PROV 2:8 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

2:8 OSHB variant note: חסיד/ו: (x-qere) ’חֲסִידָ֣י/ו’: lemma_2623 morph_HAampc/Sp3ms id_20Unh חֲסִידָ֣י/ו

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX τοῦ φυλάξαι ὁδοὺς δικαιωμάτων, καὶ ὁδὸν εὐλαβουμένων αὐτὸν διαφυλάξει.
(tou fulaxai hodous dikaiōmatōn, kai hodon eulaboumenōn auton diafulaxei. )

BrTr that he may guard the righteous ways: and he will preserve the way of them that fear him.

ULT to guard the paths of justice,
⇔ and the way of his faithful ones he will preserve.

UST He does these things in order to guard those people who live justly.
⇔ Indeed, he keeps safe those people who are faithful to him.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

WEBBE that he may guard the paths of justice,
⇔ and preserve the way of his saints.

WMBB that he may guard the paths of justice,
⇔ and preserve the way of his holy ones.

NET to guard the paths of the righteous
⇔ and to protect the way of his pious ones.

LSV To keep the paths of judgment,
And He preserves the way of His saints.

FBV He supports those who act fairly and protects those who trust in him.

T4T He guards those who act justly/fairly toward others,
⇔ and he watches over those who are faithful/loyal to him.

LEB • in order to guard paths of justice and keep[fn] the way of his faithful ones.

2:? Or “preserve, guard, watch”

BBE He keeps watch on the ways which are right, and takes care of those who have the fear of him.

Moff a safeguard for the straight life,
⇔ a protection for the pious);

JPS That He may guard the paths of justice, and preserve the way of His godly ones.

ASV That he may guard the paths of justice,
⇔ And preserve the way of his saints.

DRA Keeping the paths of justice, and guarding the ways of saints.

YLT To keep the paths of judgment, And the way of His saints He preserveth.

Drby guarding the paths of just judgment and keeping the way of his [fn]godly ones.

2.8 Elohim

RV That he may guard the paths of judgment, and preserve the way of his saints.
(That he may guard the paths of judgement, and preserve the way of his saints. )

SLT To guard the paths of judgment, and he will watch the way of his godly ones.

Wbstr He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

KJB-1769 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
(He keepeth/keeps the paths of judgement, and preserveth the way of his saints. )

KJB-1611 He keepeth the pathes of iudgement, and preserueth the way of his Saints.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation)

Bshps That they may kepe the right path: and he preserueth the way of such as do serue him with godlinesse.
(That they may keep the right path: and he preserveth the way of such as do serve him with godliness.)

Gnva That they may keepe the wayes of iudgement: and he preserueth the way of his Saintes)
(That they may keep the ways of judgement: and he preserveth the way of his Saints) )

Cvdl he kepeth them in ye right path, and preserueth ye waye of his sayntes.
(he keepeth/keeps them in ye/you_all right path, and preserveth ye/you_all way of his saints.)

Wycl And he schal kepe the pathis of riytfulnesse, and he schal kepe the weies of hooli men.
(And he shall keep the paths of rightfulness/righteousness, and he shall keep the ways of holy men.)

Luth und behütet die, so recht tun, und bewahret den Weg seiner Heiligen.
(and protected/sheltered that, so right do/put, and preserved/kept/retained the way/path/road his saints/holy_ones.)

ClVg servans semitas justitiæ, et vias sanctorum custodiens.
(servans path justice, and ways/roads holy_place keeping/guarding. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:1–22: Second lesson: Wisdom will spare you from the dangers of crime and adultery

Here is a summary of the advice in this section: If you accept what I teach and seek to become wise (2:1–4), you will indeed become wise, and because of your wisdom, you will know how to revere the LORD and how to do what is right. You will also be protected (2:5–11). Wisdom will protect you from wicked men (2:12–15) and from adulterous women (2:16–19). Consequently, you will follow a righteous lifestyle and enjoy a long life in your own land, but the wicked will be forced to leave their land (2:20–22).

Some other headings for this section are:

The Benefits of Wisdom (NLT)

The Rewards of Wisdom (GNT)

The rewards/benefits that wisdom gives to people

Paragraph 2:5–8

This paragraph introduces some of the results that come from fulfilling the conditions of 2:1–4. See the note on Paragraph 2:1–4 for ways to introduce 2:5.

2:8

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

^8ato guard the paths of justice

^8band protect the way of His saints.

2:8a

to guard the paths of justice

He guards/protects those who act justly toward others;

to guard the paths of justice: In Hebrew, this verse begins with an infinitive verb which means to watch over or protect. This verse may express the purpose of 2:7.

But probably it simply restates or explains the meaning of 2:7. Most English versions do not make the relationship between these verses explicit. For example:

guarding the course of justice (REB)

He guards the paths of the just (NLT)

guard the paths of justice: There are two ways to interpret this clause here:

The LORD guards the lives of people who treat others fairly/justly. For example:
He protects those who treat others fairly (GNT) (NIV, GNT, GW, NET)
The LORD guards the course of justice. He ensures that justice is done. For example:
guarding the paths of justice (ESV)
He makes sure that justice is done (NCV) (BSB, ESV, NASB, REB, NRSV, NJB, NLT, CEV, NJPS, NCV)

Both interpretations are well supported and fit the parallelism.The first interpretation is supported by Fox, Cohen, Toy, and Delitzsch. The second interpretation is supported by Waltke, McKane, Garrett, and Murphy. With the first interpretation, there is a closer connection with the preceding verse, because 2:7b and both lines of 2:8 are then talking about God protecting people. With the second interpretation, the first line of 2:8 gives the general principle: God ensures that justice is done by his people through giving them wisdom. He also ensures that justice is done to his people by protecting them. The second line specifies one group to whom God shows justice by protecting them. Interpretation (1) will be followed in the Display, but you may follow either one in your translation.

justice: For the word translated as justice, see the note on mišpat in 1:3b.

2:8a–b

(combined/reordered)

He takes care of all who treat others fairly and are faithful/loyal to him.

2:8b

and protect the way of His saints.

he watches over those who faithfully follow him.

His saints: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as His saints is related to the noun meaning “steadfast/loyal love.” It refers to those who show their loyalty to the LORD by faithfully loving him and his people.

General Comment on 2:8a–b

In this context, the parallel phrases “guard the paths of” and “protect the way of” have essentially the same meaning. The “paths” and the “way” both refer to the lives of people who act justly and are loyal to the LORD. The life of a person often represents the person himself. In some languages, it may be more natural to combine and/or reorder the parallel parts. For example:

protects those who are faithful to him (NLT)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-goal

לִ֭⁠נְצֹר

to,guard

Here, to indicates that what follows is the purpose for Yahweh giving “sound wisdom” and being a “shield,” as stated in the previous verse. Use the most natural way in your language to indicate a purpose. You may need to start a new sentence. Alternate translation: “Yahweh does these things for the purpose of guarding”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

אָרְח֣וֹת מִשְׁפָּ֑ט

paths_of justice

Here, paths could refer to: (1) the behavior of people, in which case the meaning is similar to the next clause in the verse. Alternate translation: “those who behave justly” (2) justice itself, as if it were paths. Alternate translation: “the path that is justice” or “justice”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וְ⁠דֶ֖רֶךְ חֲסִידָ֣יו יִשְׁמֹֽר

and,the_way_of (Some words not found in UHB: to,guard paths_of justice and,the_way_of of,his_faithful_[people] preserving )

Here Solomon speaks of the lives of God’s faithful ones as if they were a way or road. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and he will preserve the lives of his faithful ones”