Amplified Bible
Proverbs 4:5
5Get [skillful and godly] wisdom! Acquire understanding [actively seek spiritual discernment, mature comprehension, and logical interpretation]! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
Proverbs 4:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
- New International Version (NIV)Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
Context of Proverbs 4:5
3When I was a son with my father (David), Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother (Bathsheba), 4He taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; Keep my commandments and live. Get [skillful and godly] wisdom! Acquire understanding [actively seek spiritual discernment, mature comprehension, and logical interpretation]! Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. 6Do not turn away from her (Wisdom) and she will guard and protect you; Love her, and she will watch over you. 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].
Read all of Proverbs 4Proverbs 4:5 word by word
קְנֵ֣ה חָ֭כְמָה קְנֵ֣ה בִינָ֑ה אַל־תִּשְׁכַּ֥ח וְאַל־תֵּ֝֗ט מֵֽאִמְרֵי־פִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 4:5
- Proverbs 1:22“How long, O naive ones [you who are easily misled], will you love being simple-minded and undiscerning? How long will scoffers [who ridicule and deride] delight in scoffing, How long will fools [who obstinately mock truth] hate knowledge?
- Proverbs 2:2So that your ear is attentive to [skillful and godly] wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding [seeking it conscientiously and striving for it eagerly];
- Proverbs 3:13Happy [blessed, considered fortunate, to be admired] is the man who finds [skillful and godly] wisdom, And the man who gains understanding and insight [learning from God’s word and life’s experiences],
- Proverbs 8:5O you naive or inexperienced [who are easily misled], understand prudence and seek astute common sense; And, O you [closed-minded, self-confident] fools, understand wisdom [seek the insight and self-discipline that leads to godly living].
- Proverbs 17:16Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, When he has no common sense or even a heart for it?
- Proverbs 18:1He who [willfully] separates himself [from God and man] seeks his own desire, He quarrels against all sound wisdom.
- Proverbs 19:8He who gains wisdom and good sense loves (preserves) his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good and prosper.
- Proverbs 23:23Buy truth, and do not sell it; Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.
- James 1:5If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him.
- 2 Chronicles 34:2He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father (forefather) and did not turn aside either to the right or to the left.
- Job 23:11My feet have carefully followed His steps; I have kept His ways and not turned aside.
- Psalms 44:18Our heart has not turned back, Nor have our steps wandered from Your path,
- Psalms 119:51The arrogant utterly ridicule me, Yet I do not turn away from Your law.
Commentaries on Proverbs 4:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Get wisdom - True religion is essential to thy happiness; never forget its teachings, nor go aside from the path it prescribes.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4-20Verses 4-20 The counsel which has come to him, in substance, from his father. Compare it with 2 Samuel 23:2 etc.; 1 Chronicles 28:9; 1 Chronicles 29:17; Psalm 15:1-5; Psalm 24:1-10; Proverbs 4:7 Or, “The beginning of wisdom is - get wisdom.” To seek is to find, to desire is to obtain. Proverbs 4:12 The ever-recurring parable of the journey of life. In the way of wisdom the path is clear and open, obstacles disappear; in the quickest activity (“when thou…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5In the Old Testament, forgetting means more than just not remembering; it also means failing to obey.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. Get--as a possession not to be given up. neither decline--that is, from obeying my word.Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 4:5
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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