that you may maintain discretion
The phrase "that you may maintain discretion" emphasizes the importance of wisdom and careful judgment in one's life. The Hebrew root for "discretion" is "מְזִמָּה" (mezimmah), which conveys a sense of purpose, thoughtfulness, and prudence. In the context of ancient Israel, discretion was highly valued as it was seen as a means to live a life aligned with God's will. Discretion involves the ability to discern right from wrong and to act accordingly, which is a recurring theme in the wisdom literature of the Bible. This phrase encourages believers to cultivate a mindset that is thoughtful and intentional, ensuring that their actions reflect a deep understanding of God's principles.

and your lips may preserve knowledge
The phrase "and your lips may preserve knowledge" highlights the role of speech in maintaining and conveying wisdom. The Hebrew word for "preserve" is "נָצַר" (natsar), which means to guard, keep, or watch over. This suggests an active responsibility to protect and uphold knowledge. In biblical times, oral tradition was a primary means of passing down wisdom and teachings. Therefore, the ability to articulate and safeguard knowledge was crucial. The "lips" symbolize communication, and this phrase underscores the power of words to influence and instruct. It serves as a reminder to believers to speak truthfully and wisely, ensuring that their words reflect the knowledge and understanding that comes from a relationship with God. This aligns with the broader biblical teaching that life and death are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21), and thus, believers are called to use their speech to edify and build up others in the faith.

Verse 2. - This verse expresses the purposes or results of the preceding admonition. The first is, that thou mayest regard discretion (Hebrew, lishmor m'zimmoth); literally, to guard reflection; i.e. in other words, that thou mayest maintain thoughtfulness, observe counsel, set a proper guard or control over thy thoughts, and so restrain them within proper and legitimate limits, or form such resolutions which, being well considered and prudential, may result in prudent conduct. The word m'zimmoth, however, does not travel beyond the sphere of what is conceived in the mind, and consequently does not mean conduct (as Holden conceives), except in a secondary sense, as that thoughts and plans are the necessary preliminaries to action and conduct. Muffet, in loc., explains, "that thou mayest not conceive in mind any evil or vanity." The word m'zimmoth is the plural of m'zimmmah, which occurs in Proverbs 1:4. This word generally means any plan, project, device, either in a good or bad sense. In the latter sense it is applied to intrigue and deceitful conduct, as in Proverbs 24:8. It is here used in a good sense. Indeed, Delitzsch remarks that the use of the word in a good sense is peculiar to the introductory part of the Proverbs (ch. 1-9.). The Vulgate renders. "That thou mayest guard thy thoughts or reflection (ut custodias cogitationes)." So the LXX., Ἵνα φυλάξῃς ἔννοιαν ἀγαθήν, "That thou mayest guard good reflection," the adjective ἀγαθή being introduced to note the sense in which the ἔννοια, i.e. act of thinking, properly, is to be understood. The prefix לִ ("to") before shamar, "to guard," in lishmor, expresses the purpose, as in Proverbs 1:5; Proverbs 2:2, et alia. The second end in view is, that thy lips may keep knowledge; literally, and thy lips shall keep knowledge. Those lips keep or preserve knowledge which literally retain the instruction of Wisdom (Zockler), or which allow nothing to pass them which does not proceed from the knowledge of God (Delitzsch), and which, when they speak, give utterance to sound wisdom. The meaning may be illustrated by Psalm 17:3, "I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress." The same expression occurs in Malachi 2:7, "For the priest's lips should keep knowledge," i.e. preserve and give utterance to it. Where "the lips keep knowledge," there they are protected against the lips of the strange woman, i.e. against her allurements, because they will be fortified with purity. Thy lips; s'phatheyka is the dual of the feminine noun saphah, "a lip." The teacher designedly uses this word instead of "thy heart" (cf. Proverbs 3:1), because of the contrast which he has in mind, and which be produces in the next verse. The LXX., Vulgate. and Arabic add, "Attend not to the deceitful woman," which Houbigant and Schleusner think is required by the context. The addition, however, is without authority (Holden).

Parallel Commentaries ...


that you may maintain
לִשְׁמֹ֥ר (liš·mōr)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 8104: To hedge about, guard, to protect, attend to

discretion
מְזִמּ֑וֹת (mə·zim·mō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 4209: A plan, evil, sometimes good

and your lips
שְׂפָתֶ֥יךָ (śə·p̄ā·ṯe·ḵā)
Noun - fdc | second person masculine singular
Strong's 8193: The lip, language, a margin

may preserve
יִנְצֹֽרוּ׃ (yin·ṣō·rū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5341: To watch, guard, keep

knowledge.
וְ֝דַ֗עַת (wə·ḏa·‘aṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1847: Knowledge


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 5:2 That you may maintain discretion that your (Prov. Pro Pr)