Psalms 1:6

1:6 Certainly ¹  the Lord guards the way of the godly, ² 

but the way of the wicked ends in destruction. ³ 

Psalms 142:3

142:3 Even when my strength leaves me, ⁴ 

you watch my footsteps. ⁵ 

In the path where I walk

they have hidden a trap for me.

Job 23:10

23:10 But he knows the pathway that I take; ⁶ 

if he tested me, I would come forth like gold. ⁷ 

Isaiah 43:2

43:2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;

when you pass ⁸  through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;

the flames will not harm ⁹  you.

Isaiah 63:9

63:9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. ¹⁰ 

The messenger sent from his very presence ¹¹  delivered them.

In his love and mercy he protected ¹²  them;

he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. ¹³ 

Isaiah 63:16

63:16 For you are our father,

though Abraham does not know us

and Israel does not recognize us.

You, Lord, are our father;

you have been called our protector from ancient times. ¹⁴ 

John 10:27-30

10:27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 10:28 I give ¹⁵  them eternal life, and they will never perish; ¹⁶  no one will snatch ¹⁷  them from my hand. 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, ¹⁸  and no one can snatch ¹⁹  them from my Father’s hand. 10:30 The Father and I ²⁰  are one.” ²¹ 

John 10:1

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

10:1 “I tell you the solemn truth, ²²  the one who does not enter the sheepfold ²³  by the door, ²⁴  but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

Colossians 1:3

Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Church

1:3 We always ²⁵  give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

Galatians 4:9

4:9 But now that you have come to know God (or rather to be known by God), how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless ²⁶  basic forces? ²⁷  Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? ²⁸ 

Galatians 4:2

4:2 But he is under guardians ²⁹  and managers until the date set by his ³⁰  father.

Galatians 2:19

2:19 For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God.

[1:6]  ¹ tn The translation understands כי as asseverative. Another option is to translate “for,” understanding v. 6 as a theological explanation for vv. 3-5, which contrasts the respective destinies of the godly and the wicked.

[1:6]  ² tn Heb “the Lord knows the way of the righteous.” To “know a way” means, in its most basic sense, “to recognize/acknowledge a pathway, route, or prescribed way of life” (see Josh 3:4; Job 21:14; Ps 67:2; Isa 42:16; Jer 5:4-5). Here it could refer to the Lord recognizing the behavior of the godly and, by metonymy, rewarding their godliness with security and prosperity (resulting in the translation, “the Lord rewards the behavior of the godly”). The present translation takes the verb in the sense of “mark out” (cf. Job 23:10), which metonymically could mean “watch over, protect, guard.” In this case the “way of the godly” is not their behavior, but their course of life or destiny; a translation reflecting this would be “the Lord protects the lives of the godly” or “the Lord watches over the destiny of the godly” (cf. NEB, NIV, NRSV). The Hebrew active participle יוֹדֵעַ (yodea’, “knows”) has here a characteristic durative force.

[1:6]  ³ tn Heb “but the way of the wicked perishes.” The “way of the wicked” may refer to their course of life (Ps 146:9; Prov 4:19; Jer 12:1) or their sinful behavior (Prov 12:26; 15:9). The Hebrew imperfect verbal form probably describes here what typically happens, though one could take the form as indicating what will happen (“will perish”).

[142:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “my spirit grows faint.”

[142:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “you know my path.”

[23:10]  ⁶ tn The expression דֶּרֶךְ עִמָּדִי (derekh ’immadi) means “the way with me,” i.e., “the way that I take.” The Syriac has “my way and my standing.” Several commentators prefer “the way of my standing,” meaning where to look for me. J. Reider offers “the way of my life” (“Some notes to the text of the scriptures,” HUCA 3 [1926]: 115). Whatever the precise wording, Job knows that God can always find him.

[23:10]  ⁷ tn There is a perfect verb followed by an imperfect in this clause with the protasis and apodosis relationship (see GKC 493 §159.b).

[43:2]  ⁸ tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[43:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “burn” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV, NLT “consume”; NIV “set you ablaze.”

[63:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in all their distress, there was distress to him” (reading לוֹ [lo] with the margin/Qere).

[63:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the messenger [or “angel”] of his face”; NIV “the angel of his presence.”

[63:9]  ¹² tn Or “redeemed” (KJV, NAB, NIV), or “delivered.”

[63:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “all the days of antiquity”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “days of old.”

[63:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “our protector [or “redeemer”] from antiquity [is] your name.”

[10:28]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And I give.”

[10:28]  ¹⁶ tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”

[10:28]  ¹⁷ tn Or “no one will seize.”

[10:29]  ¹⁸ tn Or “is superior to all.”

[10:29]  ¹⁹ tn Or “no one can seize.”

[10:30]  ²⁰ tn Grk “I and the Father.” The order has been reversed to reflect English style.

[10:30]  ²¹ tn The phrase ἕν ἐσμεν ({en esmen) is a significant assertion with trinitarian implications. ἕν is neuter, not masculine, so the assertion is not that Jesus and the Father are one person, but one “thing.” Identity of the two persons is not what is asserted, but essential unity (unity of essence).

[10:1]  ²² tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[10:1]  ²³ sn There was more than one type of sheepfold in use in Palestine in Jesus’ day. The one here seems to be a courtyard in front of a house (the Greek word used for the sheepfold here, αὐλή [aulh] frequently refers to a courtyard), surrounded by a stone wall (often topped with briars for protection).

[10:1]  ²⁴ tn Or “entrance.”

[1:3]  ²⁵ tn The adverb πάντοτε (pantote) is understood to modify the indicative εὐχαριστοῦμεν (eucaristoumen) because it precedes περὶ ὑμῶν (peri Jumwn) which probably modifies the indicative and not the participle προσευχόμενοι (proseucomenoi). But see 1:9 where the same expression occurs and περὶ ὑμῶν modifies the participle “praying” (προσευχόμενοι).

[4:9]  ²⁶ tn Or “useless.” See L&N 65.16.

[4:9]  ²⁷ tn See the note on the phrase “basic forces” in 4:3.

[4:9]  ²⁸ tn Grk “basic forces, to which you want to be enslaved…” Verse 9 is a single sentence in the Greek text, but has been divided into two in the translation because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence.

[4:2]  ²⁹ tn The Greek term translated “guardians” here is ἐπίτροπος (epitropo"), whose semantic domain overlaps with that of παιδαγωγός (paidagwgo") according to L&N 36.5.

[4:2]  ³⁰ tn Grk “the,” but the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).