Proverbs 3:6

Acknowledge ¹  him in all your ways, ²  and he will make your paths straight. ³ 

1Sa 4:11,12; 1Sa 30:8; 1Ch 28:9; Ezr 7:27; Ezr 8:22,23; Ne 1:11; Ne 2:4; Ps 25:8,9; Ps 32:8; Pr 16:3; Pr 16:9; Pr 23:17; Isa 30:21; Isa 48:17; Jer 10:23; 1Co 10:31; 2Co 8:16; Php 4:6; Col 3:17,23; Jas 1:5

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.

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 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.