Psalms 25:8-9

25:8 The Lord is both kind and fair; ¹ 

that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live. ² 

25:9 May he show ³  the humble what is right! ⁴ 

May he teach ⁵  the humble his way!

Psalms 94:19

94:19 When worries threaten to overwhelm me, ⁶ 

your soothing touch makes me happy. ⁷ 

Psalms 119:125

119:125 I am your servant. Give me insight,

so that I can understand ⁸  your rules.

Psalms 143:8

143:8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning, ⁹ 

for I trust in you.

Show me the way I should go, ¹⁰ 

because I long for you. ¹¹ 

Proverbs 3:5-6

3:5 Trust ¹²  in the Lord with all your heart, ¹³ 

and do not rely ¹⁴  on your own understanding. ¹⁵ 

3:6 Acknowledge ¹⁶  him in all your ways, ¹⁷ 

and he will make your paths straight. ¹⁸ 

Proverbs 12:5

12:5 The plans ¹⁹  of the righteous are just;

the counsels of the wicked are deceitful. ²⁰ 

Isaiah 26:3

26:3 You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith,

for they trust in you. ²¹ 

Isaiah 30:21

30:21 You ²²  will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,

“This is the correct ²³  way, walk in it,”

whether you are heading to the right or the left.

[25:8]  ¹ tn Heb “good and just.”

[25:8]  ² tn Heb “teaches sinners in the way.”

[25:9]  ³ tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive; the psalmist expresses his prayer.

[25:9]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The prefixed verbal form is interpreted as a jussive (it stands parallel to the jussive form, “may he guide”).

[94:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “when my worries are many within me.”

[94:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “your comforts cause my soul to delight.”

[119:125]  ⁸ tn or “know.” The cohortative verbal form with vav (ו) conjunctive indicates purpose/result after the preceding imperative.

[143:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “cause me to hear in the morning your loyal love.” Here “loyal love” probably stands metonymically for an oracle of assurance promising God’s intervention as an expression of his loyal love.

[143:8]  ¹⁰ sn The way probably refers here to God’s moral and ethical standards and requirements (see v. 10).

[143:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for to you I lift up my life.” The Hebrew expression נָאָשׂ נֶפֶשׁ (na’as nefesh, “to lift up [one’s] life”) means “to desire; to long for” (see Deut 24:15; Prov 19:18; Jer 22:27; 44:14; Hos 4:8, as well as H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, 16).

[3:5]  ¹² sn The word בְּטַח (bÿtakh, “trust”) is used in the OT in (1) literal physical sense: to physically lean upon something for support and (2) figurative sense: to rely upon someone or something for help or protection (BDB 105 s.v. I בְּטַח; HALOT 120 s.v. I בטח). The verb is often used with false securities, people trusting in things that prove to be worthless. But here the object of the secure trust is the Lord who is a reliable object of confidence.

[3:5]  ¹³ sn The “heart” functions as a metonymy of subject encompassing mind, emotions and will (BDB 524 s.v. לֵב 2).

[3:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “do not lean.” The verb שָׁעַן (sha’an, “to lean; to rely”) is used in (1) literal physical sense of leaning upon something for support and (2) figurative sense of relying upon someone or something for help or protection (BDB 1043 s.v.). Here it functions figuratively (hypocatastasis: implied comparison); relying on one’s own understanding is compared to leaning on something that is unreliable for support (e.g., Isa 10:20).

[3:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “your understanding.” The term בִּינָה (binah, “understanding”) is used elsewhere in this book of insight given by God from the instructions in Proverbs (Prov 2:3; 7:4; 8:14; 9:6, 10; 23:23). Here it refers to inherent human understanding that functions in relative ignorance unless supplemented by divine wisdom (Job 28:12-28; 39:26). The reflexive pronoun “own” is supplied in the translation to clarify this point. It is dangerous for a person to rely upon mere human wisdom (Prov 14:12; 16:25).

[3:6]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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.

[12:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “thoughts.” This term refers not just to random thoughts, however, but to what is planned or devised.

[12:5]  ²⁰ sn The plans of good people are directed toward what is right. Advice from the wicked, however, is deceitful and can only lead to trouble.

[26:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “[one of] firm purpose you will keep [in] peace, peace, for in you he possesses trust.” The Hebrew term יֵצֶר (yetser) refers to what one devises in the mind; סָמוּךְ (samukh) probably functions here like an attributive adjective and carries the nuance “firm.” So the phrase literally means, “a firm purpose,” but as the object of the verb “keep, guard,” it must stand by metonymy for the one(s) who possess a firm purpose. In this context the “righteous nation” (v. 2) is probably in view and the “firm purpose” refers to their unwavering faith in God’s vindication (see 25:9). In this context שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”), which is repeated for emphasis, likely refers to national security, not emotional or psychological composure (see vv. 1-2). The passive participle בָּטוּחַ (batuakh) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action.

[30:21]  ²² tn Heb “your ears” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[30:21]  ²³ tn The word “correct’ is supplied in the translation for clarification.