Chapter
Verse

Proverbs chapter 4

English Standard Version

1 Hear, O sons, a father 's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, 2for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching. 3When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, 4he taught me and said to me, "Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. 5 Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. 6Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you. 7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. 8Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. 9She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown." 10 Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. 11I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. 12When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. 13 Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. 14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. 15Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. 16For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. 17For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. 18But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. 19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. 20 My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. 22For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. 23Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. 24Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. 25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.
New International Version

New American Standard Bible

1Listen, my sons, to the instruction of a father, And pay attention so that you may gain understanding, 2For I give you good teaching; Do not abandon my instruction. 3When I was a son to my father, Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother, 4He taught me and said to me, 'Let your heart take hold of my words; Keep my commandments and live; 5Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. 6Do not abandon her, and she will guard you; Love her, and she will watch over you. 7The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your possessions, acquire understanding. 8Prize her, and she will exalt you; She will honor you if you embrace her. 9She will place on your head a garland of grace; She will present you with a crown of beauty.' 10Listen, my son, and accept my sayings, And the years of your life will be many. 11I have instructed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths. 12When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; And if you run, you will not stumble. 13Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life. 14Do not enter the path of the wicked And do not proceed in the way of evil people. 15Avoid it, do not pass by it; Turn away from it and pass on. 16For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; And they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble. 17For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence. 18But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn That shines brighter and brighter until the full day. 19The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they stumble. 20My son, pay attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. 21They are not to escape from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart. 22For they are life to those who find them, And healing to all their body. 23Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. 24Rid yourself of a deceitful mouth And keep devious speech far from you. 25Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. 26 Watch the path of your feet, And all your ways will be established. 27Do not turn to the right or to the left; Turn your foot from evil.
Christian Standard Bible

1Listen, sons, to a father’s discipline, and pay attention so that you may gain understanding, 2for I am giving you good instruction. Don’t abandon my teaching. 3When I was a son with my father, tender and precious to my mother, 4he taught me and said: "Your heart must hold on to my words. Keep my commands and live. 5Get wisdom, get understanding; don’t forget or turn away from the words from my mouth. 6Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you; love her, and she will guard you. 7Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding. 8Cherish her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you. 9She will place a garland of favor on your head; she will give you a crown of beauty." 10Listen, my son. Accept my words, and you will live many years. 11I am teaching you the way of wisdom; I am guiding you on straight paths. 12When you walk, your steps will not be hindered; when you run, you will not stumble. 13Hold on to instruction; don’t let go. Guard it, for it is your life. 14Keep off the path of the wicked; don’t proceed on the way of evil ones. 15Avoid it; don’t travel on it. Turn away from it, and pass it by. 16For they can’t sleep unless they have done what is evil; they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble. 17They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. 18The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday. 19But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they don’t know what makes them stumble. 20My son, pay attention to my words; listen closely to my sayings. 21Don’t lose sight of them; keep them within your heart. 22For they are life to those who find them, and health to one’s whole body. 23Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life. 24Don’t let your mouth speak dishonestly, and don’t let your lips talk deviously. 25Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead. 26Carefully consider the path for your feet, and all your ways will be established. 27Don’t turn to the right or to the left; keep your feet away from evil.
New Living Translation

King James Version

New King James Version

1Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding; 2For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law. 3When I was my father’s son, Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, 4 He also taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live. 5 Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. 6Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. 8 Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. 9She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.” 10Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many. 11I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. 12When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, And when you run, you will not stumble. 13Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life. 14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil. 15Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on. 16 For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall. 17For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence. 18 But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. 19 The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble. 20My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. 21Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; 22For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. 23Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. 24Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. 25Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. 26Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. 27Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.

What does Proverbs chapter 4 mean?

The call to listen to wisdom is repeated often in the book of Proverbs, especially in the early chapters. Here, Solomon continues to urge this perspective. He speaks to his "sons," which might suggest he is speaking to a wider group such as students. The first part of this passage explains the benefits of godly wisdom, in the way it provides defense against the consequences associated with sin (Proverbs 4:1–9).

Solomon then moves on to a series of "do / do not" comments. A life of sin is something to be actively avoided, not just passively ignored. Those walking in worldly sin are portrayed as trapped and miserably addicted to their own depravity. What's being discouraged here is the example of "the evil," meaning those who choose sin over wisdom. They are like people trying to walk on a jagged, difficult, dark path. In contrast, those who follow "the path of the righteous" walk in bright light and security (Proverbs 4:10–19).

This chapter ends with a series of instructions on how to avoid straying into this path of the wicked. Emphasis here is on being deliberate, thoughtful, and careful. Much of the language used involves this concept of paying attention, rather than being careless. Similarly, a person's words and speech should be focused and direct, not manipulative or deceptive. It's notable that Scripture warns against turning from the path of wisdom, regardless of which direction one goes. "Do not swerve to the right or to the left" implies that God's wisdom is already perfect. We can't improve on it, nor can we "do better," even if we're convinced our direction is right (Proverbs 4:20–27).
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