Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he grows older he will not abandon 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.
- KJV 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.
- 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 6:4You fathers, don’t provoke your children to wrath, but nurture them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
- Deut 6:7and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.
- 2 Tim 3:15From infancy, you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.
- Gen 18:19For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Yahweh may bring on Abraham that which he has spoken of him.”
- Deut 4:9Only be careful, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children’s children;
- Ps 78:3–6Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
- 1 Sam 1:28Therefore I have also given him to Yahweh. As long as he lives he is given to Yahweh.” He worshiped Yahweh there.
- 1 Sam 2:26The child Samuel grew on, and increased in favor both with Yahweh, and also with men.
- 1 Sam 12:2–3Now, behold, the king walks before you. I am old and gray-headed. Behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth to 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.