Deuteronomy 12:8

12:8 You must not do like we are doing here today, with everyone ¹  doing what seems best to him,

Psalms 12:4

12:4 They say, ²  “We speak persuasively; ³ 

we know how to flatter and boast. ⁴ 

Who is our master?” ⁵ 

Proverbs 12:15

12:15 The way of a fool ⁶  is right ⁷  in his own opinion, ⁸ 

but the one who listens to advice is wise. ⁹ 

Proverbs 14:12

14:12 There is a way that seems right to a person, ¹⁰ 

but its end is the way that leads to death. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 16:2

16:2 All a person’s ways ¹²  seem right ¹³  in his own opinion, ¹⁴ 

but the Lord evaluates ¹⁵  the motives. ¹⁶ 

Ecclesiastes 11:9

Enjoy Life to the Fullest under the Fear of God

11:9 Rejoice, young man, while you are young, ¹⁷ 

and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth.

Follow the impulses ¹⁸  of your heart and the desires ¹⁹  of your eyes,

but know that God will judge your motives and actions. ²⁰ 

Jeremiah 44:16-17

44:16 “We will not listen to what you claim the Lord has spoken to us! ²¹  44:17 Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. ²²  We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven ²³  just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles. ²⁴ 

[12:8]  ¹ tn Heb “a man.”

[12:4]  ² tn Heb “which say.” The plural verb after the relative pronoun indicates a plural antecedent for the pronoun, probably “lips” in v. 3.

[12:4]  ³ tn Heb “to our tongue we make strong.” The Hiphil of גָבַר (gavar) occurs only here and in Dan 9:27, where it refers to making strong, or confirming, a covenant. Here in Ps 12 the evildoers “make their tongue strong” in the sense that they use their tongue to produce flattering and arrogant words to accomplish their purposes. The preposition -לְ (l) prefixed to “our tongue” may be dittographic.

[12:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “our lips [are] with us.” This odd expression probably means, “our lips are in our power,” in the sense that they say what they want, whether it be flattery or boasting. For other cases where אֵת (’et, “with”) has the sense “in the power of,” see Ps 38:10 and other texts listed by BDB 86 s.v. 3.a.

[12:4]  ⁵ sn The rhetorical question expresses the arrogant attitude of these people. As far as they are concerned, they are answerable to no one for how they speak.

[12:15]  ⁶ sn The way of a fool describes a headlong course of actions (“way” is an idiom for conduct) that is not abandoned even when wise advice is offered.

[12:15]  ⁷ sn The fool believes that his own plans and ideas are perfect or “right” (יָשָׁר, yashar); he is satisfied with his own opinion.

[12:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “in his own eyes.”

[12:15]  ⁹ tn Or “a wise person listens to advice” (cf. NIV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[14:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “which is straight before a man.”

[14:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the ways of death” (so KJV, ASV). This construct phrase features a genitive of destiny: “ways that lead to [or, end in] death.” Here death means ruin (e.g., Prov 7:27; 16:25). The LXX adds “Hades,” but the verse seems to be concerned with events of this life.

[16:2]  ¹² tn Heb “ways of a man.”

[16:2]  ¹³ sn The Hebrew term translated “right” (z~E) means “innocent” (NIV) or “pure” (NAB, NRSV, NLT). It is used in the Bible for pure oils or undiluted liquids; here it means unmixed actions. Therefore on the one hand people rather naively conclude that their actions are fine.

[16:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in his eyes.”

[16:2]  ¹⁵ tn The figure (a hypocatastasis) of “weighing” signifies “evaluation” (e.g., Exod 5:8; 1 Sam 2:3; 16:7; Prov 21:2; 24:12). There may be an allusion to the Egyptian belief of weighing the heart after death to determine righteousness. But in Hebrew thought it is an ongoing evaluation as well, not merely an evaluation after death.

[16:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “spirits” (so KJV, ASV). This is a metonymy for the motives, the intentions of the heart (e.g., 21:2 and 24:2).

[11:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in your youth”; or “in your childhood.”

[11:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “walk in the ways of your heart.”

[11:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the sight.”

[11:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and know that concerning all these God will bring you into judgment.” The point is not that following one’s impulses and desires is inherently bad and will bring condemnation from God. Rather the point seems to be: As you follow your impulses and desires, realize that all you think and do will eventually be evaluated by God. So one must seek joy within the boundaries of God’s moral standards.

[44:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “the word [or message] you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord.” For an explanation of the rendering of “in the name of the Lord” see the study notes on 10:25 and 23:27.

[44:17]  ²² tn Heb “that went out of our mouth.” I.e., everything we said, promised, or vowed.

[44:17]  ²³ tn Heb “sacrifice to the Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” The expressions have been combined to simplify and shorten the sentence. The same combination also occurs in vv. 18, 19.

[44:17]  ²⁴ tn Heb “saw [or experienced] no disaster/trouble/harm.”