Proverbs 8:24-29 New English Translation
24 When there were no deep oceans[a] I was born,[b]
when there were no springs overflowing[c] with water;
25 before the mountains were set in place—
before the hills—I was born,[d]
26 before he made the earth and its fields,[e]
or the top soil[f] of the world.
27 When he established the heavens, I was there;
when he marked out the horizon[g] over the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above,
when he secured the fountains of the deep,[h]
29 when he gave the sea his decree[i]
that the waters should not pass over his command,[j]
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
Footnotes
- Proverbs 8:24 sn The summary statements just given are now developed in a lengthy treatment of wisdom as the agent of all creation. This verse singles out “watery deeps” (תְּהֹמוֹת, tehomot) in its allusion to creation because the word in Genesis signals the condition of the world at the very beginning, and because in the ancient world this was something no one could control. Chaos was not there first—wisdom was.
- Proverbs 8:24 tn The third parallel verb is חוֹלָלְתִּי (kholalti), “I was birthed (through labor pains).” Some (e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV) translate it “brought forth”—not in the sense of being presented, but in the sense of being “begotten, given birth to.” Here is the strongest support for the translation of קָנָה (qanah) as “created” in v. 22. The verb is not literal; it continues the perspective of the personification.
- Proverbs 8:24 tn Heb “made heavy.”
- Proverbs 8:25 tn This is not the common verb for being born (Niphal of יָלַד, yalad). The nuance of חוֹלָלְתִּי (kholalti, the Polal of חִיל, [khil]) emphasizes being birthed through labor pains.
- Proverbs 8:26 tn Heb “open places.”
- Proverbs 8:26 tn Heb “the head of the soil of the world.” The noun ראֹשׁ (roʾsh, “head”) can refer to the topmost of something or the first of something. The noun עָפָר (ʿafar, “dirt clods”) can refer to dust (“fine dry top soil”), loose earth, or soil (HALOT 862, s.v.).tc BHS proposes דֶשֶׁא (desheʾ, “grass”) instead of ראֹשׁ which assumes both the common confusion of ד (dalet) and ר (resh), as well as the reversal of the final two letters. This would mean “the vegetation of the world’s soil.”
- Proverbs 8:27 sn The infinitive construct בְּחוּקוֹ (bekhuqo, “to cut; to engrave; to mark”) and the noun חוּג (khug, “horizon; circle”) form a paronomasia in the line.
- Proverbs 8:28 tc The MT has the Qal infinitive בַּעֲזוֹז (baʿazoz), “when [they] grew strong” (cf. NASB “when [they] became fixed”). The LXX, supported by the Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate, implies the Piel infinitive plus pronominal suffix בְּעַזְּזוֹ (beʿazzezo) “when he made [them] strong.” The proposed reading suggests metathesis (switching positions) of the last two consonants. In addition the parallel to the infinitive beginning the verse supports the pronominal suffix and the meaning of the verb (cf. NIV “when he… fixed securely”; NLT “when he established”).
- Proverbs 8:29 tn Heb “when he set his decree on the sea.”
- Proverbs 8:29 tn Heb “his mouth.”
New English Translation (NET)
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