Proverbs 27:23
in Proverbs 27Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds;
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, And look well to thy herds:
KJV
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
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This verse in Proverbs 27
Commentary
6 notes on this verseIt is not fitting to address simply to all who have believed in Christ instruction upon all points, for it is written, "With knowledge learn the souls of your flock." For the way is very different by which we establish in the paths of truth one who has but just now become a disciple, from one more confirmed in mind and able to understand what is the height and depth, and what the length and breadth. In the former, use simple teaching, in which there is nothing profound or difficult to understand.
This site's exposition
Be sure to know the state of your flocks
on Proverbs 27:23-27
"Be sure to know the state of your flocks" opens the chapter's close in the plain economics of a shepherd's life. The lambs clothe the household, and the goats bring "the price of a field." Goats' milk feeds the household and the maidservants, wisdom proved in ordinary provision.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Diligently know the countenance of your flock, etc. It is said to the pastor of the Church: Diligently care for those who it happens to you to be in charge of. Know the minds and actions of each one, and if you find anything in …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Be thou diligent to know the state of flocks,.... In what condition they are; what health they enjoy; how fat and fruitful they be; what pasturage they have; and that they want nothing fitting for them that can be had and is necessary; and also the number of them. The calling of the shepherd is here particularly mentioned, because valiant, honourable, innocent, and useful; but the same diligence is to be used in all other callings and business men are employed in, that they may provide for themselves and their families.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The verses sing the praises of the earlier patriarchal life, with its flocks and herds, and tillage of the ground, as compared with the commerce of a later time, with money as its chief or only wealth. Pro 27:23 The state - literally, face. The verse is an illustration of Joh 10:3, Joh 10:14. Pro 27:24 Riches - The money which men may steal, or waste, is contrasted with the land of which the owner is not so easily deprived.
The state of thy flocks - The directions to the end of the chapter refer chiefly to pastoral and agricultural affairs. Do not trust thy flocks to the shepherd merely; number them thyself; look into their condition; see how they are tended; and when, and with what, and in what proportion, they are fed.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יָדֹ֣עַ | yadoa' | certainly <to know> | H3045 → | 945 times |
| תֵּ֭דַע | teda' | you will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| צֹאנֶ֑ךָ | tzonekha | flock your | H6629 → | |
| שִׁ֥ית | shit | set | H7896 → | 83 times |
| לִ֝בְּךָ֗ | libekha | heart your | H3820 → | 595 times |
| לַעֲדָרִֽים׃ | laadarim | to [the] herds | H5739 → |
יָדֹ֣עַcertainly <to know>
yadoa'H3045 →945 times
תֵּ֭דַעyou will know
teda'H3045 →945 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
צֹאנֶ֑ךָflock your
tzonekhaH6629 →
שִׁ֥יתset
shitH7896 →83 times
לִ֝בְּךָ֗heart your
libekhaH3820 →595 times
לַעֲדָרִֽים׃to [the] herds
laadarimH5739 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Peter 5:2Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but because it is God’s will; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;
it leads to
- Titus 1:7
As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-absorbed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.
- 1 Timothy 3:8
Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued or given to much wine or greedy for money.
- Titus 3:1
Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,
- Acts 20:26–28
Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
- 1 Timothy 3:3
not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.
- Titus 1:7
Through
Genesis 33:13But Jacob replied, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and I must care for sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard for even a day, all…
it leads to
- Isaiah 40:11
He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
- Isaiah 40:11
Through
Proverbs 24:32I observed and took it to heart; I looked and received instruction:
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 10:11
Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.
- 1 Corinthians 10:11
Through
2 Chronicles 26:10Since he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain, he built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns. And since he was a lover of the soil, he had farmers…
it leads to
- Isaiah 29:17
In a very short time, will not Lebanon become an orchard, and the orchard seem like a forest?
- Isaiah 29:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 93 and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).
