Proverbs 4:23

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Keep	נְצֹ֣ר ne.Tzor	H5341	to guard · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
heart	לִבֶּ֑ךָ li.Be.kha	H3820	the heart · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
diligence	מִ֭שְׁמָר Mish.mor	H4929	a guard (the man · noun, common masculine singular absolute
issues	תּוֹצְא֥וֹת totz.'ot	H8444	(only in plural collective) exit · noun, common feminine plural construct
life	חַיִּֽים chai.Yim	H2416	alive · noun, common masculine plural absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart br…
Matthew 12:34-35 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Mark 7:21-23 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Psalms 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
Proverbs 13:3 He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Proverbs 23:19 Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 4:20–end

Solomon, having warned us not to do evil, here teaches us how to do well. It is not enough for us to shun the occasions of sin, but we must study the methods of duty. I. We must have a continual regard to the word of God and endeavour that it may be always ready to us. 1. The sayings of wisdom must be our principles by which we must govern ourselves, our monitors to warn us of duty and danger; and therefore, (1.) We must receive them readily: "Incline thy ear to them (Pro 4:20); humbly bow to them; diligently listen to them." The attentive hearing of the word of God is a good sign of a work of grace begun in the heart and a good means of carrying it on. It is to be hoped that those are resol…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 4:23

with all diligence--or, "above," or "more than all," custody (compare Margin), all that is kept (compare Eze 38:7), because the heart is the depository of all wisdom and the source of whatever affects life and character (Mat 12:35; Mat 15:19).

John Gill on Proverbs 4:23

Keep thy heart with all diligence,.... The mind from vanity, the understanding from error, the will from perverseness, the conscience clear of guilt, the affections from being inordinate and set on evil objects, the thoughts from being employed on bad subjects; and the whole from falling into the hands of the enemy, or being the possession of Satan: great diligence had need be used in keeping it, since it is naturally so deceitful and treacherous; a strict eye is to be kept upon it; all the avenues to it to be watched, that nothing hurtful enters, or evil comes out; it is to be kept by all manner of means that can be thought of, by prayer, hearing, reading, meditation; and, above all, by app…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 4:23–end

After this general preface the exhortation now becomes special: 23 Above all other things that are to be guarded, keep thy heart, For out from it life has its issues. 24 Put away from thee perverseness of mouth, And waywardness of lips put far from thee. 25 Thine eyes should look straight forward, And thine eyelids look straight to the end before thee. 26 Make even the path of thy feet, And let all thy ways be correct. 27 Turn not aside to the right and to the left; Remove thy foot from evil. Although משׁמר in itself and in this connection may mean the object to be watchfully avoided (cavendi) (vid., under Pro 2:20): thus the usage of the language lying before us applies it, yet only as deno…

The Church Fathers

Gerontius of Petra said, 'Many people who are tempted by pleasures of the flesh do not sin with the body but lust with the mind; they keep their bodily virginity but lust in their heart. It is better then, beloved, to do what is written, "Let everyone keep a close guard upon his heart" (Prov. 4:23).'
— Desert Fathers, The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

With all vigilance guard your heart, etc. There are those who seem to live rightly to men, but because they do not do so with right intention, their life which was believed good is rejected by God, who looks into the depraved. Therefore, with all diligence guard the purity of your heart, because the evaluation of life will be judged by its intention.
— Bede, Commentary on Proverbs

The spring and source, then, of every sin are evil thoughts; for, unless these gained mastery, neither murders nor adulteries nor any other such thing would exist. Therefore, each person must keep his own heart with all watchfulness; for when the Lord comes in the day of judgment, "He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts."
— Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 11:15

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Diligence · Keeping the heart — Keeping the heart
Heart, The · Issues of life are out of — Issues of life are out of
Regeneration · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Watchfulness · 36:18-21; — 36:18-21;
Young Men · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Proverbs 4:23

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 4:20–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 4:23

John Gill on Proverbs 4:23

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 4:23–end

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 4:23

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 4:20–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 4:23

John Gill on Proverbs 4:23

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 4:23–end

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 4:23

Rashi on Proverbs 4:23