▼tc Before v. 2 the LXX inserts: “My son, fear the Lord and you will be strong, and besides him, fear no other.” Although this addition has the precedent of 3:7 and 9 and harmonizes with 14:26, it does not fit here; the advice is to listen to the teacher.

▼tn The construction of an imperative with the vav (ו) of sequence after another imperative denotes a logical sequence of purpose or result: “that you may live,” or “and you will live.”

▼tn The term “obey” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied for the sake of clarity and smoothness. Some English versions, in light of the second line of v. 1, supply “guard” (e.g., NIV, NCV, NLT).

▼tn The Hebrew phrase refers to the pupil of the eye, perhaps by the idiom “the little man in [the] eye.” The term אִישׁוֹן (ʾishon, “pupil”) appears to be a diminutive from אִישׁ (ʾish, “man”). The saying may have arisen because the pupil will make a small reflection of the person looking into another’s eyes. Because of the importance of protecting the eye from harm, the “pupil” of the eye “has the idea of something precious that was to be guarded jealously” (NIDOTTE 386 s.v. אִישׁוֹן). Traditionally this Hebrew idiom is translated into English as “the apple of your eye” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); a more contemporary rendering would be “as your most prized possession.” The point is that the teaching must be the central focus of the disciple’s vision and attention.