Proverbs 8:35-36

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Proverbs 8:35 tc The Kethib reads the verb as a plural participle: “the one who finds me are finders of life.” The LXX reads a plural subject: “those who find me.” But the Hebrew Qere reads a singular perfect verb. The next verb is a preterite, which commonly follows the perfect but very rarely a participle. The perfect form of a dynamic verb should be translated as past or perfective.
2. Proverbs 8:35 tn The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive continues the time frame of the perfect verb that came before it. sn The sage uses these verb forms in contrast with the following verse, which is present tense. The antithetic parallelism contrasts not just the subject (who finds vs. who misses) and the verb (to find vs. to harm) but also the state of the outcome. This person found life and continues in the benefit: “had found life.”
3. Proverbs 8:36 tn Heb “the one sinning [against] me.” The verb חָטָא (khataʾ, “to sin, to err”) forms a contrast with “find” in the previous verse, and so has its basic meaning of “failing to find, miss.”
4. Proverbs 8:36 tn The Qal active participle functions verbally here. The word stresses both social and physical harm and violence. sn Brings harm. While the previous verse used past time verbs, the sage employs the participle here as an ongoing activity. Whoever tries to live without wisdom is inviting all kinds of disaster into his life.
5. Proverbs 8:36 tn Heb “his soul.”
6. Proverbs 8:36 tn The basic idea of the verb שָׂנֵא (saneʾ, “to hate”) is that of rejection. Its antonym is also used in the line, “love,” which has the idea of choosing. So not choosing (i.e., hating) wisdom amounts to choosing (i.e., loving) death.