Proverbs 4

Get wisdom above all

Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.a ²For I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my directive.b ³When I was a son to my father, tender and the only child of my mother, ⁴he taught me and said, “Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands and you will live.c

⁵Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn from them.d ⁶Do not forsake wisdom, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will guard you.e ⁷Wisdom is supreme; so acquire wisdom. And whatever you may acquire, gain understanding.f

⁸Prize her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you. ⁹She will set a garland of grace on your head; she will present you with a crown of beauty.” ¹⁰Listen, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life will be many.

¹¹I will guide you in the way of wisdom; I will lead you on straight paths.g ¹²When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; when you run, you will not stumble.h ¹³Hold on to instruction; do not let go. Guard it, for it is your life.i

¹⁴Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers.j ¹⁵Avoid it; do not travel on it. Turn from it and pass on by. ¹⁶For they cannot sleep unless they do evil; they are deprived of slumber until they make someone fall.k

¹⁷For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. ¹⁸The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.l ¹⁹But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.m

²⁰My son, pay attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.n ²¹Do not lose sight of them; keep them within your heart.o ²²For they are life to those who find them, and health to the whole body.p

²³Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.q ²⁴Put away deception from your mouth; keep your lips from perverse speech.r ²⁵Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead.s

²⁶Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.t ²⁷Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your feet away from evil.u

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Commentary

Proverbs 4 is a father’s impassioned speech to his son, urging him to pursue wisdom as the single most important path in life. The chapter unfolds in three movements: a personal testimony about receiving wisdom from the father’s own father, a stark contrast between the way of wis

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Bible Dictionary· Proverbs 4(9)

Body Ear Father Grace Honor Lips Right The Way Wine

References· Proverbs 4

a: v.1 — Hebrews 2:1, Psalms 34:11, Proverbs 1:8, Proverbs 2:1-5, 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12, Proverbs 5:1, Proverbs 22:17, Proverbs 7:4, Proverbs 19:20, Proverbs 8:32-36
b: v.2 — 1 Timothy 4:6, Deuteronomy 32:2, Titus 1:9, Proverbs 8:6-9, Job 33:3, Psalms 89:30-32, John 7:16-17, Proverbs 22:20-21, Job 11:4, Psalms 49:1-3
c: v.4 — Proverbs 3:1, Ephesians 6:4, John 12:50, 1 Chronicles 28:9, Proverbs 7:2, Deuteronomy 6:6, 2 Timothy 3:15, Isaiah 55:3, Psalms 119:11, 2 Timothy 1:5
d: v.5 — James 1:5, Proverbs 3:13-18, 2 Chronicles 34:2, Proverbs 1:22-23, Psalms 44:18, Proverbs 17:16, Job 23:11, Proverbs 8:5, Proverbs 19:8, Proverbs 16:16
e: v.6 — 2 Thessalonians 2:10, Proverbs 4:21-22, Ephesians 3:17, Proverbs 2:10-12
f: v.7 — Ecclesiastes 7:12, Ecclesiastes 9:16-18, Proverbs 23:23, Proverbs 16:16, Philippians 3:8, Mark 8:36-37, Matthew 13:44-46, Psalms 119:104, Luke 12:20, Proverbs 21:6
g: v.11 — Psalms 25:4-5, Ecclesiastes 12:9, Proverbs 8:9, 1 Samuel 12:23-24, Psalms 23:3, Proverbs 8:6, Deuteronomy 4:5, Proverbs 4:4, Acts 13:10, Proverbs 8:20
h: v.12 — Proverbs 3:23, Psalms 18:36, 1 Peter 2:8, John 11:9-10, 2 Samuel 22:37, 1 John 2:10-11, Psalms 91:11-12, Proverbs 4:19, Psalms 119:165, Proverbs 6:22
i: v.13 — Hebrews 2:1, Proverbs 23:23, Proverbs 3:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Deuteronomy 32:47, Acts 11:23, Acts 2:42, John 6:68, Ecclesiastes 7:12, Revelation 2:13
j: v.14 — Psalms 1:1, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Proverbs 1:10, Proverbs 1:15, Proverbs 13:20, Proverbs 9:6, Proverbs 2:11-12, Psalms 26:4-5
k: v.16 — Psalms 36:4, Micah 2:1, Isaiah 57:20, 2 Peter 2:14, Proverbs 1:16, Luke 22:66, John 18:28
l: v.18 — John 8:12, Job 11:17, Daniel 12:3, Philippians 2:15, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Peter 1:19, Psalms 84:7, Matthew 5:14, Matthew 5:16, Isaiah 26:7
m: v.19 — John 12:35, Isaiah 59:9-10, Jeremiah 23:12, Job 18:5-6, 1 Samuel 2:9, Jeremiah 13:16, Job 12:25, John 11:10, Job 5:14, Proverbs 2:13
n: v.20 — Proverbs 5:1, Isaiah 55:3, Proverbs 7:1, Proverbs 6:20-21, Psalms 78:1, Psalms 90:12, Matthew 17:5
o: v.21 — Proverbs 3:21, Proverbs 7:1-2, Proverbs 3:3, Psalms 40:8, Proverbs 2:1
p: v.22 — Proverbs 12:18, Proverbs 4:10, Jeremiah 33:6, Proverbs 3:8, Proverbs 4:4
q: v.23 — Luke 6:45, Matthew 12:34-35, Mark 7:21-23, Psalms 139:23-24, Proverbs 13:3, Jeremiah 17:9, Matthew 15:19, Proverbs 23:19, Proverbs 28:26, Mark 14:38
r: v.24 — Proverbs 8:8, James 1:26, Proverbs 8:13, Proverbs 6:12, Ephesians 4:25-31, 1 Peter 2:1, James 1:21, Colossians 3:8, Proverbs 17:20, 1 Timothy 6:5
s: v.25 — Psalms 119:37, Matthew 6:22, Job 31:1, Proverbs 23:33, Proverbs 23:5
t: v.26 — Psalms 37:23, Hebrews 12:13, Psalms 119:5, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, Haggai 1:5, Haggai 1:7, Proverbs 5:21, Psalms 119:59, Ezekiel 18:28, Psalms 40:2
u: v.27 — Deuteronomy 5:32, Joshua 1:7, Deuteronomy 28:14, Proverbs 16:17, Deuteronomy 12:32, Romans 12:9, Isaiah 1:16

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