Proverbs 28:18

28:18 The one who walks blamelessly will be delivered, ¹ 

but whoever is perverse in his ways will fall ²  at once. ³ 

Psalms 23:4

23:4 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, ⁴ 

I fear ⁵  no danger, ⁶ 

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff reassure me. ⁷ 

Psalms 25:21

25:21 May integrity and godliness protect me,

for I rely on you!

Psalms 26:11-12

26:11 But I have integrity! ⁸ 

Rescue me ⁹  and have mercy on me!

26:12 I am safe, ¹⁰ 

and among the worshipers I will praise the Lord.

Psalms 84:11

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

The Lord bestows favor ¹²  and honor;

he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity. ¹³ 

Isaiah 33:15-16

33:15 The one who lives ¹⁴  uprightly ¹⁵ 

and speaks honestly;

the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures

and rejects a bribe; ¹⁶ 

the one who does not plot violent crimes ¹⁷ 

and does not seek to harm others ¹⁸  –

33:16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; ¹⁹ 

he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; ²⁰ 

he will have food

and a constant supply of water.

Galatians 2:13-14

2:13 And the rest of the Jews also joined with him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray with them ²¹  by their hypocrisy. 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?”

[28:18]  ¹ tn The form is the Niphal imperfect of יָשַׁע (yasha’, “will be saved”). In all probability this refers to deliverance from misfortune. Some render it “kept safe” (NIV) or “will be safe” (NRSV, TEV). It must be interpreted in contrast to the corrupt person who will fall.

[28:18]  ² tn The Qal imperfect יִפּוֹל (yipol) is given a future translation in this context, as is the previous verb (“will be delivered”) because the working out of divine retribution appears to be coming suddenly in the future. The idea of “falling” could be a metonymy of adjunct (with the falling accompanying the ruin that comes to the person), or it may simply be a comparison between falling and being destroyed. Cf. NCV “will suddenly be ruined”; NLT “will be destroyed.”

[28:18]  ³ tn The last word in the verse, בְּאֶחָת (bÿ’ekhat), means “in one [= at once (?)].” This may indicate a sudden fall, for falling “in one” (the literal meaning) makes no sense. W. McKane wishes to emend the text to read “into a pit” based on v. 10b (Proverbs [OTL], 622); this emendation is followed by NAB, NRSV.

[23:4]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet) has traditionally been understood as a compound noun meaning “shadow of death” (צֵל [tsel] + מָוֶת [mavet]; see BDB 853 s.v. צַלְמָוֶת). Other scholars prefer to vocalize the form צַלְמוּת (tsalmut) and understand it as an abstract noun (from the root צָלַם, tsalam) meaning “darkness.” An examination of the word’s usage favors the latter derivation. It is frequently associated with darkness/night and contrasted with light/morning (see Job 3:5; 10:21-22; 12:22; 24:17; 28:3; 34:22; Ps 107:10, 14; Isa 9:1; Jer 13:16; Amos 5:8). In some cases the darkness described is associated with the realm of death (Job 10:21-22; 38:17), but this is a metaphorical application of the word and does not reflect its inherent meaning. If the word does indeed mean “darkness,” it modifies גַיְא (gay’, “valley, ravine”) quite naturally. At the metaphorical level, v. 4 pictures the shepherd taking his sheep through a dark ravine where predators might lurk. The life-threatening situations faced by the psalmist are the underlying reality behind the imagery.

[23:4]  ⁵ tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 4, as in vv. 1-3, highlight what is typical in the psalmist’s experience.

[23:4]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term רַע (ra’) is traditionally translated “evil” here, perhaps suggesting a moral or ethical nuance. But at the level of the metaphor, the word means “danger, injury, harm,” as a sheep might experience from a predator. The life-threatening dangers faced by the psalmist, especially the enemies mentioned in v. 5, are the underlying reality.

[23:4]  ⁷ tn The Piel of נָחַם (nakham), when used with a human object, means “comfort, console.” But here, within the metaphorical framework, it refers to the way in which a shepherd uses his implements to assure the sheep of his presence and calm their nerves. The underlying reality is the emotional stability God provides the psalmist during life threatening situations.

[26:11]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Or “redeem me.”

[26:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my foot stands in a level place.”

[84:11]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Or “grace.”

[84:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “he does not withhold good to those walking in integrity.”

[33:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).

[33:15]  ¹⁵ tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”

[33:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”

[33:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”

[33:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”

[33:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he [in the] exalted places will live.”

[33:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “mountain strongholds, cliffs [will be] his elevated place.”

[2:13]  ²¹ tn The words “with them” are a reflection of the σύν- (sun-) prefix on the verb συναπήχθη (sunaphcqh; see L&N 31.76).

[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).