Proverbs 2:8

2:8 to guard ¹  the paths of the righteous ² 

and to protect ³  the way of his pious ones. ⁴ 

Proverbs 4:12

4:12 When you walk, your steps ⁵  will not be hampered, ⁶ 

and when you run, ⁷  you will not stumble.

Proverbs 10:9

10:9 The one who conducts himself ⁸  in integrity ⁹  will live ¹⁰  securely,

but the one who behaves perversely ¹¹  will be found out.

Psalms 37:23-24

37:23 The Lord grants success to the one

whose behavior he finds commendable. ¹² 

37:24 Even if ¹³  he trips, he will not fall headlong, ¹⁴ 

for the Lord holds ¹⁵  his hand.

Psalms 37:31

37:31 The law of their God controls their thinking; ¹⁶ 

their ¹⁷  feet do not slip.

Psalms 91:11

91:11 For he will order his angels ¹⁸ 

to protect you in all you do. ¹⁹ 

Psalms 121:3

121:3 May he not allow your foot to slip!

May your protector ²⁰  not sleep! ²¹ 

Psalms 121:8

121:8 The Lord will protect you in all you do, ²² 

now and forevermore.

Zechariah 10:12

10:12 Thus I will strengthen them by my power, ²³  and they will walk about ²⁴  in my name,” says the Lord.

[2:8]  ¹ tn The infinitive construct לִנְצֹר (lintsor, “to guard”) designates the purpose of the Lord giving “effective counsel” and being a “shield” to the upright. The verb נָצַר (natsar, “to guard”) has a broad range of meanings: (1) to watch over, guard or protect a vineyard from theft (Prov 27:18); (2) to guard one’s lips or heart from evil (Prov 4:23; 13:3); (3) to protect a person from moral or physical danger (Prov 2:8, 11; 4:6; 13:6; 20:28; 22:12; 24:12) and (4) to guard with fidelity = to observe commands, law or covenant (Prov 3:1, 21; 4:13; 5:2; 6:20; 28:7; see BDB 665-66 s.v.). Here God guards the way of the just, that is, the course and conduct of life from the influence of evil.

[2:8]  ² tn Heb “paths of righteousness.” The word “righteousness” is a possessive genitive, signifying the ways that the righteous take.

[2:8]  ³ tn The imperfect tense verb יִשְׁמֹר (yishmor, “to protect”) continues the syntactical nuance of the preceding infinitive construct of purpose.

[2:8]  ⁴ tc The Kethib is the singular noun + 3rd person masculine singular suffix חֲסִידוֹ (khasido) “his pious one.” The Qere reads the plural noun + 3rd person masculine singular suffix חֲסִידָיו (khasidav) “his pious ones.” The LXX εὐλαβουμένων αὐτόν (eujlaboumenwn aujton) supports the Qere reading.

[4:12]  ⁵ sn The noun צַעֲדֶךָ (tsa’adekha, “your steps”) and the temporal infinitive בְּלֶכְתְּךָ (belekhtÿkha, “when you walk”) use the idiom of walking to represent the course of life. On that course there will be no obstacles; the “path” will be straight – morally and practically.

[4:12]  ⁶ sn The verb צָרַר (tsarar, “to be narrow; to be constricted”) refers to that which is narrow or constricted, signifying distress, trouble, adversity; that which was wide-open or broad represents freedom and deliverance.

[4:12]  ⁷ sn The progression from walking to running is an idiom called “anabasis,” suggesting that as greater and swifter progress is made, there will be nothing to impede the progress (e.g., Isa 40:31).

[10:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “he who walks.” The idiom is used widely in both OT and NT for conduct, behavior, or lifestyle.

[10:9]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “walks.”

[10:9]  ¹¹ 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.

[37:23]  ¹² tn Heb “from the Lord the steps of a man are established, and in his way he delights.” The second line qualifies the first. The man whose behavior is commendable in God’s sight is the one whose ways are established by God. Another option is that the second line refers to the godly man delighting in God’s “way,” namely the lifestyle which he prescribes for men. In this case one might translate, “The Lord grants success to the one who desires to obey his commands.”

[37:24]  ¹³ tn Other translation options for כִּי in this context are “when” (so NASB) or “though” (so NEB, NIV, NRSV).

[37:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “be hurled down.”

[37:24]  ¹⁵ tn The active participle indicates this is characteristically true. See v. 17.

[37:31]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the law of his God [is] in his heart.” The “heart” is here the seat of one’s thoughts and motives.

[37:31]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “his.” The pronoun has been translated as plural to agree with the representative or typical “godly” in v. 30.

[91:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “for his angels he will command concerning you.”

[91:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in all your ways.”

[121:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the one who guards you.”

[121:3]  ²¹ tn The prefixed verbal forms following the negative particle אל appear to be jussives. As noted above, if they are taken as true jussives of prayer, then the speaker in v. 3 would appear to be distinct from both the speaker in vv. 1-2 and the speaker in vv. 4-8. However, according to GKC 322 §109.e), the jussives are used rhetorically here “to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen.” In this case one should probably translate, “he will not allow your foot to slip, your protector will not sleep,” and understand just one speaker in vv. 4-8.

[121:8]  ²² tn Heb “your going out and your coming in.”

[10:12]  ²³ tc Heb “I will strengthen them in the Lord.” Because of the perceived problem of the Lord saying he will strengthen the people “in the Lord,” both BHK and BHS suggest emending גִּבַּרְתִּים (gibbartim, “I will strengthen them”) to גְּבֻרָתָם (gevuratam, “their strength”). This is unnecessary, however, for the Lord frequently refers to himself in that manner (see Zech 2:11).

[10:12]  ²⁴ tc The LXX and Syriac presuppose יִתְהַלָּלוּ (yithallalu, “they will glory”) for יִתְהַלְּכוּ (yithallÿkhu, “they will walk about”). Since walking about is a common idiom in Zechariah (cf. 1:10, 11; 6:7 [3x]) to speak of dominion, and dominion is a major theme of the present passage, there is no reason to reject the MT reading, which is followed by most modern English versions.