1 Raja-raja 2:4

2:4 and the Lord will fulfill his promise to me, ¹  ‘If your descendants watch their step ²  and live faithfully in my presence ³  with all their heart and being, ⁴  then,’ he promised, ⁵  ‘you will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ ⁶ 

Mazmur 119:9

ב (Bet)

119:9 How can a young person ⁷  maintain a pure life? ⁸ 

By guarding it according to your instructions! ⁹ 

Mazmur 119:59

119:59 I consider my actions ¹⁰ 

and follow ¹¹  your rules.

Amsal 20:11

20:11 Even a young man ¹²  is known ¹³  by his actions,

whether his activity is pure and whether it is right. ¹⁴ 

[2:4]  ¹ tn Heb “then the Lord will establish his word which he spoke to me, saying.”

[2:4]  ² tn Heb “guard their way.”

[2:4]  ³ tn Heb “by walking before me in faithfulness.”

[2:4]  ⁴ tn Or “soul.”

[2:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “saying.”

[2:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “there will not be cut off from you a man from upon the throne of Israel.”

[119:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “young man.” Hebrew wisdom literature often assumes and reflects the male-oriented perspective of ancient Israelite society. The principle of the psalm is certainly applicable to all people, regardless of their gender or age. To facilitate modern application, the gender specific “young man” has been translated with the more neutral “young person.”

[119:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “purify his path.”

[119:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “by keeping according to your word.” Many medieval Hebrew mss as well as the LXX read the plural, “your words.”

[119:59]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “my ways.”

[119:59]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and I turn my feet toward.”

[20:11]  ¹² sn In the first nine chapters of the book of Proverbs the Hebrew term נַעַר (na’ar) referred to an adolescent, a young person whose character was being formed in his early life.

[20:11]  ¹³ sn The Hebrew verb נָכַר (nakhar) means “to recognize” more than simply “to know.” Certain character traits can be recognized in a child by what he does (cf. NCV “by their behavior”).

[20:11]  ¹⁴ sn Character is demonstrated by actions at any age. But the emphasis of the book of Proverbs would also be that if the young child begins to show such actions, then the parents must try to foster and cultivate them; if not, they must try to develop them through teaching and discipline.