Proverbs 10:9

10:9 The one who conducts himself ¹  in integrity ²  will live ³  securely,

but the one who behaves perversely ⁴  will be found out.

Proverbs 10:25

10:25 When the storm ⁵  passes through, the wicked are swept away, ⁶ 

but the righteous are an everlasting foundation. ⁷ 

Proverbs 11:3-6

11:3 The integrity of the upright guides them, ⁸ 

but the crookedness of the unfaithful destroys them. ⁹ 

11:4 Wealth does not profit in the day of wrath, ¹⁰ 

but righteousness delivers from mortal danger. ¹¹ 

11:5 The righteousness of the blameless will make straight their way, ¹² 

but the wicked person will fall by his own wickedness. ¹³ 

11:6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, ¹⁴ 

but the faithless will be captured ¹⁵  by their own desires. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 25:21

25:21 May integrity and godliness protect me,

for I rely on you!

Psalms 26:11

26:11 But I have integrity! ¹⁷ 

Rescue me ¹⁸  and have mercy on me!

Psalms 84:11

84:11 For the Lord God is our sovereign protector. ¹⁹ 

The Lord bestows favor ²⁰  and honor;

he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity. ²¹ 

Galatians 2:14

2:14 But when I saw that they were not behaving consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas ²²  in front of them all, “If you, although you are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to force ²³  the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

[10:9]  ¹ tn Heb “he who walks.” The idiom is used widely in both OT and NT for conduct, behavior, or lifestyle.

[10:9]  ² sn “Integrity” here means “blameless” in conduct. Security follows integrity, because the lifestyle is blameless. The righteous is certain of the course to be followed and does not fear retribution from man or God.

[10:9]  ³ tn Heb “walks.”

[10:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “he who perverts his ways” (so NASB); NIV “who takes crooked paths” (NLT similar). The Piel participle מְעַקֵּשׁ (mÿ’aqqesh) means “make crooked; twisted; perverse.” It is stronger than simply taking crooked paths; it refers to perverting the ways. The one who is devious will not get away with it.

[10:25]  ⁵ sn The word for “storm wind” comes from the root סוּף (suf, “to come to an end; to cease”). The noun may then describe the kind of storm that makes an end of things, a “whirlwind” (so KJV, NASB; NLT “cyclone”). It is used in prophetic passages that describe swift judgment and destruction.

[10:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “the wicked are not”; ASV, NAB, NASB “is no more.”

[10:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “a foundation forever”; NLT “have a lasting foundation.”

[11:3]  ⁸ sn This contrasts two lifestyles, affirming the value of integrity. The upright live with integrity – blamelessness – and that integrity leads them in success and happiness. Those who use treachery will be destroyed by it.

[11:3]  ⁹ tc The form is a Kethib/Qere reading. The Qere יְשָׁדֵּם (yÿshadem) is an imperfect tense with the pronominal suffix. The Kethib וְשַׁדָּם (vÿshadam) is a perfect tense with a vav prefixed and a pronominal suffix. The Qere is supported by the versions.

[11:4]  ¹⁰ sn The “day of wrath” refers to divine punishment in this life (R. N. Whybray, Proverbs [CBC], 67; e.g., also Job 21:30; Ezek 7:19; Zeph 1:18). Righteousness and not wealth is more valuable in anticipating judgment.

[11:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from death.”

[11:5]  ¹² tn Heb “his way.”

[11:5]  ¹³ sn The righteous will enjoy security and serenity throughout life. Righteousness makes the path straight; wickedness destroys the wicked.

[11:6]  ¹⁴ sn The contrast is between being rescued or delivered (נָצַל, natsal) and being captured (לָכַד, lakhad). Righteousness is freeing; [evil] desires are enslaving.

[11:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “taken captive” (so NRSV); NIV, TEV “are trapped.”

[11:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “but by the desire of the faithless are they taken captive.”

[26:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and I in my integrity walk.” The psalmist uses the imperfect verbal form to emphasize this is his practice. The construction at the beginning of the verse (conjunction + pronoun) highlights the contrast between the psalmist and the sinners mentioned in vv. 9-10.

[26:11]  ¹⁸ tn Or “redeem me.”

[84:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “[is] a sun and a shield.” The epithet “sun,” though rarely used of Israel’s God in the OT, was a well-attested royal title in the ancient Near East. For several examples from Ugaritic texts, the Amarna letters, and Assyrian royal inscriptions, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 131, n. 2.

[84:11]  ²⁰ tn Or “grace.”

[84:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “he does not withhold good to those walking in integrity.”

[2:14]  ²² sn Cephas. This individual is generally identified with the Apostle Peter (L&N 93.211).

[2:14]  ²³ tn Here ἀναγκάζεις (anankazei") has been translated as a conative present (see ExSyn 534).