Proverbs 15:3-5

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Proverbs 15:3 sn The proverb uses anthropomorphic language to describe God’s exacting and evaluating knowledge of all people.
2. Proverbs 15:3 tn The form צֹפוֹת (tsofot, “watching”) is a feminine plural participle agreeing with “eyes.” God’s watching eyes comfort good people but convict evil.
3. Proverbs 15:4 tn Heb “a tongue.” The term “tongue” is a metonymy of cause for what is produced: speech.
4. Proverbs 15:4 tn Heb “a tongue of healing.” A healing tongue refers to speech that is therapeutic or soothing. It is a source of vitality.
5. Proverbs 15:4 tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.
6. Proverbs 15:4 tn Heb “tree of life.”
7. Proverbs 15:4 tn Heb “perversion in it.” The referent must be the tongue, representing speech, from the first line; so this has been supplied in the translation for clarity. A tongue that is twisted, perverse, or deceitful is a way of describing deceitful speech. Such words will crush the spirit.
8. Proverbs 15:4 tn Heb “is a fracture in the spirit.”
9. Proverbs 15:5 tn Heb “is prudent” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NCV, NLT “is wise.” Anyone who accepts correction or rebuke will become prudent in life.