Proverbs 3:6

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

and he will make your paths straight. ³ 

Proverbs 8:9

8:9 All of them are clear ⁴  to the discerning

and upright to those who find knowledge.

Psalms 5:8

5:8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness ⁵ 

because of those who wait to ambush me, ⁶ 

remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me! ⁷ 

Psalms 25:8-9

25:8 The Lord is both kind and fair; ⁸ 

that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live. ⁹ 

25:9 May he show ¹⁰  the humble what is right! ¹¹ 

May he teach ¹²  the humble his way!

Psalms 25:12

25:12 The Lord shows his faithful followers

the way they should live. ¹³ 

Psalms 27:11

27:11 Teach me how you want me to live; ¹⁴ 

lead me along a level path ¹⁵  because of those who wait to ambush me! ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 30:21

30:21 You ¹⁷  will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,

“This is the correct ¹⁸  way, walk in it,”

whether you are heading to the right or the left.

Isaiah 35:8

35:8 A thoroughfare will be there –

it will be called the Way of Holiness. ¹⁹ 

The unclean will not travel on it;

it is reserved for those authorized to use it ²⁰  –

fools ²¹  will not stray into it.

[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.

[8:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “front of.” Describing the sayings as “right in front” means they are open, obvious, and clear, as opposed to words that might be twisted or perverse. The parallel word “upright” means “straight, smooth, right.” Wisdom’s teachings are in plain view and intelligible for those who find knowledge.

[5:8]  ⁵ tn God’s providential leading is in view. His צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”) includes here the deliverance that originates in his righteousness; he protects and vindicates the one whose cause is just. For other examples of this use of the word, see BDB 842 s.v.

[5:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 27:11; 56:2.

[5:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “make level before me your way.” The imperative “make level” is Hiphil in the Kethib (consonantal text); Piel in the Qere (marginal reading). God’s “way” is here the way in which he leads the psalmist providentially (see the preceding line, where the psalmist asks the Lord to lead him).

[25:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “good and just.”

[25:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “teaches sinners in the way.”

[25:9]  ¹⁰ tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive; the psalmist expresses his prayer.

[25:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “may he guide the humble into justice.” The Hebrew term עֲנָוִים (’anavim, “humble”) usually refers to the oppressed, but in this context, where the psalmist confesses his sin and asks for moral guidance, it apparently refers to sinners who humble themselves before God and seek deliverance from their sinful condition.

[25:9]  ¹² tn The prefixed verbal form is interpreted as a jussive (it stands parallel to the jussive form, “may he guide”).

[25:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “Who is this man, the one who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.” The singular (note “man”) is representative here (see v. 14, where the plural is used), and has thus been translated as a plural (“followers…they”).

[27:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “teach me your way.” The Lord’s “way” refers here to the moral principles which he expects the psalmist to follow. See Ps 25:4.

[27:11]  ¹⁵ sn The level path refers to God’s moral principles (see the parallel line), which, if followed, will keep the psalmist blameless before his accusers (see v. 12).

[27:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “because of those who watch me [with evil intent].” See also Pss 5:8; 54:5; 56:2.

[30:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “your ears” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[30:21]  ¹⁸ tn The word “correct’ is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[35:8]  ¹⁹ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and there will be there a road and a way, and the Way of Holiness it will be called.” וְדֶרֶךְ (vÿderekh, “and a/the way”) is accidentally duplicated; the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a does not reflect the repetition of the phrase.

[35:8]  ²⁰ tn The precise meaning of this line is uncertain. The text reads literally “and it is for them, the one who walks [on the] way.” In this context those authorized to use the Way of Holiness would be morally upright people who are the recipients of God’s deliverance, in contrast to the morally impure and foolish who are excluded from the new covenant community.

[35:8]  ²¹ tn In this context “fools” are those who are morally corrupt, not those with limited intellectual capacity.