Proverbs 6:22

6:22 When you walk about, ¹  they ²  will guide you;

when you lie down, they will watch over you;

when you wake up, ³  they will talk ⁴  to you.

Proverbs 6:2

6:2 if ⁵  you have been ensnared ⁶  by the words you have uttered, ⁷ 

and have been caught by the words you have spoken,

Proverbs 22:1

22:1 A good name ⁸  is to be chosen ⁹  rather than great wealth,

good favor ¹⁰  more than silver or gold.

Job 18:7-8

18:7 His vigorous steps ¹¹  are restricted, ¹² 

and his own counsel throws him down. ¹³ 

18:8 For he has been thrown into a net by his feet ¹⁴ 

and he wanders into a mesh. ¹⁵ 

Psalms 18:36

18:36 You widen my path; ¹⁶ 

my feet ¹⁷  do not slip.

[6:22]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “it will guide you.” The verb is singular and the instruction is the subject.

[6:22]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[6:2]  ⁵ tn The term “if” does not appear in this line but is implied by the parallelism. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[6:2]  ⁶ tn The verb יָקַשׁ (yaqash) means “to lay a bait; to lure; to lay snares.” In the Niphal it means “to be caught by bait; to be ensnared” – here in a business entanglement.

[6:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “by the words of your mouth.” The same expression occurs at the end of the following line (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB). Many English versions vary the wording slightly, presumably for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[22:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “a name.” The idea of the name being “good” is implied; it has the connotation here of a reputation (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

[22:1]  ⁹ tn “To be chosen rather than” is a translation of the Niphal participle with the comparative degree taken into consideration. Cf. CEV “worth much more than.”

[22:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “favor of goodness.” This is a somewhat difficult expression. Some English versions render the phrase “favor is better than silver or gold” (so NASB, NRSV) making it parallel to the first colon. But if “good” is retained as an attributive modifier, then it would mean one was well thought of, or one had engaging qualities (cf. ASV “loving favor; NLT “high esteem”). This fits with the idea of the reputation in the first colon, for a good name would bring with it the favor of others.

[18:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the steps of his vigor,” the genitive being the attribute.

[18:7]  ¹² tn The verb צָרַר (tsarar) means “to be cramped; to be straitened; to be hemmed in.” The trouble has hemmed him in, so that he cannot walk with the full, vigorous steps he had before. The LXX has “Let the meanest of men spoil his goods.”

[18:7]  ¹³ tn The LXX has “causes him to stumble,” which many commentators accept; but this involves the transposition of the three letters. The verb is שָׁלַךְ (shalakh, “throw”) not כָּשַׁל (kashal, “stumble”).

[18:8]  ¹⁴ tn See Ps 25:15.

[18:8]  ¹⁵ tn The word שְׂבָכָה (sÿvakhah) is used in scripture for the lattice window (2 Kgs 1:2). The Arabic cognate means “to be intertwined.” So the term could describe a net, matting, grating, or lattice. Here it would be the netting stretched over a pit.

[18:36]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you make wide my step under me.” “Step” probably refers metonymically to the path upon which the psalmist walks. Another option is to translate, “you widen my stride.” This would suggest that God gives the psalmist the capacity to run quickly.

[18:36]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “lower legs.” On the meaning of the Hebrew noun, which occurs only here, see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 112. A cognate Akkadian noun means “lower leg.”