Internet Verse Search Commentaries Word Analysis ITL - draft

Proverbs 20:24

NETBible	The steps of a person¹ are ordained by² the Lord – so how can anyone³ understand his own⁴ way?
NIV © biblegateway Pro 20:24	A man’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way?
NASB © biblegateway Pro 20:24	Man’s steps are ordained by the LORD, How then can man understand his way?
NLT © biblegateway Pro 20:24	How can we understand the road we travel? It is the LORD who directs our steps.
MSG © biblegateway Pro 20:24	The very steps we take come from GOD; otherwise how would we know where we're going?
BBE © SABDAweb Pro 20:24	A man’s steps are of the Lord; how then may a man have knowledge of his way?
NRSV © bibleoremus Pro 20:24	All our steps are ordered by the LORD; how then can we understand our own ways?
NKJV © biblegateway Pro 20:24	A man’s steps are of the LORD; How then can a man understand his own way?
[+] More English


KJV	Man's <01397> goings <04703> [are] of the LORD <03068>_; how can a man <0120> then understand <0995> (8799) his own way <01870>_?
NASB © biblegateway Pro 20:24	Man's <01397> steps <04703> are ordained by the LORD <03068> , How <04100> then can man <0120> understand <0995> his way <01870> ?
LXXM	para <3844> PREP kuriou <2962> N-GSM euyunetai <2116> V-PPI-3S ta <3588> T-NPN diabhmata {N-NPN} andri <435> N-DSM ynhtov <2349> A-NSM de <1161> PRT pwv <4459> ADV an <302> PRT nohsai <3539> V-AAN tav <3588> T-APF odouv <3598> N-APF autou <846> D-GSM
NET [draft] ITL	The steps <04703> of a person <01397> are ordained by the Lord <03068> – so how <04100> can anyone <0120> understand <0995> his own way <01870> ?
HEBREW	wkrd <01870> Nyby <0995> hm <04100> Mdaw <0120> rbg <01397> ydeum <04703> hwhym (20:24) <03068>

NETBible

The steps of a person¹ are ordained by² the Lord – so how can anyone³ understand his own⁴ way?

NET Notes

¹tn Heb “the steps of a man”; but “man” is the noun גֶּבֶר (gever, in pause), indicating an important, powerful person. BDB 149-50 s.v. suggests it is used of men in their role of defending women and children; if that can be validated, then a translation of “man” would be appropriate here. But the line seems to have a wider, more general application. The “steps” represent (by implied comparison) the course of life (cf. NLT “the road we travel”).

²tn Heb “from the Lord”; NRSV “ordered by the Lord”; NIV “directed by the Lord.”

²sn To say that one’s steps are ordained by the Lord means that one’s course of actions, one’s whole life, is divinely prepared and sovereignly superintended (e.g., Gen 50:26; Prov 3:6). Ironically, man is not actually in control of his own steps.

³tn The verse uses an independent nominative absolute to point up the contrast between the mortal and the immortal: “and man, how can he understand his way?” The verb in the sentence would then be classified as a potential imperfect; and the whole question rhetorical. It is affirming that humans cannot understand very much at all about their lives.

⁴tn Heb “his way.” The referent of the third masculine singular pronoun is unclear, so the word “own” was supplied in the translation to clarify that the referent is the human individual, not the Lord.