Proverbs 3:17

3:17 Her ways are very pleasant, ¹ 

and all her paths are peaceful.

Proverbs 8:20

8:20 I walk in the path of righteousness,

in the pathway of justice,

Proverbs 1:15

1:15 My child, do not go down ²  their way, ³ 

withhold yourself ⁴  from their path; ⁵ 

Proverbs 7:25

7:25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways –

do not wander into her pathways;

Proverbs 8:2

8:2 At the top ⁶  of the elevated places along the way,

at the intersection ⁷  of the paths she takes her stand;

Proverbs 12:28

12:28 In the path of righteousness there is life,

but another path leads to death. ⁸ 

[3:17]  ¹ tn Heb “her ways are ways of pleasantness” (so KJV, NRSV). The present translation contracts this expression for the sake of smoothness. The plural of דֶרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) is repeated for emphasis. The noun נֹעַם (no’am, “pleasantness”) functions as an attributive genitive: “pleasant ways.”

[1:15]  ² tn Heb “do not walk.”

[1:15]  ³ tn Heb “in the way with them.”

[1:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “your foot.” The term “foot” (רֶגֶל, regel) is a synecdoche of part (= your foot) for the whole person (= yourself).

[1:15]  ⁵ sn The word “path” (נְתִיבָה, nÿtivah) like the word “way” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) is used as an idiom (developed from a hypocatastasis), meaning “conduct, course of life.”

[8:2]  ³ tn Heb “head.” The word רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “head”) refers to the highest area or most important place in the elevated area. The contrast with chapter 7 is striking. There the wayward woman lurked at the corners in the street at night; here wisdom is at the highest point in the open places in view of all.

[8:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “at the house of the paths.” The “house” is not literal here, but refers to where the paths meet (cf. ASV, NIV), that is, the “crossroads” (so NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[12:28]  ⁴ tc The consonants אל־מות (’l-mvt) are vocalized by the MT as אַל־מָוֶת (’al-mavet, “no death”), meaning: “the journey of her path is no-death” = immortality. However, many medieval Hebrew mss and all the versions vocalize it as אֶל־מָוֶת (’el-mavet, “to death”), meaning: “but another path leads to death” (cf. NAB, NCV). W. McKane adopts this reading, and suggests that MT is a scribal change toward eternal life (Proverbs [OTL], 451-52). Others adopt this reading because they do not find the term “life” used in Proverbs for eternal life, nor do they find references to immortality elsewhere in Proverbs.