Proverbs 4:13
in Proverbs 4Hold on to instruction; do not let go. Guard it, for it is your life.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: Keep her; for she is thy life.
KJV
Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
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This verse in Proverbs 4
Commentary
10 notes on this verseTake fast hold of instruction,.... Not the law, as Jarchi and Gersom interpret it; but the instruction of wisdom, the doctrine of Christ or the Gospel; see Pro 8:1; which is an instruction into the mind and will of God, concerning the salvation of men; into the grace of God, showing that salvation, in all its branches, is of pure grace; into the person and offices of Christ, and into the business of salvation through him; into the doctrines of peace, pardon, righteousness, and eternal life by him.
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
Hold on to instruction
Charles Spurgeon reads the grip on instruction as faith, which takes hold of what God teaches and keeps a firm grip. The one who guards instruction guards his own life. Deuteronomy 30:20 says the same of the LORD.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
), as being resolved to keep thy hold and never let it go." Those that have a good education, though they strive to shake it off, will find it hang about them a great while, and, if it do not, their case is very sad. [2.] He recommends to him wisdom and understanding as the end to be aimed at in the use of these means; that wisdom which is the principal wisdom, get that.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
(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.
Those that have got this wisdom must take heed of losing it again by returning to folly: it is indeed a good part, that shall not be taken from us; but then we must take heed lest we throw it from us, as those do that forget it first, and let it slip out of their minds, and then forsake it and turn out of its good ways.
All thy satisfaction will be found in this;" and a soul without true wisdom and grace is really a dead soul. Secondly, "It will be thy guard and guide, thy convoy and conductor, through all the dangers and difficulties of thy journey through this wilderness.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Take fast hold - החזק hachazek, seize it strongly, and keep the hold; and do this as for life. Learn all thou canst, retain what thou hast learnt, and keep the reason continually in view - it is for thy life.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
FAITH may be well described as taking hold upon Divine instruction. God has condescended to teach us and it is ours to hear with attention and receive His words. And while we are hearing, faith comes, even that faith which saves the soul. To take "fast hold" is an exhortation which concerns the strength, the reality, the heartiness and the truthfulness of faith—and the more of these the better. If to take hold is good, to take fast hold is better!
FAITH may be well described as taking hold upon Divine instruction. God has condescended to teach us and it is ours to hear with attention and receive His words. And while we are hearing, faith comes, even that faith which saves the soul. To take "fast hold" is an exhortation which concerns the strength, the reality, the heartiness and the truthfulness of faith—and the more of these the better. If to take hold is good, to take fast hold is better! Even a touch of the hem of Christ's garment causes healing to come to us, but if we want the full riches which are treasured up in Christ, we must not only touch but take hold. And if we would know from day to day the very uttermost of the fullness of His Grace, we must take fast hold and so maintain a constant and close connection between our souls and the eternal Fountain of Life. It were well to give such a grip as a man gives to a plank when he seizes hold of it for his very life—that is a fast hold, indeed! We are to take fast hold of instruction and the best of instruction is that which comes from God. The truest wisdom is the Revelation of God in Christ Jesus—of that, therefore, we are to take fast hold. The best understanding is obedience to the will of God and a diligent learning of those saving Truths which God has set before us in His Word so that, in effect, we are exhorted to take hold of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Incarnate Wisdom in whom dwells all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. We are not to let Him go, but to keep Him and hold Him, for He is our life. Does not John, in his Gospel, tell us that the Word is our light or instruction and at the same time our life? "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." The more we abide in the Lord Jesus and the more firmly we take hold upon Him, the better will it be for us in a thousand ways.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַחֲזֵ֣ק | hachazek | take hold | H2388 → | 291 times |
| בַּמּוּסָ֣ר | bamusar | on <the> discipline | H4148 → | 50 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תֶּ֑רֶף | teref | you let go | H7503 → | 46 times |
| נִ֝צְּרֶ֗הָ | nitzereha | keep her | H5341 → | 63 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִ֥יא | hi' | she | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| חַיֶּֽיךָ׃ | chaiyeikha | [is] life your | H2416 → | 498 times |
הַחֲזֵ֣קtake hold
hachazekH2388 →291 times
בַּמּוּסָ֣רon <the> discipline
bamusarH4148 →50 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תֶּ֑רֶףyou let go
terefH7503 →46 times
נִ֝צְּרֶ֗הָkeep her
nitzerehaH5341 →63 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הִ֥יאshe
hi'H1931 →1879 times
חַיֶּֽיךָ׃[is] life your
chaiyeikhaH2416 →498 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 Thessalonians 5:21but test all things. Hold fast to what is good.
it leads to
- 1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of…
- Ephesians 5:10
Test and prove what pleases the Lord.
- 1 John 4:1
Through
Hebrews 2:1We must pay closer attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
it leads to
- Luke 8:15
But the seeds on good soil are those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, cling to it, and by persevering produce a crop.
- 2 Peter 1:12–13
Therefore I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have.
- Proverbs 7:1–2
My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you.
- Proverbs 2:1–6
My son, if you accept my words and hide my commandments within you,
- Luke 8:15
Through
Proverbs 23:23Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
it leads to
- Proverbs 18:15
The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks it out.
- Proverbs 18:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1418: “The Holdfast” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.