Proverbs 2:20

So you will follow in the ways of the good, and keep to the paths of the righteous.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The wisdom teacher addresses a student immediately following the warning in verse 19 that those who follow the destructive figure will never return to the paths of life.

The words — תֵּ֭לֵךְ (Te.lekh) means you may walk, and תִּשְׁמֹֽר (tish.Mor) means you will keep, framing the instruction as a deliberate choice of direction.

The thread — The text's call to align with the faithful runs through Hebrews 6:12, 3 John 1:11, and Psalms 119:63.

Why it lands — The verse demands a conscious shift of allegiance from the wicked to the righteous, promising that guarding their paths leads to enduring stability.

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

לְמַ֗עַןle.Ma.'anso that תֵּ֭לֵךְTe.lekhyou may walk בְּדֶ֣רֶךְbe./De.rekhin/ [the] way of טוֹבִ֑יםto.Vimgood [people]וְאָרְח֖וֹתve./'a.re.Chotand/ [the] paths of צַדִּיקִ֣יםtza.di.Kimrighteous [people]תִּשְׁמֹֽר׃tish.Moryou will keep

King James Version

That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.

Cross-references

Hebrews 6:12 Then you will not be sluggish, but will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
3 John 1:11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.
Psalms 119:63 I am a friend to all who fear You, and to those who keep Your precepts.
Psalms 119:115 Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may obey the commandments of my God.
Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
Jeremiah 6:16 This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’
Song of Solomon 1:7 Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?