Proverbs 14:12

There is a way that seems right to a person, ¹  but its end is the way that leads to death. ² 

Pr 12:15; Pr 16:25; Pr 30:12; Mt 7:13,14; Lu 13:24; Ro 6:21; Ga 6:3; Eph 5:6; Jas 1:22

¹ tn Heb “which is straight before a man.”

sn The proverb recalls the ways of the adulterous woman in chapters 1-9, and so the translation of “man” is retained. The first line does not say that the “way” that seems right is “vice,” but the second line clarifies that. The individual can rationalize all he wants, but the result is still the same. The proverb warns that any evil activity can take any number of ways (plural) to destruction.

² tn Heb “the ways of death” (so KJV, ASV). This construct phrase features a genitive of destiny: “ways that lead to [or, end in] death.” Here death means ruin (e.g., Prov 7:27; 16:25). The LXX adds “Hades,” but the verse seems to be concerned with events of this life.