Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Parallel translations
- WEB Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
- BSB Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
- NKJV Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
- NASB Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he grows older he will not abandon it.
- NLT Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Train a child in the right way, and he will hold to it when old. It matters because early godly upbringing shapes a lifetime.
Overview
This well-known proverb commends diligent, godly instruction of children, generally producing lasting fruit. Faithful Christians read it as a wise general principle and encouragement rather than an unconditional guarantee, since children retain responsibility and Proverbs speaks in such patterns. It calls parents to nurture children in the Lord (Ephesians 6:4; Deuteronomy 6:6-7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Eph 6:4And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
- Deut 6:7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
- 2 Tim 3:15And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
- Gen 18:19For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
- Deut 4:9Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;
- Ps 78:3–6Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
- 1 Sam 1:28Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.
- 1 Sam 2:26And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.
- 1 Sam 12:2–3And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 22:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.