Proverbs 16:17
in Proverbs 16The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: He that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
KJV
The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
⋯
This verse in Proverbs 16
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
How much better is it to get wisdom than gold!
on Proverbs 16:16-17
How much better is it to get wisdom than gold, and understanding rather to be chosen than silver, restates the comparison chapter 8 already made at length, now in the sentence literature's shorter form. The highway of the upright departs from evil, a road rather than a single choice, and the man who keeps to it preserves his own soul simply by staying on it. Gill reads the verse as proof that holiness is finally self-protective, a guarded life rather than a sacrificed one.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The highway of the upright is to depart from evil,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The highway--A common, plain road represents the habitual course of the righteous in departing from evil. keepeth--observes. Haughtiness and pride imply self-confidence which produces carelessness, and hence a fall--literally, "sliding."
The highway of the upright - The upright man is ever departing from evil; this is his common road: and by keeping on in this way, his soul is preserved.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מְסִלַּ֣ת | mesilat | [the] highway of | H4546 → | |
| יְ֭שָׁרִים | yesharim | upright [people] | H3477 → | 119 times |
| ס֣וּר | sur | [is] to turn aside | H5493 → | 299 times |
| מֵרָ֑ע | mera' | from evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| שֹׁמֵ֥ר | shomer | [is] protecting | H8104 → | 468 times |
| נַ֝פְשׁ֗וֹ | nafsho | life his | H5315 → | 754 times |
| נֹצֵ֥ר | notzer | [one who] guards | H5341 → | 63 times |
| דַּרְכּֽוֹ׃ | darko | way his | H1870 → | 707 times |
מְסִלַּ֣ת[the] highway of
mesilatH4546 →
יְ֭שָׁרִיםupright [people]
yesharimH3477 →119 times
ס֣וּר[is] to turn aside
surH5493 →299 times
מֵרָ֑עfrom evil
mera'H7451 →662 times
שֹׁמֵ֥ר[is] protecting
shomerH8104 →468 times
נַ֝פְשׁ֗וֹlife his
nafshoH5315 →754 times
נֹצֵ֥ר[one who] guards
notzerH5341 →63 times
דַּרְכּֽוֹ׃way his
darkoH1870 →707 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 3:10Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the…
it leads to
- 2 Peter 2:9
if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
- Revelation 14:12
Here is a call for the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
- Daniel 12:10
Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.
- Zechariah 13:9
This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They…
- 2 Peter 2:9
Through
Isaiah 35:8And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.
it leads to
- Matthew 7:13–14
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
- Isaiah 42:16
I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These…
- John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- Matthew 7:13–14
Through
Jude 1:21keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.
it leads to
- 1 John 4:16
And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love; whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
- 1 John 4:16
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).