14:12

Notice the parallel parts that contrast in meaning:

12a There is a way that seems right to a man,

12b but its end is the way of death.

14:12a

There is a way that seems right to a man: This verse has the familiar figure of a way or path. This path appears to be “straight” according to the viewpoint of a person. The figurative meaning is that a certain behavior or way of life may appear to be right or correct. Since the figure of a way/path occurs throughout Proverbs, it is recommended that you keep the figure if possible. For example:

A road may seem straightforward (Revised English Bible)
-or-
You may think you are on the right road (Contemporary English Version)

14:12b

but its end is the way of death: The phrase translated here as its end refers figuratively to the outcome or result of following the path in 14:12a.

General Comment on 14:12a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to combine the parallel clauses of this verse into one clause. For example:

You may think you are on the right road and still end up dead. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
What you think is the right road may lead to death. (Good News Translation)

© 2012, 2016, 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.