When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; when you run, you will not stumble.
Parallel translations
- WEB When you go, your steps will not be hampered. When you run, you will not stumble.
- KJV When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
- NKJV When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, And when you run, you will not stumble.
- NASB When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; And if you run, you will not stumble.
- NLT When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble.
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
On wisdom's path your steps are unhindered and you will not stumble. The way of wisdom is free and steady.
Overview
Walking in wisdom, one finds the way unobstructed and secure, whether moving slowly or running. The wise are not tripped up by the snares that catch the foolish. This pictures the freedom and stability of a life ordered by God's truth, which Christ gives to those who walk in him (John 8:31-32).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Prov 3:23Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble.
- Ps 18:36You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.
- 1 Pet 2:8and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.
- John 11:9–10Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? If anyone walks in the daytime, he will not stumble, because he sees by the light of this world.
- 2 Sam 22:37You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.
- 1 Jn 2:10–11Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him.
- Ps 91:11–12For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
- Prov 4:19But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they do not know what makes them stumble.
- Ps 119:165Abundant peace belongs to those who love Your law; nothing can make them stumble.
- Job 18:7–8His vigorous stride is shortened, and his own schemes trip him up.
- Prov 6:22When you walk, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.
- Rom 9:32–33Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,
- Jer 31:9They will come with weeping, and by their supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk beside streams of waters, on a level path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 4:12 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.