Psalms 17:4-5

17:4 As for the actions of people ¹  –

just as you have commanded,

I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men. ² 

17:5 I carefully obey your commands; ³ 

I do not deviate from them. ⁴ 

[17:4]  ¹ tn Heb “with regard to the deeds of man[kind].”

[17:4]  ² tn Heb “by the word of your lips, I, I have watched the paths of the violent” (i.e., “watched” in the sense of “watched for the purpose of avoiding”).

[17:5]  ³ tn Heb “my steps stay firm in your tracks.” The infinitive absolute functions here as a finite verb (see GKC 347 §113.gg). God’s “tracks” are his commands, i.e., the moral pathways he has prescribed for the psalmist.

[17:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “my footsteps do not stagger.”