Proverbs 4:7-17

7 The beginning of wisdom: Get wisdom! With all [that is in] your possession, gain insight.
8 Cherish her and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.
9 She will give a garland for your head; she shall bestow a crown of glory upon you."

The Right Path

10 Listen, my child, take my sayings, and [the] years of your life shall be great.
11 In the way of wisdom I have instructed you; I have led you in the path of uprightness.
12 {When you walk}, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble.
13 Seize the instruction! Do not let go! Guard her, for she is your life.
14 In the path of the wicked do not go; do not walk in the way of those who do evil.
15 Avoid it; do not transgress it; turn away from it and pass by.
16 For they will not sleep if they have not done wrong, and they are robbed of their sleep if they do not cause stumbling.
17 For they ate the bread of wickedness, and they drank the wine of violence.

Proverbs 4:7-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS 4

In this chapter Solomon advises to seek after wisdom, to avoid bad company, and to continue in the right paths of goodness and truth: he excites attention to what he had to say, from the relation he stood in to the persons addressed; from the nature of his instructions, which were good and profitable; and from his own example, in attending to those his parents gave him, Pr 4:1-4; He exhorts above all things to get wisdom, from the superior excellency of it, and from the preservation, promotion, and honour, to be had by it, Pr 4:5-9; and he further enforces big exhortations, from their being the means of a comfortable life, and of the prolongation of it, and of leading in a right way without straitness or stumbling, Pr 4:10-13. And then proceeds to caution against bad company, and going into a bad way of life; which is enforced from the mischief done by those that walk in it, and from the darkness of it, to which the path of the just is opposed, Pr 4:14-19. And the exhortation to attend to and observe his instructions, and keep them, is repeated, from the consideration of their being life and health to them, Pr 4:20-22; and that they might be preserved, and not departed from, direction's are given about ordering the heart, mouth, lips, eyes, and feet, Pr 4:23-27.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Literally "In your walking"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.