Proverbs 15:19

The way of the sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, ¹  but the path of the upright is like ²  a highway. ³ 

Nu 14:1-3,7-9; Ps 5:8; Ps 25:8,9,12; Ps 27:11; Pr 3:6; Pr 8:9; Pr 22:5,13; Pr 26:13; Isa 30:21; Isa 35:8; Isa 57:14

¹ tn Heb “like an overgrowth”; NRSV “overgrown with thorns”; cf. CEV “like walking in a thorn patch.” The point of the simile is that the path of life taken by the lazy person has many obstacles that are painful – it is like trying to break through a hedge of thorns. The LXX has “strewn with thorns.”

² tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

³ sn The contrast to the “thorny way” is the highway, the Hebrew word signifying a well built-up road (סָלַל, salal, “to heap up”). The upright have no reason to swerve, duck, or detour, but may expect “clear sailing.” Other passages pair these two concepts, e.g., Prov 6:10; 10:26; 28:19.