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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Proverbs 4:1

Listen, friends, to some fatherly advice; sit up and take notice so you'll know how to live. I'm giving you good counsel; don't let it go in one ear and out the other.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Children;   Young Men;   Thompson Chain Reference - Call, Divine;   God's;   Wisdom;   Wisdom-Folly;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Education;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Crib;   Proverbs, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Boyhood ;   Discipline;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Proverbs book of;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Education;   Proverbs, Book of;   Relationships, Family;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Education;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Listen, sons, to a father’s discipline,
Hebrew Names Version
Listen, sons, to a father's instruction. Pay attention and know understanding;
King James Version
Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
English Standard Version
Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,
New Century Version
My children, listen to your father's teaching; pay attention so you will understand.
New English Translation
Listen, children, to a father's instruction, and pay attention so that you may gain discernment.
Amplified Bible
Hear, O children, the instruction of a father, And pay attention [and be willing to learn] so that you may gain understanding and intelligent discernment.
New American Standard Bible
Listen, my sons, to the instruction of a father, And pay attention so that you may gain understanding,
World English Bible
Listen, sons, to a father's instruction. Pay attention and know understanding;
Geneva Bible (1587)
Heare, O ye children, the instruction of a father, and giue eare to learne vnderstanding.
Legacy Standard Bible
Hear, O sons, the discipline of a father,And pay attention that you may know understanding,
Berean Standard Bible
Listen, my sons, to the instruction of a father; pay attention and gain understanding.
Contemporary English Version
My child, listen closely to my teachings and learn common sense.
Complete Jewish Bible
Listen, children, to a father's instruction; pay attention, in order to gain insight;
Darby Translation
Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know intelligence;
Easy-to-Read Version
Children, listen to your father's teaching. Pay attention and you will learn how to learn.
George Lamsa Translation
HEAR, O my children, the instruction of a father, and give ear to knowledge and understanding.
Good News Translation
My children, listen to what your father teaches you. Pay attention, and you will have understanding.
Lexham English Bible
Children, listen to the instruction of a father, and be attentive in order to know insight.
Literal Translation
Sons, hear the instruction of a father, pay attention to know understanding,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Heare (O ye children) the fatherly exortacio, & take good hede, that ye maye lerne wy?dome.
American Standard Version
Hear, my sons, the instruction of a father, And attend to know understanding:
Bible in Basic English
Give ear, my sons, to the teaching of a father; give attention so that you may have knowledge:
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
King James Version (1611)
Heare, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know vnderstanding.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Heare O ye chyldren a fatherly instruction, & take good heede, that ye may learne vnderstanding.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
English Revised Version
Hear, my sons, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding:
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sones, here ye the teching of the fadir; and perseiue ye, that ye kunne prudence.
Update Bible Version
Hear, [my] sons, the instruction of a father, And attend to know understanding:
Webster's Bible Translation
Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
New King James Version
Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding;
New Living Translation
My children, listen when your father corrects you. Pay attention and learn good judgment,
New Life Bible
O sons, hear the teaching of a father. Listen so you may get understanding.
New Revised Standard
Listen, children, to a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight;
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Hear, ye sons, the correction of a father, and attend, that ye may know understanding.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend, that you may know prudence.
Revised Standard Version
Hear, O sons, a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight;
Young's Literal Translation
Hear, ye sons, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father, And give attention that you may gain understanding,

Contextual Overview

1 Listen, friends, to some fatherly advice; sit up and take notice so you'll know how to live. I'm giving you good counsel; don't let it go in one ear and out the other. 3When I was a boy at my father's knee, the pride and joy of my mother, He would sit me down and drill me: "Take this to heart. Do what I tell you—live! Sell everything and buy Wisdom! Forage for Understanding! Don't forget one word! Don't deviate an inch! Never walk away from Wisdom—she guards your life; love her—she keeps her eye on you. Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom! Write this at the top of your list: Get Understanding! Throw your arms around her—believe me, you won't regret it; never let her go—she'll make your life glorious. She'll garland your life with grace, she'll festoon your days with beauty." 10Dear friend, take my advice; it will add years to your life. I'm writing out clear directions to Wisdom Way, I'm drawing a map to Righteous Road. I don't want you ending up in blind alleys, or wasting time making wrong turns. Hold tight to good advice; don't relax your grip. Guard it well—your life is at stake! Don't take Wicked Bypass; don't so much as set foot on that road. Stay clear of it; give it a wide berth. Make a detour and be on your way.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

ye: Proverbs 1:8, Proverbs 6:20-23, Psalms 34:11, 1 Thessalonians 2:11, 1 Thessalonians 2:12

attend: Proverbs 2:1-5, Proverbs 5:1, Proverbs 7:4, Proverbs 8:32-36, Proverbs 19:20, Proverbs 22:17, Hebrews 2:1

Reciprocal: Genesis 49:2 - hearken Deuteronomy 4:9 - teach them Deuteronomy 11:19 - General Job 33:33 - hearken Psalms 32:8 - instruct Psalms 49:3 - mouth Psalms 119:9 - shall Proverbs 5:7 - Hear Proverbs 7:24 - O Proverbs 8:33 - Hear Proverbs 13:1 - wise Proverbs 23:15 - My son Jeremiah 35:8 - General Ephesians 6:4 - but Colossians 3:21 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 4:25
Adam slept with his wife again. She had a son whom she named Seth. She said, "God has given me another child in place of Abel whom Cain killed." And then Seth had a son whom he named Enosh. That's when men and women began praying and worshiping in the name of God .
1 John 3:12
We must not be like Cain, who joined the Evil One and then killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because he was deep in the practice of evil, while the acts of his brother were righteous. So don't be surprised, friends, when the world hates you. This has been going on a long time.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father,.... Either of God their father, as Gersom interprets it; or rather of Solomon their father: and so he recommends his instruction from the relation he stood in to them; for, since he was their father, he would give them no bad instruction; and, since they were his children, they ought to receive it: by whom are meant, not his children in a natural sense, or the children of his body; but his disciples, such who applied to him for knowledge, and whom he undertook to learn;

and attend to know understanding; what would serve to enlighten, enlarge, improve, and inform their understandings; what would lead them into the knowledge and understanding of things divine and spiritual, and which would be worth knowing; and of having their understandings stored and enriched with.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The words “ye children” indicate as usual a new section returning, after the break of Proverbs 3:27-35, to the old strain of fatherly counsel.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER IV

The preceptor calls his pupils, and tells them how himself was

educated, 1-4;

specifies the teachings he received, 5-19;

and exhorts his pupil to persevere in well-doing, and to avoid

evil, 20-27.

NOTES ON CHAP. IV

Verse Proverbs 4:1. Hear, ye children — Come, my pupils, and hear how a father instructed his child. Such as I received from my father I give to you, and they were the teachings of a wise and affectionate parent to his only son, a peculiar object of his regards, and also those of a fond mother.

He introduces the subject thus, to show that the teaching he received, and which he was about to give them, was the most excellent of its kind. By this he ensured their attention, and made his way to their heart. Teaching by precept is good; teaching by example is better; but teaching both by precept and example is best of all.


 
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