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OET interlinear PROV 4:1

◄ ↨ PROV 4:1 ↓ → ► ║ ≡ ©

Hebrew word order

    1. Hebrew word
    2. Hebrew lemma
    3. OET-LV words
    4. OET-RV words
    5. Strongs
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. Gloss
    8. CAPS codes
    9. OET tags
    10. OET word #
    1. שִׁמְעוּ
    2. 388203
    3. listen to
    4. listen
    5. 8085
    6. V-Vqv2mp
    7. listen_to
    8. -
    9. Y-1000
    10. 270235
    1. בָנִים
    2. 388204
    3. Oh children
    4. ≈My children
    6. S-Ncmpa
    7. O_children
    8. -
    9. Y-1000
    10. 270236
    1. מוּסַר
    2. 388205
    3. +the correction of
    4. -
    5. 4148
    6. O-Ncmsc
    7. [the]_correction_of
    8. -
    9. Y-1000
    10. 270237
    1. אָב
    2. 388206
    3. a father
    4. father's
    5. 1
    6. O-Ncmsa
    7. a_father
    8. -
    9. Y-1000
    10. 270238
    1. וְ,הַקְשִׁיבוּ
    2. 388207,388208
    3. and be attentive
    4. attention
    5. 7181
    6. SV-C,Vhv2mp
    7. and,be_attentive
    8. -
    9. Y-1000
    10. 270239
    1. לָ,דַעַת
    2. 388209,388210
    3. to know
    4. -
    5. 3045
    6. SV-R,Vqc
    7. to=know
    8. -
    9. Y-1000
    10. 270240
    1. בִּינָה
    2. 388211
    3. understanding
    4. -
    5. 998
    6. O-Ncfsa
    7. understanding
    8. -
    9. Y-1000
    10. 270241
    2. 388212
    3. -
    4. -
    6. -x-sof-pasuq
    8. -
    9. -
    10. 270242

OET (OET-LV) listen_to Oh_children the_correction_of a_father and_be_attentive to_know understanding.

OET (OET-RV) My children, listen to your father’s teachings.
 ⇔ ≈ Pay attention so you’ll learn well,

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 4:1–9: Fifth lesson: You will gain many benefits if you acquire and value wisdom

This lesson begins with an introduction (4:1–4a) that exhorts the listeners to pay attention to their father’s words. It is followed by the main part of the lesson (4:4b–9) about the benefits of acquiring wisdom. This main part is unusual, because it quotes the words that the speaker’s father taught him when he was a boy.

Some other headings for this section are:

A Father’s Wise Advice (NLT)

The Benefits of Wisdom (GNT)

Wisdom Is Important (NCV)

4:1

Notice the parallelism. The first two commands are similar in meaning. The phrase “gain understanding” gives the purpose or result of these commands.

1a Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction;

1b pay attention and gain understanding.

4:1a–b

(combined/reordered)

Listen…pay attention: These parallel commands have almost the same meaning. The Hebrew word that the BSB translates here as pay attention means to listen carefully. It implies that the person who listens will heed or obey what he hears. Different forms of this word also occur in 1:24b and 2:2a.

4:1a

Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction;

Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction: This command is very similar to 1:8a. The command in 1:8a has “my son” (singular) and “your father’s instruction.”

my sons: This is the first lesson that is addressed to plural sons. Notice that the preceding and following lessons are addressed to a singular “son.” (See 5:7–8 and 7:24a–b for other instances where plural sons occurs in a similar context.)

Most scholars think that the change from singular to plural does not imply an actual change in the audience. It may be the author’s way to remind us that when he instructs his “son,” he is actually instructing all of his readers.See Fox (pages 172, 194) and Murphy (page 27).

If a change from singular to plural will confuse your readers, some translation options are:

a father’s instruction: The speaker himself is clearly the father who is referred to here. See the notes on 1:8a–b and 1:8a. In some languages, it may be necessary to use a first person pronoun to make explicit that the father is the one who is speaking. For example:

My children, listen to me. Listen to your father’s instruction. (NLT96)

My child, listen closely to my teachings (CEV)

instruction: The word musar, which the BSB translates here as instruction, refers to moral teaching or advice (see the note on 1:2a). See discipline in the Glossary.

4:1b

pay attention and gain understanding.

and gain understanding: The phrase that the BSB translates as and gain understanding is literally “to know understanding.” It may introduce either the purpose or the result of the preceding commands.

Some ways to introduce this phrase as a purpose are:

in order to gain understanding (GW)

so you will understand (NCV)

Some ways to introduce this phrase as a result are:

and then you will gain understanding

If you do this, you will gain understanding.

You may introduce this phrase as a purpose or a result in your language. Both fit the context well.

understanding: The Hebrew word binah, which the BSB translates here as understanding, refers to the ability to interpret and comprehend concepts, to draw conclusions, and to understand the relationship between things. Other ways to translate this word are:

discernment (NJPS)

insight (RSV)

See understanding (insight) in the Glossary.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

שִׁמְע֣וּ

(Some words not found in UHB: listen children instruction_of father's and,be_attentive to=know understanding )

See how you translated Hear in [1:8](../01/08.md).

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

בָ֭נִים

children

Although the term sons is masculine, Solomon is using the word in a generic sense that could refer to both male and female children. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase that makes this clear. Alternate translation: [young people]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

מ֣וּסַר & בִּינָֽה

instruction_of & (Some words not found in UHB: listen children instruction_of father's and,be_attentive to=know understanding )

See how you translated the abstract nouns instruction and understanding in [1:2](../01/02.md).

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person

אָ֑ב

father's

Here Solomon is speaking about himself in the third person. If this would not be natural in your language, you could use the first person form. Alternate translation: [me, your father]

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

    1. OET-LV words
    2. OET-RV words
    3. Strongs
    4. Hebrew word
    5. Hebrew lemma
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. Gloss
    8. CAPS codes
    9. OET tags
    10. OET word #
    1. listen to
    2. listen
    3. 7841
    5. 388203
    6. V-Vqv2mp
    8. -
    9. Y-1000
    10. 270235
    1. Oh children
    2. ≈My children
    3. 1043
    5. 388204
    6. S-Ncmpa
    8. -
    9. Y-1000
    10. 270236
    1. +the correction of
    2. -
    3. 4857
    5. 388205
    6. O-Ncmsc
    8. -
    9. Y-1000
    10. 270237
    1. a father
    2. father's
    3. 613
    5. 388206
    6. O-Ncmsa
    8. -
    9. Y-1000
    10. 270238
    1. and be attentive
    2. attention
    3. 1987,6999
    5. 388207,388208
    6. SV-C,Vhv2mp
    8. -
    9. Y-1000
    10. 270239
    1. to know
    2. -
    3. 3705,3207
    5. 388209,388210
    6. SV-R,Vqc
    8. -
    9. Y-1000
    10. 270240
    1. understanding
    2. -
    3. 941
    5. 388211
    6. O-Ncfsa
    8. -
    9. Y-1000
    10. 270241

OET (OET-LV) listen_to Oh_children the_correction_of a_father and_be_attentive to_know understanding.

OET (OET-RV) My children, listen to your father’s teachings.
 ⇔ ≈ Pay attention so you’ll learn well,

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 logo mark

◄ ↨ PROV 4:1 ↑ → ► ║ ≡ ©