InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEUT JOB YEHO (JOS) HERO (JDG) RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG YOEL (JOEL) MIC ISA ZEP HAB YIR (JER) LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBAD DAN EZEK EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL 2 PS WIS TOB MAN BAR G DAN G ESD L ESD ESG JDT 3 MAC SIR 1 MAC 2 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL LAOD PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
InterlinearVerse Prov C1 C2 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28 C29 C30 C31
Prov 3 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31 V32 V33 V34 V35
OET-LV Is_precious she mmm[fn] and_all pleasures_of_your not they_compare with_her.
3:15 OSHB variant note: מ/פניים: (x-qere) ’מִ/פְּנִינִ֑ים’: lemma=m/6443 n=1 morph=HR/Ncbpa id=20w1U מִ/פְּנִינִ֑ים
OET (OET-RV) Wisdom is more valuable than jewelry.
⇔ → There’s nothing else you could want that’s worth as much as being wise.
This section teaches the value of wisdom by showing its usefulness to people and the LORD. It is useful to people, because it results in long life, wealth, honor, pleasantness, and peace (3:13–18). It is useful to the LORD, because he used it to create the world (3:19–20).
Another heading for this section is:
The Value of Wisdom (CEV)
nothing you desire compares with her.
There is nothing that you(sing) may desire that can be compared in value to having wisdom.
Nothing you want can equal the value of being wise.
In fact, wisdom is more valuable than anything else you might want.
The parallel parts in 3:15a form a chiasm. They occur in the opposite order from the parallel parts in 3:15b.
15a She is more precious than rubies;
15b nothing you desire compares with her,
The first line is parallel in meaning to the two lines of 3:14. The second line summarizes and expands the thought of all three lines.
She is more precious than rubies;
Wisdom is even more valuable than red corals.
Wisdom is also worth more than precious jewels.
She is more precious: The word that the BSB translates as precious means “valuable” (GNT).
rubies: The meaning of the Hebrew word that the BSB translates as rubies is uncertain. Several scholars say that it probably refers to “red corals” (REB).NIDOTTE (H7165) has “corals, pearls” and TWOT (#1783b) has “corals.” These lexicons had no other comments. Because of the uncertain meaning, several English versions use the word “jewels,” a more general term. If you use a specific term such as “rubies” or “red corals,” be sure that these items are considered to be extremely valuable.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / personification
הִ֭יא & בָֽהּ
she/it & with,her
In 3:15–18 Solomon speaks of wisdom as if it were a woman. See the discussion of this in the Chapter Introduction. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [It … with it]
Note 2 topic: translate-unknown
יְקָ֣רָה & מִפְּנִינִ֑ים
precious & (Some words not found in UHB: precious she/it מ,פניים and=all pleasures_of,your not compare with,her )
The word translated coral pearls could also refer to precious stones called “rubies.” Either word refers to an item that is extremely valuable. If your readers would not be familiar with coral pearls or rubies, you could use the name of something similar in your area or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: [is more precious than valuable stones] or [is more precious than something that is extremely valuable]
OET-LV Is_precious she mmm[fn] and_all pleasures_of_your not they_compare with_her.
3:15 OSHB variant note: מ/פניים: (x-qere) ’מִ/פְּנִינִ֑ים’: lemma=m/6443 n=1 morph=HR/Ncbpa id=20w1U מִ/פְּנִינִ֑ים
OET (OET-RV) Wisdom is more valuable than jewelry.
⇔ → There’s nothing else you could want that’s worth as much as being wise.
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.
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