Amsal 3:6

3:6 Acknowledge ¹  him in all your ways, ² 

and he will make your paths straight. ³ 

Amsal 12:21

12:21 The righteous do not encounter ⁴  any harm, ⁵ 

but the wicked are filled with calamity. ⁶ 

Amsal 27:27

27:27 And there will be enough goat’s milk for your food, ⁷ 

for the food of your household,

and for the sustenance ⁸  of your servant girls.

[3:6]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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.

[12:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “is not allowed to meet to the righteous.”

[12:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “all calamity.” The proper nuance of אָוֶן (’aven) is debated. It is normally understood metonymically (effect) as “harm; trouble,” that is, the result/effect of wickedness (e.g., Gen 50:20). Rashi, a Jewish scholar who lived a.d. 1040-1105, took it as “wickedness,” its primary meaning; “the righteous will not be caught up in wickedness.”

[12:21]  ⁶ tn The expression רָע מָלְאוּ (malÿ’u ra’, “to be full of evil”) means (1) the wicked do much evil or (2) the wicked experience much calamity (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[27:27]  ⁷ sn This part of the proverb shows the proper interplay between human labor and divine provision. It teaches people to take care of what they have because it will not last forever.

[27:27]  ⁸ tn Heb “life”; KJV, NAB “maintenance”; NRSV “nourishment.”