silver bars or things that are made from silver and used as a form of money. It is less likely to refer to silver coins. If possible, use a general term for silver. Another way to translate this word is to use a more general term. For example:

if you search for wisdom as if it were money (GW)

2:4b

and search it out like hidden treasure,

Search/Hunt for it as if you^(sing) were digging to find valuable things that people have hidden.

search it out like hidden treasure: The phrase hidden treasure refers to something that is very valuable, such as money or other riches. This phrase implies that people hid the treasure to keep it safe. They often hid it by burying it in the ground. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

hunt for it as if it were hidden treasure (GW)

search for it as if you were digging to find valuable things that people have hidden

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

אִם־תְּבַקְשֶׁ֥⁠נָּה כַ⁠כָּ֑סֶף וְֽ⁠כַ⁠מַּטְמוֹנִ֥ים תַּחְפְּשֶֽׂ⁠נָּה

if you,will_seek_it like,silver and,like_(the),treasures you,will_search_for_it

These two phrases mean similar things. The author is using repetition to emphasize the idea that the phrases express. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could combine the phrases and express the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: “if you diligently search for it like a valuable hidden treasure”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

אִם־תְּבַקְשֶׁ֥⁠נָּה כַ⁠כָּ֑סֶף וְֽ⁠כַ⁠מַּטְמוֹנִ֥ים תַּחְפְּשֶֽׂ⁠נָּה

if you,will_seek_it like,silver and,like_(the),treasures you,will_search_for_it

Solomon is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. You could supply these words from the context if it would be clearer in your language. Alternate translation: “if you seek it as if it were silver and search for it as if it were hidden treasures” or “if you seek it as you would seek silver and search for it as you would search for hidden treasures”

Note 3 topic: writing-pronouns

תְּבַקְשֶׁ֥⁠נָּה & תַּחְפְּשֶֽׂ⁠נָּה

you,will_seek_it & you,will_search_for_it

In this verse, the pronoun it refers to wisdom. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “you seek wisdom … search for wisdom”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

אִם־תְּבַקְשֶׁ֥⁠נָּה כַ⁠כָּ֑סֶף וְֽ⁠כַ⁠מַּטְמוֹנִ֥ים תַּחְפְּשֶֽׂ⁠נָּה

if you,will_seek_it like,silver and,like_(the),treasures you,will_search_for_it

Solomon is saying that wisdom is like silver and hidden treasures because those are items that people value greatly and work very hard to find. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “if you seek it diligently, like one seeks silver, and search for it diligently, like one searches for hidden treasures”

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.

OET interlinear PROV 2:4

Hebrew word order

Section 2:1–22: Second lesson: Wisdom will spare you from the dangers of crime and adultery

Paragraph 2:1–4

2:4

2:4a–b

2:4a

2:4b

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)