a well-trodden road (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct
just
צַ֭דִּיקִיםTza.di.kim
H6662
just · adjective, masculine plural absolute
shining
נֹ֑גַהּNo.gah
H5051
brilliancy (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
light
כְּא֣וֹרke.'or
H216
illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
shineth
וָ֝א֗וֹרva.'or
H215
to be (causative · conjunction + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
more
הוֹלֵ֥ךְho.Lekh
H1980
to walk (in a great variety of applications · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
perfect
נְכ֥וֹןne.Khon
H3559
properly · verb, niphal active participle, masculine singular construct
day
הַיּֽוֹםhai.Yom
H3117
a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the l…
Job 11:17 And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.
Daniel 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and eve…
Philippians 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine a…
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by th…
2 Peter 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the d…
Psalms 84:7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 4:14-19
Some make David's instructions to Solomon, which began Pro 4:4, to continue to the end of the chapter; nay, some continue them to the end of the ninth chapter; but it is more probable that Solomon begins here again, if not sooner. In these verses, having exhorted us to walk in the paths of wisdom, he cautions us against the path of the wicked. 1. We must take heed of the ways of sin and avoid them, every thing that looks like sin and leads to it. 2. In order to this we must keep out of the ways of sinners, and have no fellowship with them. For fear of falling into wicked courses, we must shun wicked company. Here is,
I. The caution itself, Pro 4:14, Pro 4:15. 1. We must take heed of falling…
As shining light increases from twilight to noonday splendor, so the course of the just increases in purity, but that of the wicked is as thickest darkness, in which one knows not on what he stumbles.
John Gill on Proverbs 4:18
But the path of the just is as the shining light,.... The "just" man is one that is made righteous through the righteousness of Christ imputed to him; and who is created anew in Christ, in righteousness and true holiness; and, under the influence of divine grace, lives soberly, righteously, and godly: the "path" he is directed to walk in, and does, is Christ himself, the way, the truth, and the life; through whose blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, he goes to God for grace and mercy, for peace, pardon, and acceptance, for fresh supplies of grace, and in order to enjoy communion with him; and who also is the way of salvation, and to eternal life and happiness: and, besides this grand and pr…
The two ways that lie for his choice before the youth, are distinguished from one another as light is from darkness:
18 And the path of the just is like the brightness of the morning light,
Which shines more and more till the perfect day.
19 The way of the wicked is deep darkness,
They know not at what they stumble.
The Hebr. style is wont to conceal in its Vav (ו) diverse kinds of logical relations, but the Vav of 18a may suitably stand before 19a, where the discontinuance of this contrast of the two ways is unsuitable. The displacing of a Vav from its right position is not indeed without example (see under Psa 16:3); but since Pro 4:19 joins itself more easily than Pro 4:18 to Pro 4:17 wit…
The Church Fathers
But the path of the just is like the shining light, etc. The works of the just are conducted in the light of knowledge, and they lead to eternal life, which is the perfect day.
He therefore who keeps away from all bitterness and all the noisome effluvia of the flesh, and raises himself on the aforesaid wings above all low earthly ambitions, or, more than that, above the whole universe itself, will be the man to find that which is alone worth loving, and to become himself as beautiful as the Beauty which he has touched and entered, and to be made bright and luminous himself in the communion of the real Light. We are told by those who have studied the subject, that those gleams which follow each other so fast through the air at night and which some call shooting stars, are nothing but the air itself streaming into the upper regions of the sky under stress of some particular blasts. They say that the fiery track is traced along the sky when those blasts ignite in the ether. In like manner, then, as this air round the earth is forced upwards by some blast and changes into the pure splendour of the ether, so the mind of man leaves this murky miry world, and under the stress of the spirit becomes pure and luminous in contact with the true and supernal Purity; in such an atmosphere it even itself emits light, and is so filled with radiance, that it becomes itself a Light, according to the promise of our Lord that "the righteous should shine forth as the sun."
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Day · .A figure of spiritual il — .A figure of spiritual il
Grace Of God · GROWTH IN — GROWTH IN
Light · Illustrative of: The path of the just — Illustrative of: The path of the just
Perfection · Saints follow after — Saints follow after
Perseverance · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Wisdom · .UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — .UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Young Men · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Light stands for wisdom and righteousness, and darkness stands for foolishness and wickedness (see Eccl 2:12-14). Light brings actions into the open; darkness hides them. Righteous people have nothing to hide, while the wicked try to hide what they do and end up stumbling over obstacles in the dark (see Matt 4:16; 5:14-16; John 1:14; Rom 2:19).
Rashi on Proverbs 4:18
But the way of the righteous is like the light of dawn which shines and illuminates from the first ray of dawn.
until the day is perfect Until midday, which is the brightest time of day.
