Proverbs 4:2
in Proverbs 4For I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my directive.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For I give you good doctrine; Forsake ye not my law.
KJV
For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
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This verse in Proverbs 4
Commentary
8 notes on this verseIt must be noted, that he names the law a good gift, on account of the man who takes gifts into his bosom unrighteously. And he forsakes the law who transgresses it; the law, namely, of which he speaks, or which he has kept.
This site's exposition
Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father
on Proverbs 4:1-4
The appeal doubles as autobiography: Solomon was himself once the tender and only beloved son taught by his own father, who told him to let his heart retain his words and keep his commandments. Three generations stand inside these four verses, the father who taught Solomon, Solomon who received it, and the son now being addressed, and the commentators read the doubling as proof that wisdom is received before it can be given. The father does not invent the doctrine here; he hands on what he was himself taught.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Indeed, many have lamented the weakness of human fragility, but among them, Job and David were particularly notable. The former, superior, direct, intense, and seemingly provoked by severe pains with a higher tragic quality; the latter, gentle, calm, and meek, with a milder emotion; so that, truly, we would imitate the heart of a deer that he set as an example for us to imitate. And do not be dismayed if I seem to preach to you in the likeness of a wild beast, when you read the statement to the apostles: Be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16). However, even though such similarities are drawn with pious examples, and the nature of deer is innocent and gentle; I think that deer is proposed here as an imitation of the Prophet, about whom Solomon, the supporter of his father's mind, said in Proverbs: 'A deer of friendship, and a foal of thanks will converse with you' (Prov. 5:19).
Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "You, therefore, follow me." Let us follow him then, because that commandment has been passed down to us. The admonition originally given to the church at Corinth reaches to all Christians of all time in every place. For the apostle Paul was "a teacher of all nations in faith and truth."2As a matter of fact, we get the same sort of teaching from all the saints of old. Solomon, for example, used proverbs, saying, "Hear, my children, the instruction of a father and pay attention to get understanding, for I give you a good gift.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
We have reason to think that thousands have got more good by Solomon's proverbs than his own son did, to whom they seem to have been dedicated. Let all young people, in the days of their childhood and youth, take pains to get knowledge and grace, for that is their learning age, and then their minds are formed and seasoned.
), but that law is founded upon doctrine, upon unquestionable principles of truth, upon good doctrine, which is not only faithful, but worthy of all acceptation.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
For I give you good doctrine,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Doctrine - Knowledge orally given and received.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Children, hearken to the discipline of the Father The Holy One, blessed be He.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֶ֣קַח | lekach | instruction | H3948 → | 9 times |
| ט֭וֹב | tov | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| נָתַ֣תִּי | natati | I give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָכֶ֑ם | lakhem | to you | ||
| תּֽ֝וֹרָתִ֗י | torati | instruction my | H8451 → | 219 times |
| אַֽל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תַּעֲזֹֽבוּ׃ | taazou | you neglect | H5800 → | 215 times |
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֶ֣קַחinstruction
lekachH3948 →9 times
ט֭וֹבgood
tovH2896 →538 times
נָתַ֣תִּיI give
natatiH5414 →2011 times
לָכֶ֑םto you
lakhem
תּֽ֝וֹרָתִ֗יinstruction my
toratiH8451 →219 times
אַֽל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תַּעֲזֹֽבוּ׃you neglect
taazouH5800 →215 times
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
Titus 1:9He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.
it leads to
- 2 Thessalonians 2:15
Therefore, brothers, stand firm and cling to the traditions we taught you, whether by speech or by letter.
- 2 Timothy 1:13
Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching you have heard from me, with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Timothy 6:3
If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching,
- 1 Timothy 1:10
for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching
- 2 Thessalonians 2:15
Through
Deuteronomy 32:2Let my teaching fall like rain and my speech settle like dew, like gentle rain on new grass, like showers on tender plants.
it leads to
- Isaiah 55:10–11
For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,
- Psalms 72:6
May he be like rain that falls on freshly cut grass, like spring showers that water the earth.
- Micah 5:7
Then the remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for man or linger for mankind.
- Job 29:22–23
After my words, they spoke no more; my speech settled on them like dew.
- Isaiah 55:10–11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Interrogation of Job and David; Athanasius of Alexandria, Letter 2.1; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Hippolytus of Rome, Hippolytus Exegetical Fragments; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.