Proverbs 4:4-9 New English Translation

⁴he taught me, and he said to me:
“Let your heart lay hold of my words;
keep my commands so that^[a] you will live.
⁵Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding;
do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak.^[b]
⁶Do not forsake wisdom,^[c] and she will protect you;
love her, and she will guard you.
⁷Wisdom is supreme^[d]—so^[e] acquire wisdom,
and whatever you acquire,^[f] acquire understanding!^[g]
⁸Esteem her highly^[h] and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.
⁹She will place a fair^[i] garland on your head;
she will bestow a beautiful crown^[j] on you.”

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Footnotes

Proverbs 4:4 tn The vav plus imperative “and live” expresses purpose, as is common with volitional verbs in a series.
Proverbs 4:5 tn Heb “from the words of my mouth” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); TEV, CEV “what I say.”sn The verse repeats the imperative “acquire” to underscore the importance of getting wisdom.
Proverbs 4:6 tn Heb “her.” The referent of the pronoun is personified “wisdom,” which has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Proverbs 4:7 tn The absolute and construct state of רֵאשִׁית (reʾshit) are identical (BDB 912 s.v.). Some treat רֵאשִׁית חָכְמָה (reʾshit khokhmah) as a genitive-construct phrase: “the beginning of wisdom” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV). Others take רֵאשִׁית as an absolute functioning as predicate and חָכְמָה as the subject: “wisdom is the first/chief thing” (cf. KJV, ASV). The context here suggests the predicate.
Proverbs 4:7 tn The term “so” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and style.
Proverbs 4:7 tn The noun קִנְיָן (qinyan) means “thing got or acquired; acquisition” (BDB 889 s.v.). With the preposition that denotes price, it means “with (or at the price of) all that you have acquired.” The point is that no price is too high for wisdom—give everything for it (K&D 16:108).
Proverbs 4:7 tc The verse is not in the LXX; some textual critics delete the verse as an impossible gloss that interrupts vv. 6 and 8 (e.g., C. H. Toy, Proverbs [ICC], 88).
Proverbs 4:8 tn The verb is the Pilpel imperative from סָלַל (salal). In its ten Qal uses, it means to pile up, usually in building a road. The two uses in the doubling stems (here and Exod 9:17) are resultative or plurative, meaning “to raise up, to exalt.” To grant her a high position implies esteeming her.
Proverbs 4:9 sn The personification of wisdom continues with the bestowal of a wreath for the head (e.g., 1:9). The point is that grace will be given to the individual like a wreath about the head.
Proverbs 4:9 sn This verse uses wedding imagery: The wife (wisdom) who is embraced by her husband (the disciple) will place the wedding crown on the head of her new bridegroom. Wisdom, like a virtuous wife, will crown the individual with honor and grace. In vv. 4-9 Murphy points out the four fold repetition of “acquire” (קָנָה, qanah), the same term used of Boaz taking Ruth as a wife (Ruth 4:8, 10), and the calls to love her (Prov 4:6) and embrace her (4:8) (R. Murphy, Proverbs [WBC], 27). This section personifies wisdom and portrays the pursuit of wisdom as a paramount romantic pursuit.

New English Translation (NET)