Proverbs 3:6

3:6 Acknowledge ¹  him in all your ways, ² 

and he will make your paths straight. ³ 

Proverbs 4:11-12

4:11 I will guide you ⁴  in the way of wisdom

and I will lead you in upright paths. ⁵ 

4:12 When you walk, your steps ⁶  will not be hampered, ⁷ 

and when you run, ⁸  you will not stumble.

Proverbs 6:22

6:22 When you walk about, ⁹  they ¹⁰  will guide you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

when you wake up, ¹¹  they will talk ¹²  to you.

Psalms 23:3

23:3 He restores my strength. ¹³ 

He leads me down ¹⁴  the right paths ¹⁵ 

for the sake of his reputation. ¹⁶ 

Psalms 25:4-5

25:4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord!

Teach me your paths! ¹⁷ 

25:5 Guide me into your truth ¹⁸  and teach me.

For you are the God who delivers me;

on you I rely all day long.

Psalms 32:8

32:8 I will instruct and teach you ¹⁹  about how you should live. ²⁰ 

I will advise you as I look you in the eye. ²¹ 

Isaiah 2:3

2:3 many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple of the God of Jacob,

so ²²  he can teach us his requirements, ²³ 

and ²⁴  we can follow his standards.” ²⁵ 

For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; ²⁶ 

the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. ²⁷ 

Isaiah 49:10

49:10 They will not be hungry or thirsty;

the sun’s oppressive heat will not beat down on them, ²⁸ 

for one who has compassion on them will guide them;

he will lead them to springs of water.

Isaiah 55:4

55:4 Look, I made him a witness to nations, ²⁹ 

a ruler and commander of nations.”

John 10:3

10:3 The doorkeeper ³⁰  opens the door ³¹  for him, ³²  and the sheep hear his voice. He ³³  calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ³⁴ 

John 10:27-28

10:27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 10:28 I give ³⁵  them eternal life, and they will never perish; ³⁶  no one will snatch ³⁷  them from my hand.

Revelation 7:17

7:17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” ³⁸ 

[3:6]  ¹ tn Heb “know him.” The verb יָדַע (yadah, “to know”) includes mental awareness of who God is and the consequential submission to his lordship. To know him is to obey him. The sage is calling for a life of trust and obedience in which the disciple sees the Lord in every event and relies on him. To acknowledge the Lord in every event means trusting and obeying him for guidance in right conduct.

[3:6]  ² tn The term דֶרֶךְ (derekh, “way”) is figurative (hypocatastasis: implied comparison) referring to a person’s course of life, actions and undertakings (Prov 2:8; 3:6, 23; 11:5; 20:24; 29:27; 31:3; BDB 203 s.v. 5; cf. TEV “in everything you do”; NCV, NLT “in all you do”). This is a call for total commitment in trust for obedience in all things.

[3:6]  ³ tn The verb יָשָׁר (yashar) means “to make smooth; to make straight” (BDB 444 s.v.). This phrase means “to make the way free from obstacles,” that is, to make it successful (e.g., Isa 40:3). The straight, even road is the right road; God will make the way smooth for the believer.

[4:11]  ⁴ tn The form הֹרֵתִיךָ (horetikha) is the Hiphil perfect with a suffix from the root יָרָה (yarah, “to guide”). This and the parallel verb should be taken as instantaneous perfects, translated as an English present tense: The sage is now instructing or pointing the way.

[4:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the tracks of uprightness”; cf. NAB “on straightforward paths.” Both the verb and the object of the preposition make use of the idiom – the verb is the Hiphil perfect from דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, related to “road; way”) and the object is “wagon tracks, paths.”

[4:12]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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).

[6:22]  ⁹ tn The verbal form is the Hitpael infinitive construct with a preposition and a suffixed subjective genitive to form a temporal clause. The term הָלַךְ (halakh) in this verbal stem means “to go about; to go to and fro.” The use of these terms in v. 22 also alludes to Deut 6:7.

[6:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “it will guide you.” The verb is singular and the instruction is the subject.

[6:22]  ¹¹ tn In both of the preceding cola an infinitive construct was used for the temporal clauses; now the construction uses a perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. The verb would then be equivalent to an imperfect tense, but subordinated as a temporal clause here.

[6:22]  ¹² sn The Hebrew verb means “talk” in the sense of “to muse; to complain; to meditate”; cf. TEV, NLT “advise you.” Instruction bound to the heart will speak to the disciple on awaking.

