Genesis 28:20

28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food ¹  to eat and clothing to wear,

Genesis 31:3

31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers ²  and to your relatives. I will be with you.” ³ 

Genesis 31:42

31:42 If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears ⁴  – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, ⁵  and he rebuked you last night.”

Proverbs 3:6

3:6 Acknowledge ⁶  him in all your ways, ⁷ 

and he will make your paths straight. ⁸ 

Isaiah 43:2

43:2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;

when you pass ⁹  through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;

the flames will not harm ¹⁰  you.

¹ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

² tn Or perhaps “ancestors” (so NRSV), although the only “ancestors” Jacob had there were his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.

³ sn I will be with you. Though Laban was no longer “with him,” the Lord promised to be.

⁴ tn Heb “the fear of Isaac,” that is, the one whom Isaac feared and respected. For further discussion of this title see M. Malul, “More on pahad yitschaq (Gen. 31:42,53) and the Oath by the Thigh,” VT 35 (1985): 192-200.

⁵ tn Heb “My oppression and the work of my hands God saw.”

⁶ tn Heb “know him.” The verb יָדַע (yadah, “to know”) includes mental awareness of who God is and the consequential submission to his lordship. To know him is to obey him. The sage is calling for a life of trust and obedience in which the disciple sees the Lord in every event and relies on him. To acknowledge the Lord in every event means trusting and obeying him for guidance in right conduct.

⁷ tn The term דֶרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) is figurative (hypocatastasis: implied comparison) referring to a person’s course of life, actions and undertakings (Prov 2:8; 3:6, 23; 11:5; 20:24; 29:27; 31:3; BDB 203 s.v. 5; cf. TEV “in everything you do”; NCV, NLT “in all you do”). This is a call for total commitment in trust for obedience in all things.

⁸ tn The verb יָשָׁר (yashar) means “to make smooth; to make straight” (BDB 444 s.v.). This phrase means “to make the way free from obstacles,” that is, to make it successful (e.g., Isa 40:3). The straight, even road is the right road; God will make the way smooth for the believer.

⁹ tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

¹⁰ tn Heb “burn” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV, NLT “consume”; NIV “set you ablaze.”