New Living Translation
Proverbs 4:23
23Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your 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
21Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, 22for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. 24Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech. 25Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
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 22:5Corrupt people walk a thorny, treacherous road; whoever values life will avoid it.
- Proverbs 23:19My child, listen and be wise: Keep your heart on the right course.
- Proverbs 28:26Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe.
- Deuteronomy 4:9“But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.
- Psalms 139:23Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
- Jeremiah 17:9“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?
- Mark 14:38Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
- Hebrews 12:15Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.
- Proverbs 4:7Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.
- Proverbs 3:21My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them,
- Proverbs 11:16A gracious woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth.
- Proverbs 13:3Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.
- Ecclesiastes 5:13There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver.
- Matthew 12:35A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.
- Matthew 15:19For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.
- Mark 7:21For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
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