Proverbs 4:19
in Proverbs 4But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble.
KJV
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
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This verse in Proverbs 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe way of the wicked is dark, etc. John the Apostle also says concerning these: Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no offense in him (1 John 2); but whoever hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, …
This site's exposition
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn
on Proverbs 4:18-19
The two ways are light and dark. The growing light is the whole course of a godly life, small beginnings ripening toward a noon still ahead. The darkness of the wicked is blindness to their own danger, since a man in full dark cannot see what trips him.
This site's exposition
the darkest gloom
Darkest gloom is afelah, the thick darkness of the ninth plague at Exodus 10:22. Bede sets the verse beside 1 John 2:11, where the one who hates his brother walks in darkness and cannot tell where he is going. The stumble comes unseen.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The way of the wicked is as darkness,.... They are in the darkness of sin, ignorance, error, and unbelief; their works are works of darkness; the way in which they are leads to eternal darkness, ruin, and misery, and so must be most uncomfortable and dangerous; they know not at what they stumble; they stumble at the word, which they are ignorant of, and at Christ, whom they have no knowledge of; and through the temptations of Satan and snares of the world, which they are not aware of, nor upon their guard against.
They fall into sin, but are not aware which way the temptation came by which they were overthrown, and therefore know not how to avoid it the next time. They fall into trouble, but never enquire wherefore God contends with them; they consider not that they do evil, nor what will be in the end of it, Ps. lxxxii. This is the way we are directed to shun.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דֶּ֣רֶךְ | derekh | [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| רְ֭שָׁעִים | reshaim | wicked [people] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| כָּֽאֲפֵלָ֑ה | kaafelah | [is] like <the> darkness | H653 → | |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָ֝דְע֗וּ | yadeu | they know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| בַּמֶּ֥ה | bameh | on what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| יִכָּשֵֽׁלוּ׃ פ | yikashelu | are they stumbling | H3782 → | 62 times |
דֶּ֣רֶךְ[the] way of
derekhH1870 →707 times
רְ֭שָׁעִיםwicked [people]
reshaimH7563 →263 times
כָּֽאֲפֵלָ֑ה[is] like <the> darkness
kaafelahH653 →
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָ֝דְע֗וּthey know
yadeuH3045 →945 times
בַּמֶּ֥הon what?
bamehH4100 →752 times
יִכָּשֵֽׁלוּ׃ פare they stumbling
yikasheluH3782 →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
John 12:35Then Jesus told them, “For a little while longer, the Light will be among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in the…
it leads to
- John 12:46
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness.
- John 16:16
In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after a little while you will see Me.”
- 1 John 1:6–7
If we say we have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
- Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- John 12:46
Through
1 Samuel 2:9He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.
it leads to
- Psalms 91:11–12
For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
- Psalms 121:3
He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.
- Psalms 33:16–17
No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.
- 1 Peter 1:5
who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Psalms 91:11–12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.