Proverbs 4:20-27
English Standard Version
20 (A)My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
21 (B)Let them not escape from your sight;
(C)keep them within your heart.
22 For they are (D)life to those who find them,
and healing to all their[a] flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for (E)from it flow (F)the springs of life.
24 Put away from you (G)crooked speech,
and put (H)devious talk far from you.
25 (I)Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
26 (J)Ponder[b] the path of your feet;
(K)then all your ways will be sure.
27 (L)Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 4:22 Hebrew his
- Proverbs 4:26 Or Make level
Proverbs 4:20-27
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Straight Path
20 My son, pay attention to my words;
listen closely to my sayings.(A)
21 Don’t lose sight of them;(B)
keep them within your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them,
and health to one’s whole body.
23 Guard your heart above all else,[a]
for it is the source of life.(C)
24 Don’t let your mouth speak dishonestly,(D)
and don’t let your lips talk deviously.
25 Let your eyes look forward;
fix your gaze[b] straight ahead.(E)
26 Carefully consider the path[c] for your feet,(F)
and all your ways will be established.
27 Don’t turn to the right or to the left;(G)
keep your feet away from evil.
Footnotes
- Proverbs 4:23 Or heart with all diligence
- Proverbs 4:25 Lit eyelids
- Proverbs 4:26 Or Clear a path
Proverbs 4:20-27
Living Bible
20 Listen, son of mine, to what I say. Listen carefully. 21 Keep these thoughts ever in mind; let them penetrate deep within your heart, 22 for they will mean real life for you and radiant health.
23 Above all else, guard your affections. For they influence everything else in your life. 24 Spurn the careless kiss of a prostitute.[a] Stay far from her. 25 Look straight ahead; don’t even turn your head to look. 26 Watch your step. Stick to the path and be safe. 27 Don’t sidetrack; pull back your foot from danger.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Proverbs 4:24 Spurn the careless kiss of a prostitute, implied; literally, “Put away from you a wayward mouth.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.