Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
Parallel translations
- WEB Let them not depart from your eyes. Keep them in the center of your heart.
- BSB Do not lose sight of them; keep them within your heart.
- NKJV Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;
- NASB They are not to escape from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart.
- NLT Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart,
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
Keep these words always in sight and deep in the heart. Wisdom must be guarded both outwardly and inwardly.
Overview
The father urges that his words not slip from view and that they be kept in the very center of the heart, the seat of will and affection. Wisdom is to be internalized, not merely heard. This anticipates the new-covenant promise of God's law written on the heart (Jer 31:33; Heb 8:10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Prov 3:21My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:
- Prov 3:3Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
- Prov 7:1–2My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.
- Ps 40:8I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
- Prov 2:1My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
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 4:21 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
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