The Living Bible (515 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
19:1
rich,
literally, “a fool.”
19:7
turn away from him in embarrassment,
literally, “despise him.”
20:10
every kind of cheating,
literally, “diverse weights and diverse measures.”
20:12
thank,
implied.
20:23
all cheating and dishonesty,
literally, “diverse weights . . . false scales.”
20:27
conscience,
literally, “spirit.”
20:29
their experience,
literally, “the hoary head.”
21:4
evil actions,
literally, “the tillage of the wicked.”
21:8
A man is known by his actions,
implied.
21:18
The wicked will finally lose; the righteous will finally win,
literally, “The wicked is a ransom for the righteous.”
21:20
The wise man saves for the future,
literally, “There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise.”
21:29
An evil man is stubborn, but a godly man will reconsider,
or “The wicked man is brazen; the godly man is thoughtful.”
21:31
Go ahead and prepare for the conflict,
literally, “The horse is prepared against the day of battle.”
22:12
the plans,
literally, “the words.”
22:28
That is stealing,
implied, see 23:10-11.
23:1-3
a rich man,
literally, “a ruler.”
23:12
help,
literally, “knowledge.”
25:1
These proverbs of Solomon,
see 1 Kings 4:32.
King Hezekiah.
Hezekiah lived 200 years after Solomon.
25:13
a cool day,
literally, “snow.”
25:20
rubbing salt in his wounds,
literally, “like vinegar upon soda.”
25:23
cold,
literally, “rain.”
26:4-5
Prick his conceit with silly replies,
implied; literally, “Reply to a fool as his folly requires.”
26:21
as easily as a match sets fire to paper,
literally, “like coals to hot embers and wood to fire.”
27:20
Ambition,
literally, “A man’s eyes.” Possibly the reference is to lust.
27:23-24
business,
implied.
29:19
Sometimes,
literally, “For a servant.”
30:3
I cannot understand man,
literally, “I have not learned wisdom.”
30:18-19
The growth of love between a man and a girl,
literally, “The way of a man with a maid.” Some linguists believe the meaning is, “Why a girl will let herself be seduced.”
30:21-23
who marries the husband of her mistress,
literally, “who succeeds her mistress.”
31:1
King Lemuel of Massa,
or “King Lemuel the oracle.”
31:31
These good deeds of hers shall bring her honor and recognition from people of importance,
literally, “Give her the fruit of her hands; and let her works praise her in the gates.”
1:1
Solomon,
implied; literally, “the words of the Preacher, the son [or descendant] of David, King of Jerusalem.”
1:3-7
but it makes no difference,
literally, “but the earth remains forever.”
getting nowhere,
implied.
1:16-18
So I worked hard to be wise instead of foolish,
or “So I sought to learn about composure and madness.”
2:12
and anyone else would come to the same conclusion I did,
literally, “for what can the man do who comes after the king?”
3:14
God’s purpose in this is that man should fear the all-powerful God,
implied.
3:15
God brings to pass again what was in the distant past and disappeared,
literally, “God seeks what has been driven away.”
5:6-7
to make the vow,
implied.
he might,
implied.
5:8
And so the matter is lost in red tape and bureaucracy,
literally, “And there are yet higher ones over them.”
7:13
Don’t fight the facts of nature,
implied.
7:26
A prostitute,
literally, “The woman whose heart is snares and nets.”
9:5
But the dead know nothing; they don’t even have their memories.
These statements are Solomon’s discouraged opinion and do not reflect a knowledge of God’s truth on these points. Also v. 10.
10:11
When the horse is stolen, it is too late to lock the barn,
literally, “If the serpent bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer.”
10:15
for the simplest matter,
literally, “for a trip to the city.”
11:2
Divide your gifts among many,
literally, “Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight.”
11:4
If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done,
literally, “He that observeth the wind shall not sow, and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.”
1:2
The Girl.
The headings identifying the speakers are conjectures and are not in the original text.
1:6
you city girls,
implied in v. 5.
sent me out into the sun,
implied.
but see what it has done to me,
literally, “but my own vineyards are neglected.”
1:9
What a lovely filly you are,
literally, “I compare you to my mare harnessed to Pharaoh’s chariot.”
1:10
with your hair,
literally, “with your ornaments.”
2:7
do not awaken my lover,
literally, “stir not up nor awaken love until it pleases.”
2:12
spring is here,
literally, “the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.”
2:13
The leaves are coming out,
literally, “The fig tree puts forth its figs.”
3:7
chariot,
literally, “litter.”
4:3
matched loveliness,
literally, “like halves of a pomegranate.”
behind your locks,
literally, “behind your veil.”
4:4
Your neck is stately,
implied.
4:8
look down from the summit of the mountain, from the top of Mount Hermon,
literally, “depart from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon.”
4:13-14
You are like a lovely orchard bearing precious fruit,
literally, “Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates.”
6:4
how you capture my heart,
literally, “terrible as an army with banners.”
6:7
matched loveliness,
literally, “like the halves of a pomegranate.”
6:10
so utterly captivating,
literally, “terrible as an army with banners.”
6:12
among my own people,
literally, “among the chariots of my princely people.” Another possible reading is, “beside my beloved in his chariot.”
6:13
you dance so beautifully,
literally, “you move as upon a dance before two armies.”
7:2
Your waist,
literally, “Your belly.”
7:3
lovely twins,
literally, “twins of a gazelle.”
7:4
Your nose is shapely,
implied.
8:2
my childhood home,
literally, “my mother’s house.”
8:9
If she has no breasts,
literally, “If she be a wall.”
build upon her a battlement of silver . . . enclose her with cedar boards,
the meaning is obscure.
8:10
I am slim, tall,
literally, “I am as a wall.”
full-breasted,
literally, “my breasts are as towers.”
1:10
An apt comparison,
implied.
2:2
will become the world’s greatest attraction,
literally, “shall be established as the highest of the mountains.”
2:4
will convert their weapons of war into implements of peace,
literally, “will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.”