Proverbs - John Cunyus

Proverbs, 8
Chapter 1
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The Purpose of the Book
1:1 parabolae Salomonis filii David regis Israhel 13
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Parables of Solomon ,
son of David,
king of Israel,
1:2 ad sciendam sapientiam et disciplinam
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dedicated to knowing
wisdom and discipline;
1:3 ad intellegenda verba prudentiae et suscipiendam eruditionem doctrinae iustitiam et
iudicium et aequitatem
to understanding prudent words;
to supporting
the learning of doctrine;
to justice,
judgment,
and fairness;
1:4 ut detur parvulis astutia adulescenti scientia et intellectus
that the young
might turn
to cleverness,
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Latin was not the original language of “Proverbs.” The book, written in Hebrew several centuries before Christ, was translated into
th
Latin by St. Jerome, around the 4 Century of the Common Era. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome.
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The biblical tradition teaches that Solomon, King David’s son and heir, wrote this book. Solomon’s story may be found in 1 Kings
and II Chronicles. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecclesiastes.
Use of italic case in the English translation indicates a word added in the translation that is not in the original. The English verb “is”
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often must be added to make grammatical sense of the Latin. Latin, like Hebrew and Greek before it, often phrased sentences without a verb,
where a simple “to be” form is needed in English. The original Latin, translated literally, is “All vanity.” Latin, unlike Greek and Hebrew, has
neither definite nor indefinite articles (a, an, the). Where these are found in the translations, they are always words that have been added to make
better sense of the translation. Some see substituting other contextual words for the italicized ones in the text as a spiritual exercise, a way of
mental prayer.