PROV 3:6 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=vital (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Acknowledge Yahweh’s involvement in everything you do,
⇔ and he will show you the best course to follow.

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 Πάσαις ὁδοῖς σου γνώριζε αὐτὴν, ἵνα ὀρθοτομῇ τὰς ὁδούς σου.
(Pasais hodois sou gnōrize autaʸn, hina orthotomaʸ tas hodous sou. )

BrTr In all thy ways acquaint thyself with her, that she may rightly [fn]direct thy paths.

ULT In all your ways acknowledge him,
⇔ and he himself will straighten your paths.

UST Let Yahweh lead you whenever you do anything.
⇔ As a result of doing so, he will show you what you should do.

OEB No OEB PROV book available

CSB in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.

NLT Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

NIV in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

CEV Always let him lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow.

ESV In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

NASB In all your ways aacknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

LSB In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

1ST In all your ways acknowledge him, and he himself will keep your paths straight.

WEBBE In all your ways acknowledge him,
⇔ and he will make your paths straight.

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG ^(5-12)Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
  don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
  he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
  Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
  your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
  give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
  your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;
  don’t sulk under his loving correction.
It’s the child he loves that God corrects;
  a father’s delight is behind all this.

NET Acknowledge him in all your ways,
⇔ and he will make your paths straight.

LSV In all your ways know Him,
And He makes your paths straight.

FBV Remember him in everything you do, and he'll show you the right way.

T4T Always allow him to lead you.
⇔ If you do that, he will ◄show you the right path/direct your life►.

LEB • In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will straighten your paths.

NRSV In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

NKJV In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

NAB In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths.

BBE In all your ways give ear to him, and he will make straight your footsteps.

Moff have mind of him wherever you may go,
⇔ and he will clear the road for you.

JPS In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths.

ASV In all thy ways acknowledge him,
⇔ And he will direct thy paths.

DRA In all thy ways think on him, and he will direct thy steps.

YLT In all thy ways know thou Him, And He doth make straight thy paths.

Drby in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will make plain thy paths.

RV In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
(In all thy/your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy/your paths. )

SLT In all thy ways know him, and he will make straight thy paths.

Wbstr In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths.

KJB-1769 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
(In all thy/your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy/your paths. )

KJB-1611 In all thy wayes acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy pathes.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps In all thy wayes acknowledge him, and he shall order thy goynges.
(In all thy/your ways acknowledge him, and he shall order thy/your goings.)

Gnva In all thy wayes acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy wayes.
(In all thy/your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy/your ways. )

Cvdl In all thy wayes haue respecte vnto him, and he shal ordre thy goinges.
(In all thy/your ways have respect unto him, and he shall order thy/your goings.)

Wycl In alle thi weies thenke thou on hym, and he schal dresse thi goyngis.
(In all thy/your ways think thou/you on him, and he shall dress thy/your goings.)

Luth sondern gedenke an ihn in allen deinen Wegen, so wird er dich recht führen.
(rather remember at/to him/it in all/everyone your(s) ways/Because_of, so becomes he you/yourself right lead.)

ClVg In omnibus viis tuis cogita illum, et ipse diriget gressus tuos.
(In to_all ways yours forcesa him, and exactly_that/himself directt steps yours. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 3:1–12: Third lesson: Humbly trust in the LORD

This lesson consists of a series of commands. Each set of parallel commands is followed by a promised result, except for 3:12, which gives a reason for the command.

Another heading for this section is:

Trusting in the Lord (NLT)

3:6

The two lines of this verse do not have parallel parts. Verse 3:6a gives a command. Verse 3:6b gives the result of obeying the command.

^6ain all your ways acknowledge Him,

^6band He will make your paths straight.

In some languages, this relationship can be expressed more naturally by introducing 3:6b with an “if” clause. For example:

If you obey these commands, then he will straighten the road that you follow.

