Psalms 25:9-10

25:9 May he show ¹  the humble what is right! ² 

May he teach ³  the humble his way!

25:10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable ⁴ 

to those who follow the demands of his covenant. ⁵ 

Psalms 33:18

33:18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers, ⁶ 

those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness ⁷ 

Proverbs 3:5-6

3:5 Trust ⁸  in the Lord with all your heart, ⁹ 

and do not rely ¹⁰  on your own understanding. ¹¹ 

3:6 Acknowledge ¹²  him in all your ways, ¹³ 

and he will make your paths straight. ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 49:10

49:10 They will not be hungry or thirsty;

the sun’s oppressive heat will not beat down on them, ¹⁵ 

for one who has compassion on them will guide them;

he will lead them to springs of water.

[25:9]  ¹ tn The prefixed verbal form is jussive; the psalmist expresses his prayer.

[25:9]  ² 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]  ³ tn The prefixed verbal form is interpreted as a jussive (it stands parallel to the jussive form, “may he guide”).

[25:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “all the paths of the Lord are faithful and trustworthy.” The Lord’s “paths” refer here to his characteristic actions.

[25:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “to the ones who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

[33:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “look, the eye of the Lord [is] toward the ones who fear him.” The expression “the eye…[is] toward” here indicates recognition and the bestowing of favor. See Ps 34:15. The one who fears the Lord respects his sovereignty and obeys his commandments. See Ps 128:1; Prov 14:2.

[33:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “for the ones who wait for his faithfulness.”

[3:5]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ sn The “heart” functions as a metonymy of subject encompassing mind, emotions and will (BDB 524 s.v. לֵב 2).

[3:5]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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.

[49:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and the heat and the sun will not strike them.” In Isa 35:7, its only other occurrence in the OT, שָׁרָב (sharav) stands parallel to “parched ground” and in contrast to “pool.” In later Hebrew and Aramaic it refers to “dry heat, heat of the sun” (Jastrow 1627 s.v.). Here it likely has this nuance and forms a hendiadys with “sun.”