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Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) By the gates at the main entrance to the city,
⇔ ≈ she calls out loudly into the doorways.![]()
OET-LV To_the_side_of the_gates to_the_opening_of the_town the_entrance_of the_doorways she_cries_aloud.
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UHB לְיַד־שְׁעָרִ֥ים לְפִי־קָ֑רֶת מְב֖וֹא פְתָחִ֣ים תָּרֹֽנָּה׃ ‡
(ləyad-shəˊārim ləfī-qāret məⱱōʼ fətāḩim tāronnāh.)
Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXX Παρὰ γὰρ πύλαις δυναστῶν παρεδρεύει, ἐν δὲ εἰσόδοις ὑμνεῖται.
(Para gar pulais dunastōn paredreuei, en de eisodois humneitai. )
BrTr For she sits by the gates of princes, and sings in the entrances, saying,
ULT At the hand of the gates, at the mouth of the city,
⇔ the entrance of the openings, she cries out.
UST Imagine that this woman shouts loudly beside the gates at the entrance to a city.
BSB Beside the gates to the city,
⇔ at the entrances she cries out:
MSB (Same as BSB above)
OEB No OEB PROV book available
WEBBE Beside the gates, at the entry of the city,
⇔ at the entry doors, she cries aloud:
WMBB (Same as above)
NET beside the gates opening into the city,
⇔ at the entrance of the doorways she cries out:
LSV At the side of the gates, at the mouth of the city,
The entrance of the openings, she cries aloud,
FBV Beside the gates of the town, right there at the entrance, she cries out:
T4T Wisdom also stands at the city gates and shouts loudly,
LEB • Beside gates, before towns, at the entrance of doors, she cries out:
BBE Where the roads go into the town her cry goes out, at the doorways her voice is loud:
Moff by the gateways opening to the city,
⇔ at the entries, she is crying out:
JPS Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud:
ASV Beside the gates, at the entry of the city,
⇔ At the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud:
DRA Beside the gates of the city, in the very doors she speaketh, saying:
YLT At the side of the gates, at the mouth of the city, The entrance of the openings, she crieth aloud,
Drby Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud.
RV Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud:
(Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors, she crieth/cries aloud: )
SLT At the hand of the gates, at the mouth of the city from the coming in of the doors she will cry:
Wbstr She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the entrance of the doors.
KJB-1769 She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.
(She crieth/cries at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. )
KJB-1611 She cryeth at the gates, at the entrie of the citie, at the comming in at the doores.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)
Bshps She cryeth at the gates of the citie, at the entrye of the doores:
(She crieth/cries at the gates of the city, at the entrye of the doors:)
Gnva She cryeth besides the gates before the citie at the entrie of the doores,
(She crieth/cries besides the gates before the city at the entry of the doors, )
Cvdl doth she not crie before the whole cite, & in the gates where men go out & in?
(doth/does she not cry before the whole city, and in the gates where men go out and in?)
Wycl and it stondith bisidis the yate of the citee, in thilke closyngis, and spekith, and seith, A!
(and it standeth/stands besides the gate of the city, in that closyngis, and speaketh/speaks, and saith/says, A!)
Luth An den Toren bei der Stadt, da man zur Tür eingehet, schreiet sie:
(An the goals at/in the/of_the city, there man to/for door enclosed, screams/cries_out they/she/them:)
ClVg juxta portas civitatis, in ipsis foribus loquitur, dicens:
(next_to doors of_the_city, in/into/on themselves at_the_door speaks, saying: )
8:3 In ancient Near Eastern cities, the city gates had built-in chambers for conducting legal proceedings and business transactions. It was an appropriate place for Wisdom to make her appeal to the most people.
Speaking
As children we probably heard, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Scripture presents another viewpoint: Words have the power of life and death (18:21). The words contained in lies (14:5, 25), arguments (26:17), insults (20:20), slander (10:18), gossip (11:13), rumors (18:8), flattery (7:21-22), and bragging (26:23; 27:2) can all be death-dealing.
Proverbs repeatedly emphasizes that foolish people speak foolish words. They are represented by “the woman named Folly” (9:13-18), who lies and deceives to harm her hearers. Words reflect the condition of the heart (16:23; 18:4). While someone might conceal an evil heart by using pleasant words (26:23), a person’s true character will eventually surface (26:24-26). The words of fools not only harm others; these words ultimately injure those who speak them. The tongue is full of wickedness that can ruin your whole life (Jas 3:6).
In contrast, wise people speak the life-giving words represented by Wisdom (Prov 8:7-9; 10:11). Wise people use their words sparingly (17:27-28) and are usually gentle (15:4; 16:24). However, a wise person also knows the right time to speak (15:23; 25:11) and realizes that, at times, even harsh criticism is necessary (see 27:5). Proverbs wisely reminds its readers to pay close attention not only to what they say but also to how and when they say it.
