Proverbs 6:23

6:23 For the commandments ¹  are like ²  a lamp, ³ 

instruction is like a light,

and rebukes of discipline are like ⁴  the road leading to life, ⁵ 

Psalms 16:11

16:11 You lead me in ⁶  the path of life; ⁷ 

I experience absolute joy in your presence; ⁸ 

you always give me sheer delight. ⁹ 

Psalms 139:24

139:24 See if there is any idolatrous tendency ¹⁰  in me,

and lead me in the reliable ancient path! ¹¹ 

Jeremiah 21:8

21:8 “But ¹²  tell the people of Jerusalem ¹³  that the Lord says, ‘I will give you a choice between two courses of action. One will result in life; the other will result in death. ¹⁴ 

Matthew 7:14

7:14 But the gate is narrow and the way is difficult that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

John 14:6

14:6 Jesus replied, ¹⁵  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. ¹⁶  No one comes to the Father except through me.

[6:23]  ¹ tn Heb “the commandment” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).

[6:23]  ² tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[6:23]  ³ sn The terms “lamp,” “light,” and “way” are all metaphors. The positive teachings and commandments will illumine or reveal to the disciple the way to life; the disciplinary correctives will provide guidance into fullness of life.

[6:23]  ⁴ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[6:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “the way of life” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV, NLT “the way to life.” The noun “life” is a genitive following the construct “way.” It could be an attributive genitive modifying the kind of way/course of life that instruction provides, but it could also be objective in that the course of life followed would produce and lead to life.

[16:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “cause me to know”; or “cause me to experience.”

[16:11]  ⁷ tn This is a metaphorical way of saying, “you preserve my life.” The phrase “path of life” stands in contrast to death/Sheol in Prov 2:18-19; 5:5-6; 15:24.

[16:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “abundance of joy [is] with your face.” The plural form of the noun שִׂמְחָה (simkhah, “joy”) occurs only here and in Ps 45:15. It may emphasize the degree of joy experienced.

[16:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “delight [is] in your right hand forever.” The plural form of the adjective נָעִים (na’im, “pleasant, delightful”) may here emphasize the degree of delight experienced (see Job 36:11).

[139:24]  ¹⁰ tn Many understand the Hebrew term עֹצֶב (’otsev) as a noun meaning “pain,” and translate the phrase דֶּרֶךְ עֹצֶב (derekh ’otsev) as “of pain,” but this makes little sense here. (Some interpret it to refer to actions which bring pain to others.) It is preferable to take עֹצֶב as “idol” (see HALOT 865 s.v. I עֹצֶב) and understand “way of an idol” to refer to idolatrous actions or tendency. See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.

[139:24]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in the path of antiquity.” This probably refers to the moral path prescribed by the Lord at the beginning of Israel’s history. See Jer 6:16; 18:15, as well as L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 253.

[21:8]  ¹² tn Heb “And/But unto this people you shall say…” “But” is suggested here by the unusual word order which offsets what they are to say to Zedekiah (v. 3).

[21:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “these people.”

[21:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Behold I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.”

[14:6]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

[14:6]  ¹⁶ tn Or “I am the way, even the truth and the life.”