17:4 As for the actions of people 1 –
just as you have commanded,
I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men. 2
17:5 I carefully obey your commands; 3
I do not deviate from them. 4
1 tn Heb “with regard to the deeds of man[kind].”
2 tn Heb “by the word of your lips, I, I have watched the paths of the violent” (i.e., “watched” in the sense of “watched for the purpose of avoiding”).
3 tn Heb “my steps stay firm in your tracks.” The infinitive absolute functions here as a finite verb (see GKC 347 §113.gg). God’s “tracks” are his commands, i.e., the moral pathways he has prescribed for the psalmist.
4 tn Heb “my footsteps do not stagger.”