The path of the righteous is level; You clear a straight path for the upright.
Parallel translations
- WEB The way of the just is uprightness. You who are upright make the path of the righteous level.
- KJV The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.
- NKJV The way of the just is uprightness; O Most Upright, You weigh the path of the just.
- NASB ¶The way of the righteous is smooth; O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.
- NLT But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The path of the righteous is level and upright, for God Himself makes their way smooth. God guides and steadies those who walk in righteousness.
Overview
The way of the just is marked by uprightness, and the Lord levels their path. God is the one who makes the righteous walk securely. The verse expresses confidence that God leads His people in a straight and steady way through life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Eph 2:10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.
- Isa 42:16I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.
- 1 Jn 3:10By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
- 1 Jn 3:7Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.
- 2 Cor 1:12And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.
- Job 27:5–6I will never say that you are right; I will maintain my integrity until I die.
- Prov 20:7The righteous man walks with integrity; blessed are his children after him.
- Ps 11:7For the LORD is righteous; He loves justice. The upright will see His face.
- 1 Sam 2:2–4There is no one holy like the LORD. Indeed, there is no one besides You! And there is no Rock like our God.
- Isa 35:8And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.
- 1 Chr 29:17I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You.
- Ps 18:23–26And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity.
- Ps 1:6For the LORD guards the path of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
- 1 Cor 4:5Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
- Job 31:6let God weigh me with honest scales, that He may know my integrity.
- Zeph 3:5The LORD within her is righteous; He does no wrong. He applies His justice morning by morning; He does not fail at dawn, yet the unjust know no shame.
- Ps 11:4The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne. His eyes are watching closely; they examine the sons of men.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 26:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.