[23:3]  ¹³ tn The appearance of the Hebrew term נַפְשִׁי (nafshi), traditionally translated “my soul,” might suggest a spiritualized interpretation for the first line of v. 3. However, at the surface level of the shepherd/sheep metaphor, this is unlikely. When it occurs with a pronominal suffix נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. 4 נֶפֶשׁ.a). In this context, where the statement most naturally refers to the physical provision just described, the form is best translated simply “me.” The accompanying verb (a Polel form [factitive use] of שׁוּב [shuv]), if referring to the physical provision just described, carries the nuance “refresh, restore strength.”

[23:3]  ¹⁴ tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 (יְשׁוֹבֵב [yÿshovev] and יַנְחֵנִי [yakheniy]), like those in vv. 1-2, highlight what is typical of the shepherd/sheep relationship.

[23:3]  ¹⁵ tn The attributive genitive צֶדֶק (tsedeq) is traditionally translated “righteousness” here, as if designating a moral or ethical quality. But this seems unlikely, for it modifies מַעְגְּלֵי (ma’ggÿley, “paths”). Within the shepherd/sheep metaphor, the phrase likely refers to “right” or “correct” paths, i.e. ones that lead to pastures, wells, or the fold. While צֶדֶק usually does carry a moral or ethical nuance, it can occasionally refer to less abstract things, such as weights and offerings. In this context, which emphasizes divine provision and protection, the underlying reality is probably God’s providential guidance. The psalmist is confident that God takes him down paths that will ultimately lead to something beneficial, not destructive.

[23:3]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew term שֶׁם (shem, “name”) refers here to the shepherd’s reputation. (The English term “name” is often used the same way.) The statement לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ (lÿma’an shÿmo, “for the sake of his name”) makes excellent sense within the framework of the shepherd/sheep metaphor. Shepherds, who sometimes hired out their services, were undoubtedly concerned about their vocational reputation. To maintain their reputation as competent shepherds, they had to know the “lay of the land” and make sure they led the sheep down the right paths to the proper destinations. The underlying reality is a profound theological truth: God must look out for the best interests of the one he has promised to protect, because if he fails to do so, his faithfulness could legitimately be called into question and his reputation damaged.

[25:4]  ¹⁷ sn Teach me your paths. In this context the Lord’s “ways” and “paths” refer to the moral principles which the Lord prescribes for his followers. See vv. 8-10.

[25:5]  ¹⁸ sn The Lord’s commandments are referred to as truth here because they are a trustworthy and accurate expression of the divine will.

[32:8]  ¹⁹ tn The second person pronominal forms in this verse are singular. The psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually (see also the note on the word “eye” in the next line). A less likely option (but one which is commonly understood) is that the Lord addresses the psalmist in vv. 8-9 (cf. NASB “I will instruct you and teach you…I will counsel you with My eye upon you”).

[32:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “I will instruct you and I will teach you in the way [in] which you should walk.”

[32:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “I will advise, upon you my eye,” that is, “I will offer advice [with] my eye upon you.” In 2 Chr 20:12 the statement “our eye is upon you” means that the speakers are looking to the Lord for intervention. Here the expression “my eye upon you” may simply mean that the psalmist will teach his pupils directly and personally.

[2:3]  ²² tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).

[2:3]  ²³ tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.

[2:3]  ²⁴ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.

[2:3]  ²⁵ tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

[2:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”

[2:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

[49:10]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and the heat and the sun will not strike them.” In Isa 35:7, its only other occurrence in the OT, שָׁרָב (sharav) stands parallel to “parched ground” and in contrast to “pool.” In later Hebrew and Aramaic it refers to “dry heat, heat of the sun” (Jastrow 1627 s.v.). Here it likely has this nuance and forms a hendiadys with “sun.”

[55:4]  ²⁹ sn Ideally the Davidic king was to testify to the nations of God’s greatness (cf. Pss 18:50 HT [18:49 ET]; 22:28 HT [22:27 ET]). See J. H. Eaton, Kingship in the Psalms (SBT), 182-84.

[10:3]  ³⁰ tn Or “porter” (British English).

[10:3]  ³¹ tn The words “the door” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[10:3]  ³² tn Grk “For this one.”

[10:3]  ³³ tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[10:3]  ³⁴ sn He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Some interpreters have suggested that there was more than one flock in the fold, and there would be a process of separation where each shepherd called out his own flock. This may also be suggested by the mention of a doorkeeper in v. 3 since only the larger sheepfolds would have such a guard. But the Gospel of John never mentions a distinction among the sheep in this fold; in fact (10:16) there are other sheep which are to be brought in, but they are to be one flock and one shepherd.

[10:28]  ³⁵ tn Grk “And I give.”

[10:28]  ³⁶ tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”

[10:28]  ³⁷ tn Or “no one will seize.”

[7:17]  ³⁸ sn An allusion to Isa 25:8.