Bible Strands
Proverbs 16:17
The highway of the upright leads away from evil; he who guards his way protects his life.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The book of Proverbs delivers wisdom instruction to a general audience, placing this verse between a comparison of wisdom to gold and a warning about pride.
The words — מְסִלַּ֣ת (me.si.Lat) means highway or prepared path, and שֹׁמֵ֥ר (sho.Mer) means to guard or protect. The text states that the upright person's path turns aside from evil and that the one who guards his way protects his life.
The thread — The path motif recurs in Isaiah 35:8 as the Way of Holiness, Proverbs 10:9 regarding secure walking in integrity, and Proverbs 19:16 linking kept commandments to preserved souls.
Why it lands — It requires deliberate moral navigation and vigilant attention to one's conduct to avoid harm and preserve one's own life.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 35:8 And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it.
- Proverbs 10:9 He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.
- Proverbs 19:16 He who keeps a commandment preserves his soul, but he who is careless in his ways will die.
- Proverbs 4:24 Put away deception from your mouth; keep your lips from perverse speech.
- Titus 2:10 not stealing from them, but showing all good faith, so that in every respect they will adorn the teaching about God our Savior.
- Jude 1:21 keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.
- Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
- Matthew 24:13 But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
- Acts 10:35 but welcomes those from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.
- Acts 24:16 In this hope, I strive always to maintain a clear conscience before God and man.