Proverbs 3:6

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

and he will make your paths straight. ³ 

Proverbs 4:25

4:25 Let your eyes look directly ⁴  in front of you

and let your gaze ⁵  look straight before you.

Proverbs 9:15

9:15 calling out ⁶  to those who are passing by her ⁷  in the way, ⁸ 

who go straight ⁹  on their way.

[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.

[4:25]  ⁴ tn The jussives in this verse are both Hiphil, the first from the verb “to gaze; to look intently [or, carefully],” (נָבַט, navat) and the second from the verb “to be smooth, straight” (יָשָׁר, yashar).

[4:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “your eyelids.” The term “eyelids” is often a poetic synonym for “eye” (it is a metonymy of adjunct, something connected with the eye put for the eye that sees); it may intensify the idea as one might squint to gain a clearer look.

[9:15]  ⁷ tn The infinitive construct “calling out” functions epexegetically in the sentence, explaining how the previous action was accomplished.

[9:15]  ⁸ tn The term “her” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[9:15]  ⁹ tn The noun is a genitive of location after the construct participle. Its parallel word is also an adverbial accusative of location.

[9:15]  ¹⁰ tn The participle modifies the participle in the first colon. To describe the passers-by in this context as those “who go straight” means that they are quiet and unwary.