PROVERBS 5 KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)

5 My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: 2 That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. 3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: 4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. 6 Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.

This is a beautiful transference of metaphor: lips keeping knowledge compared to the lips of a strange woman.  First the obvious, as is a common theme words are powerful.  Now of course actions speak louder than words, but the Wisdom of Solomon does not advise one to run their mouth.  One must talk as well as one acts.  “The lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb…”  Clearly Solomon is wise to the temptations of women.  “But her end is bitter as wormwood…Her feet go down to death…”  The temptation of the “strange woman” is clearly dangerous.  This follows the theme of the path and walking into life or death.  The temptations of strange women take one away from the words of the father.  Because they are a woman’s words they are a meandering path that can never be known.  Because they are strange they lead not to life.

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Proverbs 2 King James Version (KJV)

1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; 2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; 3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; 4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.  6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

The verse starts out with “my son” solidifying the theme of imparting Wisdom patrilineally. This translation chooses hide my commandment with thee.  It has been translated as treasure or store, but something rings true about hide.  To hide something with thee is to carry it with you, but to protect it as well.  It avoids the sentimentality or perhaps materialism of treasure while maintaining that both that there is something to loose and something after it.  Wisdom may never be truly lost but it can certainly be lost from our lives.

The next two verses remind the son that finding Wisdom is both passive and active.  One must first listen, then ask for knowledge when it does not find you, and when there is no one to ask, seek it out. Like silver: is an apt metaphor Wisdom both valuable and, like that hidden in your heart, obscured and protected from the rest of experience.  Verses 5 and 6 answer the question of who we are listening for which is the voice of God.

Continue reading “Thoughts on Proverbs 2” →