Listen, my sons, to the instruction of a father, And pay attention so that you may gain understanding,
Parallel translations
- WEB Listen, sons, to a father’s instruction. Pay attention and know understanding;
- KJV Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
- BSB Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.
- NKJV Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding;
- NLT My children, listen when your father corrects you. Pay attention and learn good judgment,
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
A father calls his children to hear his instruction and gain understanding. Wisdom is handed down and must be actively received.
Overview
Chapter 4 opens a new appeal in which the teacher addresses his 'sons' and urges attentive listening. Wisdom is presented as a heritage passed from one generation to the next, requiring deliberate attention. This honors the biblical pattern of godly instruction within families (Deut 6:6-7; Eph 6:4).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Heb 2:1Therefore we ought to pay greater attention to the things that were heard, lest perhaps we drift away.
- Ps 34:11Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.
- Prov 1:8My son, listen to your father’s instruction, and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching:
- Prov 2:1–5My son, if you will receive my words, and store up my commandments within you;
- 1 Th 2:11–12As you know, we exhorted, comforted, and implored every one of you, as a father does his own children,
- Prov 5:1My son, pay attention to my wisdom. Turn your ear to my understanding:
- Prov 7:4Tell wisdom, “You are my sister.” Call understanding your relative,
- Prov 19:20Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter end.
- Prov 22:17Turn your ear, and listen to the words of the wise. Apply your heart to my teaching.
- Prov 6:20–23My son, keep your father’s commandment, and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching.
- Prov 8:32–36“Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, for blessed are those who keep my ways.
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 4:1 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.