The second statement of this poetic Hebrew wise saying is simply a restatement of the first. “The upright” and “those who guard their ways” would be similar people – and, no surprise, their results are also similar.
An ancient “highway” was a regularly-used, wide, dirt road running through open countryside. In the Holy Land they crossed the wide plains and open desert.
This phrase suggests “the highway of the upright” was their regular every-day path through life and it always involved “avoiding evil.”
“Those who guard their ways” would be similar folks. Their habit was to “guard” or pay attention to their daily routine (” their ways”) and there’s no indication it’s because they felt like they had anything to hide!
Both of these folks had developed a modus operandi (MO) which kept them going in the right direction day after day. But they also never seemed to put it on autopilot, either.
They made daily decisions to stay the course – keeping vigilant about what they did and what was going on around them. As we say here at Helping Up Mission, it’s “how they roll!”
It reminds me of a phrase often used in recovery – “just do the next right thing.” With God’s empowerment, we can – one day at a time!