3:6a

in all your ways acknowledge Him,

He is the one that you^(sing) must honor/acknowledge as God in all your actions,
Show that you know him by obeying him in everything that you do.

in all your ways acknowledge Him: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as acknowledge Him is literally “know him.” In the OT the “knowledge” of the LORD always implies obeying what he wants. To acknowledge the LORD in all your ways thus means to acknowledge who the LORD is by obeying him in everything you do. Some other ways to translate this idea are:

He is the one you must honor/acknowledge as the LORD by always obeying him.

Always let him lead you, (CEV)

Remember the Lord in everything you do (GNT)

3:6b

and He will make your paths straight.

and then he will clear/straighten the road that you^(sing) walk on.
If you do these things, then he will smooth/clear the paths that you take so that you will more easily arrive at your destination.

and He will make your paths straight: The phrase your paths straight is a metaphor for the course of one’s life. This metaphor comes from the process of preparing a road. This is done by making the road straight and level/smooth and removing obstacles so that the traveler will more easily reach his destination. The CEV expresses this meaning as:

he will clear the road for you to follow (CEV)

The figurative meaning of making someone’s paths smooth also implies causing him to be successful in what he does.This meaning is mentioned by a note in NET and Waltke (page 245). For example:

he will give you success (NCV)

The metaphor may also imply that by making a traveler’s path straight and smooth, the LORD directs him to the right destination. Thus the GNT has:

he will show you the right way (GNT)

However, the verse itself contains no words that mean “direct/guide.”Kidner (page 64) says “the verse offers more than guidance though it includes it.” Delitzsch (page 88) says: “making plain their path before them;, i.e. by leading them directly to the right end, removing all hindrances out of their way.” All the other scholars, however, define this metaphor in terms of making the highway straight, smooth, level, free of obstacles, so that it will be easy to walk on. Thus, the meaning of showing a person what road to take seems to be only indirectly implied, if at all. NIDOTTE (H3837) says that the verb yašar here refers to making a road straight and level (literal meaning), but that in Proverbs 3:6 it means to grant a person success. This is followed by the NCV with “he will give you success.” However, a more literal translation that gives people a word picture is probably preferable. It is recommended that you focus on the main meaning of making paths straight or smooth.

The metaphor of making a path smooth/straight has more than one possible point of comparison. Therefore, it is recommended that you keep the figure if at all possible, so that you do not limit the meaning unnecessarily. If the figure of a path is not understood clearly, another way to translate the meaning is:

he will remove the obstacles that prevent you from succeeding in what you do

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

בְּ⁠כָל־דְּרָכֶ֥י⁠ךָ & אֹֽרְחֹתֶֽי⁠ךָ

in=all ways_of,your & paths_of,your

Here Solomon speaks of a person’s actions as if they were ways or paths on which that person walks. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “In all that you do … how you live”

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

וְ֝⁠ה֗וּא יְיַשֵּׁ֥ר

and=he make_~_straight

Here, and introduces the result of obeying the commands stated in the previous verse and the beginning of this verse. Use the most natural way in your language to indicate results. You may need to start a new sentence. Alternate translation: “If you do these things, then he himself will straighten” or “This will result in he himself straightening”

Note 3 topic: writing-pronouns

וְ֝⁠ה֗וּא יְיַשֵּׁ֥ר

and=he make_~_straight

For emphasis, Solomon is explicitly stating a pronoun even though the meaning he is already there. If your language can state implied pronouns explicitly for emphasis, you may want to use that construction in your translation. Other languages may have other ways of bringing out this emphasis. The ULT does so by using the intensive pronoun himself. Alternate translation: “he indeed will straighten”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וְ֝⁠ה֗וּא יְיַשֵּׁ֥ר אֹֽרְחֹתֶֽי⁠ךָ

and=he make_~_straight paths_of,your

Here Solomon speaks of Yahweh showing people what they should do as if Yahweh were removing obstacles and smoothing out paths that people walk on. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and he himself will make clear to you what you should do” or “and he himself will guide your actions”

Parallel PROV 3:6

Section 3:1–12: Third lesson: Humbly trust in the LORD

3:6

3:6a

3:6b