Passages for Further Study
Prov 7:21-22; 8:7-9; 9:13-18; 10:11, 18; 11:13; 14:5, 25; 15:4, 23; 16:23-24; 17:28; 18:4, 21; 20:20; 25:11; 26:17, 23-26; 27:2, 5; Matt 12:33-37; Jas 3:1-12
In contrast to the previous section describing the adulterous woman, this section describes personified Wisdom. The public setting for Wisdom’s speech is described in 8:1–3. In 8:4–11, she addresses all mankind and describes her own character. In 8:12–21, she provides reasons why people should choose her. Additional motivation is given in 8:22–31: Wisdom was with the LORD when he created the world. The section ends with Wisdom appealing to mankind to follow her teaching (8:32–36).
This section is a speech by personified Wisdom. As in Wisdom’s speech in 1:20–33, the Notes have used a capital letter for Wisdom in most verses. However, in her speech, Wisdom sometimes refers to “wisdom” as an ability that people have or use or should try to obtain. In some of these contexts, the Notes have used small letters for “wisdom.” The Display will often give more than one option. You may use either option in your language, depending on what is appropriate in each context.
Some other headings for this section are:
Wisdom’s Call (NIV)
Listen to Wisdom (NCV)
The good qualities of Wisdom
Wisdom’s second invitation to people
This paragraph describes the setting for Wisdom’s speech. The places mentioned in 8:2–3 are all places where people gathered together, where many people could listen to Wisdom’s words. This setting is similar to the one described in 1:20–21.
Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning. The lines of this verse are also parallel with 8:2. Both verses describe the locations where Wisdom stands to speak to the people.
3a Beside the gates to the city,
3b at the entrances she cries out:
(combined/reordered)
She also stations herself near the gates where people enter the city, and she calls out to them in a loud voice, saying,
Beside the gates to the city, at the entrances: In Hebrew, the word to is literally “at the mouth of.” It refers to the entrance of the city. The word entrances refers to the openings in the city walls that the gates closed off. Together, these three expressions refer to the area near the gates of the city, where people commonly gathered to talk and conduct business.Fox (page 266) claims that 8:3 refers to areas outside the city walls, but it seems preferable to understand a general area near the gates (Toy, Whybray, page 122). Fox, Garrett (page 106) and Toy (page 160) say that 8:2 and 8:3 refer to different locations. It is probably not the same location as 8:2. The different locations indicate that Wisdom regularly appeals to people wherever they are located.
If your readers would not understand city gates as a place where there were many people, you may want to add a footnote. See the suggested wording for a footnote in 1:21a–b.
Beside the gates to the city,
She also takes her position beside the gates of the city.
at the entrances she cries out:
There at the entrance, she announces loudly:
she cries out: This phrase means to proclaim in a loud voice so that everyone can hear. The same verb was used in 1:20a. See the note on 1:20a–b.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure
לְיַד־שְׁעָרִ֥ים לְפִי־קָ֑רֶת מְב֖וֹא פְתָחִ֣ים תָּרֹֽנָּה
to_[the],side_of gates to_[the],opening_of city entrance_of doors cries_out
If it would be helpful in your language, you could change the order of these clauses. Alternate translation: “She cries out at the hand of the gates, at the mouth of the city, the entrance of the openings”
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
לְיַד־שְׁעָרִ֥ים לְפִי־קָ֑רֶת מְב֖וֹא פְתָחִ֣ים
to_[the],side_of gates to_[the],opening_of city entrance_of doors
The phrases the hand of the gates, the mouth of the city, and the entrance of the openings all refer to the same place, which is inside the main gate of the city where there would be many people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly. Alternate translation: “At the public place at the hand of the gates, at the mouth of the city, the entrance of the openings”
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / personification
לְיַד
to_[the],side_of
Here, hand refers to the place beside the gates. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “At the side of”
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / personification
לְפִי־קָ֑רֶת
to_[the],opening_of city
Here, mouth refers to the entrance to the city. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly, as in the UST.
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun
קָ֑רֶת
city
The word city represents cities in general, not one particular city. If it would be helpful, you could use an expression that would be more natural in your language. Alternate translation: “any city”
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
מְב֖וֹא פְתָחִ֣ים
entrance_of doors
This phrase refers to the main entrance into the city, which had gates. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a different expression. Alternate translation: “the main entrance”
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / personification
תָּרֹֽנָּה
cries_out
Here, she refers to wisdom as if it were a woman. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state this explicitly or use a simile. Alternate translation: “wisdom cries out” or “wisdom cries out as if it were a woman”