In verses 3-9 the teacher recalls his own father’s instruction.

“When I was a son with my father”: Revised Standard Version follows the Hebrew literally. The father is identifying himself as having been a young learner like his own children. Bible en français courant expresses the thought well “I too had a father who educated me.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “I also have been a son.” See Good News Translation “. . . little boy.”

“Tender, the only one in the sight of my mother”: “Tender” in this context means young in years and refers to a small child. “The only one” means the only child. The emphasis is upon being an only child, not the firstborn. In many languages the only child in a family is given a special name. “In the sight of” is literally “in the face of” and means receiving special care and love from the mother as there were no other children. Some understand “tender” to refer to the relationship between the child and the mother; for example, New Jerusalem Bible “in my mother’s eyes a tender child. . .” and Bible en français courant “I was tenderly loved by my mother.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch suggests another model: “When I was a child my father instructed me; my mother was so tender with me because I was her only child.” In a number of languages the second line of this verse is placed first so that it does not interrupt the flow of thought from the first line into the next verse; for example, “I was the only child of my mother and she loved me very much. When I was a small boy, my father taught me. . ..”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .