New International Version
Proverbs 27:23
23Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds;
Proverbs 27:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds,
- New King James Version (NKJV)Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, And attend to your herds;
- New Living Translation (NLT)Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds,
Context of Proverbs 27:23
21The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise. 22Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding them like grain with a pestle, you will not remove their folly from them. Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; 24for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations. 25When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
Read all of Proverbs 27Proverbs 27:23 word by word
יָדֹ֣עַ תֵּ֭דַע פְּנֵ֣י צֹאנֶ֑ךָ שִׁ֥ית לִ֝בְּךָ֗ לַעֲדָרִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 27:23
- Genesis 31:38“I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks.
- Genesis 33:13But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die.
- 1 Samuel 17:28When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”
- 1 Chronicles 27:29Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds grazing in Sharon. Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys.
- 2 Chronicles 26:10He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.
- Ezekiel 34:22I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.
- John 21:15When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
- 1 Peter 5:2Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;
- Proverbs 24:32I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw:
- Exodus 7:23Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart.
- Deuteronomy 32:46he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law.
Commentaries on Proverbs 27:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23The state of thy flocks - The directions to the end of the chapter refer chiefly to pastoral and agricultural affairs. Do not trust thy flocks to the shepherd merely; number them thyself; look into their condition; see how they are tended; and when, and with what, and in what proportion, they are fed.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23-27Verses 23-27 The verses sing the praises of the earlier patriarchal life, with its flocks and herds, and tillage of the ground, as compared with the commerce of a later time, with money as its chief or only wealth. Proverbs 27:23 The state - literally, face. The verse is an illustration of John 10:3, John 10:14. Proverbs 27:24 Riches - The money which men may steal, or waste, is contrasted with the land of which the owner is not so easily deprived. Nor…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 23-27Verses 23-27 We ought to have some business to do in this world, and not to live in idleness, and not to meddle with what we do not understand. We must be diligent and take pains. Let us do what we can, still the world cannot be secured to us, therefore we must choose a more lasting portion; but by the blessing of God upon our honest labours, we may expect to enjoy as much of earthly blessings as is good for us.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23-27Agricultural property can provide food and clothing for generations. These resources need constant work and care, or they will vanish like riches.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 23-2423-24. flocks--constituted the staple of wealth. It is only by care and diligence that the most solid possessions can be perpetuated (Pr 23:5).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 27:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 27
- 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
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries