Amplified Bible
Proverbs 4:23
23Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.
Proverbs 4:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
- New International Version (NIV)Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
Context of Proverbs 4:23
21Do not let them escape from your sight; Keep them in the center of your heart. 22For they are life to those who find them, And healing and health to all their flesh. Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. 24Put away from you a deceitful (lying, misleading) mouth, And put devious lips far from you. 25Let your eyes look directly ahead [toward the path of moral courage] And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you [toward the path of integrity].
Read all of Proverbs 4Proverbs 4:23 word by word
מִֽכָּל־מִ֭שְׁמָר נְצֹ֣ר לִבֶּ֑ךָ כִּֽי־מִ֝מֶּ֗נּוּ תּוֹצְא֥וֹת חַיִּֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 4:23
- Proverbs 22:5Thorns and snares are in the way of the obstinate [for their lack of honor and their wrong-doing traps them]; He who guards himself [with godly wisdom] will be far from them and avoid the consequences they suffer.
- Proverbs 23:19Listen, my son, and be wise, And direct your heart in the way [of the Lord].
- Proverbs 28:26He who trusts confidently in his own heart is a [dull, thickheaded] fool, But he who walks in [skillful and godly] wisdom will be rescued.
- Deuteronomy 4:9“Only pay attention and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your grandchildren [impressing these things on their mind and penetrating their heart with these truths]—
- Psalms 139:23Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart; Test me and know my anxious thoughts;
- Jeremiah 17:9“The heart is deceitful above all things And it is extremely sick; Who can understand it fully and know its secret motives?
- Mark 14:38Keep [actively] watching and praying so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
- Hebrews 12:15See to it that no one falls short of God’s grace; that no root of resentment springs up and causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;
- Proverbs 4:7The beginning of wisdom is: Get [skillful and godly] wisdom [it is preeminent]! And with all your acquiring, get understanding [actively seek spiritual discernment, mature comprehension, and logical interpretation].
- Proverbs 3:21My son, let them not escape from your sight, But keep sound wisdom and discretion,
- Proverbs 11:16A gracious and good woman attains honor, And ruthless men attain riches [but not respect].
- Proverbs 13:3The one who guards his mouth [thinking before he speaks] protects his life; The one who opens his lips wide [and chatters without thinking] comes to ruin.
- Ecclesiastes 5:13There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being kept and hoarded by their owner to his own misery.
- Matthew 12:35The good man, from his [inner] good treasure, brings out good things; and the evil man, from his [inner] evil treasure, brings out evil things.
- Matthew 15:19For out of the heart come evil thoughts and plans, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slanders (verbal abuse, irreverent speech, blaspheming).
- Mark 7:21For from within, [that is] out the heart of men, come base and malevolent thoughts and schemes, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adulteries,
Commentaries on Proverbs 4:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Keep thy heart with all diligence - "Above all keeping," guard thy heart. He who knows any thing of himself, knows how apt his affections are to go astray. For out of it are the issues of life - חיים תוצאות totseoth chaiyim, "the goings out of lives." Is not this a plain allusion to the arteries which carry the blood from the heart through the whole body, and to the utmost extremities? As long as the heart is capable of receiving and propelling the blood…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23Better, as in the margin, i. e., with more vigilance than men use over anything else. The words that follow carry on the same similitude. The fountains and wells of the East were watched over with special care. The heart is such a fountain, out of it flow the “issues” of life. Shall men let those streams be tainted at the fountain-head?Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-27Verses 14-27 The way of evil men may seem pleasant, and the nearest way to compass some end; but it is an evil way, and will end ill; if thou love thy God and thy soul, avoid it. It is not said, Keep at a due distance, but at a great distance; never think you can get far enough from it. The way of the righteous is light; Christ is their Way, and he is the Light. The saints will not be perfect till they reach heaven, but there they shall shine as the sun…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23In the Old Testament, the heart symbolizes the center of emotions, thoughts, and reasoning (for example, Genesis 6:5; Deuteronomy 4:29; Psalm 131:1). The heart plays a key role in the struggle between wisdom and foolishness, and between righteousness and evil (see Matthew 5:8; 13:15; John 12:40; Romans 6:17).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. with all diligence--or, "above," or "more than all," custody (compare Margin), all that is kept (compare Eze 38:7), because the heart is the depository of all wisdom and the source of whatever affects life and character (Mt 12:35; 15:19).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 4:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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