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Proverbs 4:4–18

A connected passage, with study helps kept beside the verses they explain.

TEXT EDITION
Pure Cambridge Edition selected

Proverbs 4:4

4He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.

Proverbs 4:5

5Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

Proverbs 4:6

6Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.

Proverbs 4:7

7Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Proverbs 4:8

8Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.

Proverbs 4:9

9She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

Proverbs 4:10

10Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

Proverbs 4:11

11I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.

Proverbs 4:12

12When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.

Proverbs 4:13

13Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.

Proverbs 4:14

14¶ Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.

Proverbs 4:15

15Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.

Proverbs 4:16

16For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

Proverbs 4:17

17For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

Proverbs 4:18

18But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

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DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 4:4

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

said

Spoke, declared, reported, commanded, or expressed in words.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

heart

The bodily organ; more often in Scripture, the inward person—the mind, will, affections, conscience, or moral character—according to context.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness) · Webster 1828 (independently verified transcription)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

words

Spoken or written expressions; sayings, messages, commands, promises, or accounts.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

keep

To hold, preserve, guard, observe, maintain, restrain, or continue, according to context.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

commandments

Authoritative commands, laws, or precepts; especially commands given by God, according to context.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

live

Having life; having respiration and other organic functions in operation, or in a capacity to operate; not dead; Having vegetable life; to continue in constantly or habitually.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 4:5

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

Get

To procure; to obtain; to gain possession of, by almost any means.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828 · Webster 1828 (independently verified transcription) · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness) · KJV usage

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

wisdom

Sound judgment and the right use of knowledge; skill, discernment, or understanding.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

forget

To fail or cease to remember; to lose from mind; to neglect or disregard.

Meaning drawn from: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance 1890 (occurrence-specific) · KJV usage

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

decline

To turn aside, bend downward, refuse, or fall away, according to context.

Meaning drawn from: Bullokar 1616 · Cawdrey 1604 · Skeat, Bible Words Glossary (1893)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

words

Spoken or written expressions; sayings, messages, commands, promises, or accounts.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

mouth

The opening used for eating and speaking; also an opening, edge, command, or testimony by extension.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 4:6

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

Forsake

To quit or leave entirely; to desert; to abandon; to depart from. To leave; to withdraw from; to fail. To abandon; to renounce; to reject.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

preserve

To keep safe from harm, loss, decay, or destruction; to protect, maintain, or save.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

love

Affection, goodwill, devoted regard, or charity; as a verb, to regard with such affection or goodwill.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

keep

To hold, preserve, guard, observe, maintain, restrain, or continue, according to context.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 4:7

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

Wisdom

Sound judgment and the right use of knowledge; skill, discernment, or understanding.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

get

To procure; to obtain; to gain possession of, by almost any means.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828 · Webster 1828 (independently verified transcription) · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness) · KJV usage

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

all

Wholly, entirely, or altogether; every one or the whole amount, according to context.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 4:8

MEANING IN THIS VERSE

Exalt

To raise to a higher position, power, dignity, honor, or appointed advantage.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828 · KJV usage

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

embrace

To clasp in the arms; to receive, accept, or welcome readily.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 4:9

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

give

To grant, hand, offer, supply, yield, or cause to have.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

crown

A royal head ornament; by extension, kingship, honour, reward, or the top of the head.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

glory

Splendour, honour, praise, majesty, or a ground of rejoicing or boasting.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

deliver

To rescue, set free, hand over, give up, or bring forth, according to context.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 4:10

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

Hear

To perceive by the ear; to listen, attend, understand, or obey, according to context.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness) · Webster 1828 (independently verified transcription)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

receive

To take, accept, admit, welcome, or obtain what is given or presented.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness) · Webster 1828 (independently verified transcription)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

many

A great number; numerous persons or things.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness) · Webster 1828 (independently verified transcription)

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 4:11

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

wisdom

Sound judgment and the right use of knowledge; skill, discernment, or understanding.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

led

Guided, conducted, directed, or went before.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

right

Straight, correct, just, proper, or belonging to a lawful claim; also the opposite of left.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

paths

Ways, tracks, or courses followed in travel or conduct.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 4:12

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

runnest

Runs; moves swiftly on foot, proceeds, or continues in a course.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

stumble

To strike upon without design; to fall on; to light on by chance. To obstruct in progress; to cause to trip or stop.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828 · Webster 1828 (independently verified transcription) · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness) · KJV usage

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 4:13

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

Take

To receive, seize, carry, accept, choose, or lay hold of, with the exact sense determined by context.

Meaning drawn from: Skeat, Bible Words Glossary (1893)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

fast

Firm, fixed, or secure; moving quickly; also an abstinence from food or the act of abstaining.

