Jeremiah 6:16

6:16 The Lord said to his people: ¹ 

“You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. ² 

Ask where the old, reliable paths ³  are.

Ask where the path is that leads to blessing ⁴  and follow it.

If you do, you will find rest for your souls.”

But they said, “We will not follow it!”

Psalms 25:8-9

25:8 The Lord is both kind and fair; ⁵ 

that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live. ⁶ 

25:9 May he show ⁷  the humble what is right! ⁸ 

May he teach ⁹  the humble his way!

Psalms 84:7

84:7 They are sustained as they travel along; ¹⁰ 

each one appears ¹¹  before God in Zion.

Isaiah 35:8

35:8 A thoroughfare will be there –

it will be called the Way of Holiness. ¹² 

The unclean will not travel on it;

it is reserved for those authorized to use it ¹³  –

fools ¹⁴  will not stray into it.

John 7:17

7:17 If anyone wants to do God’s will, ¹⁵  he will know about my teaching, whether it is from God or whether I speak from my own authority. ¹⁶ 

[6:16]  ¹ tn The words, “to his people” are not in the text but are implicit in the interchange of pronouns in the Hebrew of vv. 16-17. They are supplied in the translation here for clarity.

[6:16]  ² tn Heb “Stand at the crossroads and look.”

[6:16]  ³ tn Heb “the ancient path,” i.e., the path the Lord set out in ancient times (cf. Deut 32:7).

[6:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “the way of/to the good.”

[25:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “good and just.”

[25:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “teaches sinners in the way.”

[25:9]  ⁷ tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive; the psalmist expresses his prayer.

[25:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “may he guide the humble into justice.” The Hebrew term עֲנָוִים (’anavim, “humble”) usually refers to the oppressed, but in this context, where the psalmist confesses his sin and asks for moral guidance, it apparently refers to sinners who humble themselves before God and seek deliverance from their sinful condition.

[25:9]  ⁹ tn The prefixed verbal form is interpreted as a jussive (it stands parallel to the jussive form, “may he guide”).

[84:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they go from strength to strength.” The phrase “from strength to strength” occurs only here in the OT. With a verb of motion, the expression “from [common noun] to [same common noun]” normally suggests movement from one point to another or through successive points (see Num 36:7; 1 Chr 16:20; 17:5; Ps 105:13; Jer 25:32). Ps 84:7 may be emphasizing that the pilgrims move successively from one “place of strength” to another as they travel toward Jerusalem. All along the way they find adequate provisions and renewed energy for the trip.

[84:7]  ¹¹ tn The psalmist returns to the singular (see v. 5a), which he uses in either a representative or distributive (“each one” ) sense.

[35:8]  ¹² tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and there will be there a road and a way, and the Way of Holiness it will be called.” וְדֶרֶךְ (vÿderekh, “and a/the way”) is accidentally duplicated; the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does not reflect the repetition of the phrase.

[35:8]  ¹³ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The text reads literally “and it is for them, the one who walks [on the] way.” In this context those authorized to use the Way of Holiness would be morally upright people who are the recipients of God’s deliverance, in contrast to the morally impure and foolish who are excluded from the new covenant community.

[35:8]  ¹⁴ tn In this context “fools” are those who are morally corrupt, not those with limited intellectual capacity.

[7:17]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “his will.”

[7:17]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “or whether I speak from myself.”