38 Heb “her profit.” The 3rd person feminine singular suffix on the noun is probably a genitive of source: “from her.”
39 Heb “profit.” The noun סַחַר (sakhar, “trading profit”) often refers to the financial profit of traveling merchants (Isa 23:3, 18; 45:14; ). The related participle describes a traveling “trader, dealer, wholesaler, merchant” (e.g., Gen 37:28; Prov 31:14; Isa 23:2; Ezek 27:36; סחר qal.2). Here the noun is used figuratively to describe the moral benefit of wisdom.
40 The noun סַחַר (“profit”) is repeated in this line for emphasis. The two usages draw upon slightly different nuances, creating a polysemantic wordplay. The moral “benefit” of wisdom is more “profitable” than silver.
41 Heb “her yield.” The 3rd person feminine singular suffix on the noun is probably a genitive of source: “from her.”
42 Heb “yield.” The noun תְּבוּאָה (tévu’ah, “product; yield”) is normally used of crops and harvests ( 100 1). Here it is figurative for the moral benefit of wisdom ( 100 2.b).
43 The phrase “is better” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.