Proverbs 4:14
in Proverbs 4Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Enter not into the path of the wicked, And walk not in the way of evil men.
KJV
Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
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This verse in Proverbs 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe heterodox are the "wicked," and the transgressors of the law are "evil men," whose "ways"-that is to say, their deeds-he bids us not enter.
This site's exposition
Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
on Proverbs 4:14-17
Four short commands pile up, “Avoid it; do not travel on it” and “Turn from it and pass on by,” urging distance over argument. The wicked in view “cannot sleep unless they do evil” and “they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence”.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
We must take heed of falling in with sin and sinners: Enter not into the paths of the wicked. Our teacher, having like a faithful guide shown us the right paths (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Enter not into the path of the wicked,.... Which leads to eternal death; join not with them in their wicked ways and practices; have no fellowship, keep no company, with them; do not set one foot in the path they tread, lest thou shouldest be tempted to proceed to more ungodliness; you do not know where and when there will be a stop, when once you begin, therefore enter not.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The reason is found in the character of sinners, whose zeal to do evil is forcibly depicted (Pr 6:4; They live by flagrant vices (Pr 1:13). Some prefer to render, "Their bread is wickedness, their drink violence" (compare Job 15:16;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Enter not into the path of the wicked - Never associate with those whose life is irregular and sinful; never accompany them in any of their acts of transgression.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּאֹ֣רַח | beorach | in [the] path of | H734 → | 58 times |
| רְ֭שָׁעִים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תָּבֹ֑א | tavo' | you go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וְאַל־ | veal- | and may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תְּ֝אַשֵּׁ֗ר | teasher | you advance | H833 → | 16 times |
| בְּדֶ֣רֶךְ | bederekh | in [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| רָעִֽים׃ | raim | evil [people] | H7451 → | 662 times |
בְּאֹ֣רַחin [the] path of
beorachH734 →58 times
רְ֭שָׁעִיםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תָּבֹ֑אyou go
tavo'H935 →2568 times
וְאַל־and may not
veal-H408 →724 times
תְּ֝אַשֵּׁ֗רyou advance
teasherH833 →16 times
בְּדֶ֣רֶךְin [the] way of
bederekhH1870 →707 times
רָעִֽים׃evil [people]
raimH7451 →662 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
Psalms 1:1Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
it leads to
- Proverbs 13:20
He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 26:4–5
I do not sit with deceitful men, nor keep company with hypocrites.
- Proverbs 4:14–15
Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers.
- Psalms 119:1–2
Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the Law of the LORD.
- Jeremiah 15:17
I never sat with the band of revelers, nor did I celebrate with them. Because Your hand was on me, I sat alone, for You have filled me with indignation.
- Proverbs 13:20
Through
1 Corinthians 15:33Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
it leads to
- Matthew 24:4
Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you.
- 1 Corinthians 5:6
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough?
- Proverbs 9:6
Leave your folly behind, and you will live; walk in the way of understanding.”
- Matthew 24:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Hippolytus of Rome, Hippolytus Exegetical Fragments; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.