Meaning drawn from: Skeat, Bible Words Glossary (1893) · Webster 1828

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

hold

To grasp, keep, possess, restrain, maintain, regard, or account, according to context.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

keep

To hold, preserve, guard, observe, maintain, restrain, or continue, according to context.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 4:14

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

Enter

To go or come in; to penetrate; to become an ingredient or constituent part; to enter the mind.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

path

A way, track, course, or manner of going, whether literal or figurative.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828 · Webster 1828 (independently verified transcription) · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness) · KJV usage

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 4:15

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

turn

To change direction, position, condition, purpose, or allegiance; to cause such a change.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 4:16

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

sleep

To rest in natural sleep; by figure, to be inactive or dead and at rest.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

except

To exclude or leave out; also to object or make an exception.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

done

Performed; executed; finished; a word by which agreement to a proposal is expressed.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

mischief

Harm; hurt; injury; damage; evil, whether intended or not.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828 · Webster 1828 (independently verified transcription) · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness) · KJV usage

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

taken

Received, seized, carried, accepted, captured, chosen, or laid hold of, according to context.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

MEANING IN THIS VERSE

unless

Except; that is, remove or dismiss the fact or thing stated in the sentence or clause which follows.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828 · KJV usage

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

cause

A reason, ground, matter in dispute, or judicial case; as a verb, to make something happen.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

fall

To descend, drop, or lose an upright position; to come upon, attack, happen, decline, fail, or be overthrown; as a noun, descent, ruin, or overthrow, according to context.

Meaning drawn from: Skeat, Bible Words Glossary (1893) · Webster 1828 · KJV usage

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 4:17

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

eat

To take food into the body; to consume, devour, or waste away, according to context.

Meaning drawn from: KJV usage · Webster 1828 · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness)

DEFINED WORDS

Proverbs 4:18

MEANING IN THIS VERSE

but

However; introducing a contrast with what precedes.

Meaning drawn from: Skeat, Bible Words Glossary (1893) · KJV usage

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

path

A way, track, course, or manner of going, whether literal or figurative.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828 · Webster 1828 (independently verified transcription) · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness) · KJV usage

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

just

In a moral sense, upright; honest; having principles of rectitude; or conforming exactly to the laws, and to principles of rectitude in social conduct; equitable in the distribution of justice.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828 · Webster 1828 (independently verified transcription) · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness) · KJV usage

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

light

Visible brightness; something that gives illumination; not heavy; to kindle, illuminate, or come down upon, according to context.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

perfect

Finished; complete; consummate; not defective; having all that is requisite to its nature and kind.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828 · Webster 1828 (independently verified transcription) · Strong 1890 (KJV alignment witness) · KJV usage

APPROVED COMBINED MEANING

day

The period of light between morning and evening; a complete daily cycle; or a specified time, age, or season, according to context.

Meaning drawn from: Webster 1828 · KJV usage

SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE

Cross References

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From verse 4

  1. Proverbs 3:1
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  2. Ephesians 6:4
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  3. John 12:50
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  4. 1 Chronicles 28:9
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  5. Proverbs 7:2
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From verse 5

  1. James 1:5
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  2. Proverbs 3:13–18
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  3. 2 Chronicles 34:2
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  4. Proverbs 1:22–23
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  5. Psalms 44:18
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From verse 6

  1. 2 Thessalonians 2:10
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  2. Proverbs 4:21–22
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  3. Ephesians 3:17
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  4. Proverbs 2:10–12
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From verse 7

  1. Ecclesiastes 7:12
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  2. Ecclesiastes 9:16–18
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  3. Proverbs 23:23
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  4. Proverbs 16:16
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  5. Philippians 3:8
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From verse 8

  1. Daniel 12:3
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  2. 1 Samuel 2:30
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  3. Proverbs 3:35
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  4. 1 Kings 3:5–13
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  5. Proverbs 22:4
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From verse 9

  1. Proverbs 1:9
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  2. 1 Peter 5:4
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  3. Hebrews 2:7–9
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  4. Isaiah 28:5
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  5. Proverbs 16:31
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From verse 10

  1. 1 Thessalonians 2:13
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  2. Proverbs 3:2
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  3. Deuteronomy 6:2
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  4. Jeremiah 9:20
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  5. Proverbs 3:16
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From verse 11

  1. Psalms 25:4–5
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  2. Ecclesiastes 12:9
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  3. Proverbs 8:9
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  4. 1 Samuel 12:23–24
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  5. Proverbs 8:6
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From verse 12

  1. Proverbs 3:23
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  2. Psalms 18:36
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  3. 1 Peter 2:8
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  4. 2 Samuel 22:37
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  5. John 11:9–10
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From verse 13

  1. Hebrews 2:1
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  2. Proverbs 23:23
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  3. Proverbs 3:18
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  4. 1 Thessalonians 5:21
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  5. Deuteronomy 32:47
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From verse 14

  1. Psalms 1:1
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  2. 1 Corinthians 15:33
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  3. Proverbs 1:10
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  4. Proverbs 1:15
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  5. Proverbs 13:20
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From verse 15

  1. Ephesians 5:11
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  2. Job 22:23
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  3. 1 Thessalonians 5:22
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  4. Exodus 23:7
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  5. Job 11:14
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From verse 16

  1. Psalms 36:4
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  2. Micah 2:1
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  3. Isaiah 57:20
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  4. 2 Peter 2:14
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  5. Proverbs 1:16
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From verse 17

  1. James 5:4–5
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  2. Micah 6:12
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  3. Proverbs 20:17
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  4. Proverbs 9:17
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  5. Psalms 14:4
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From verse 18

  1. John 8:12
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  2. Job 11:17
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  3. Daniel 12:3
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  4. Philippians 2:15
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  5. 2 Corinthians 3:18
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