Proverbs 4:12
in Proverbs 4When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; when you run, you will not stumble.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
KJV
When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
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This verse in Proverbs 4
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThat our steps be not straitened when we go, that we bring not ourselves into such straits as David was in, 2 Sam. xxiv. Those that make God's word their rule shall walk at liberty, and be at ease in themselves.
This site's exposition
the years of your life will be many
on Proverbs 4:10-13
The father turns from wisdom's rewards to wisdom's road, promising that “your steps will not be impeded”. Instruction is to be gripped and kept, because “it is your life,” language stronger than the “love her” of 4:6. The unhindered path pictures a life ordered by wisdom.
This site's exposition
your steps will not be impeded
Impeded pictures steps hemmed into a narrow place, and stumble pictures a runner's fall. Matthew Henry recalls David at 2 Samuel 24:14, hemmed in by three hard choices. Wisdom gives room to walk and to run.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And running, you will not have a stumbling block. The more eagerly you run to fulfill God's commandments, the less you will fear adversities that impede you: for whoever sweats in evil deeds finds a stumbling block in the midst of the course, because immediately, …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened,....
(1.) By way of precept and exhortation. David, in teaching his son, though he was a child of great capacity and quick apprehension, yet to show that he was in good earnest, and to affect his child the more with what he said, expressed himself with great warmth and importunity, and inculcated the same thing again and again.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Thy steps shall not be straitened - True wisdom will teach thee to keep out of embarrassments. A man under the influence of true religion ponders his paths, and carefully poises occurring circumstances; and as the fear of God will ever lead him to act an upright and honest part, so his way in business and life is both clear and large. He has no by-ends to serve; he speculates not; he uses neither trick nor cunning to effect any purpose. Such a man can never be embarrassed.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
When you walk, your step will not be straightened One who does not spread out his legs is likely to fall.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּֽ֭לֶכְתְּךָ | belekhtekha | when walking you | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֵצַ֣ר | yetzar | anyone will hinder | H3334 → | |
| צַעֲדֶ֑ךָ | tzaadekha | step[s] your | H6806 → | 14 times |
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| תָּ֝ר֗וּץ | tarutz | you will run | H7323 → | 103 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִכָּשֵֽׁל׃ | tikashel | you will stumble | H3782 → | 62 times |
בְּֽ֭לֶכְתְּךָwhen walking you
belekhtekhaH1980 →1546 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יֵצַ֣רanyone will hinder
yetzarH3334 →
צַעֲדֶ֑ךָstep[s] your
tzaadekhaH6806 →14 times
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
תָּ֝ר֗וּץyou will run
tarutzH7323 →103 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִכָּשֵֽׁל׃you will stumble
tikashelH3782 →62 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
1 Peter 2:8and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.
it leads to
- Isaiah 8:14
And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.
- 1 Corinthians 1:23
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
- 1 Peter 2:7
To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
- Romans 9:32–33
Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,
- Romans 9:22
What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction?
- Isaiah 8:14
Through
Proverbs 3:23Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble.
it leads to
- Psalms 121:3
He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 10:9
He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.
- Psalms 121:3
Through
Psalms 18:36You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.
it leads to
- Psalms 4:1
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved my distress; show me grace and hear my prayer.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 4:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.