Bible Strands
Proverbs 23:12
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The sage addresses a younger learner, likely a son, within a sequence of practical warnings about justice and parental correction. The instruction falls between a declaration that a Redeemer will defend the oppressed and a command to administer discipline without withholding it.
The words — The text commands the reader to direct their לִבֶּ֑ךָ (li.Be./kha) or heart toward לַ/מּוּסָ֣ר (la./mu.Sar) or discipline. It pairs this physical posture with turning the ears to words of דָֽעַת (Da.'at) or knowledge.
The thread — This pattern of orienting the ear and heart to wisdom runs through Proverbs 2:2, Proverbs 5:1, and Proverbs 23:19. Each passage uses the same instructional formula to mark the transition from passive hearing to active reception.
Why it lands — The verse demands deliberate attention, treating learning as an act of directing one's inner faculties rather than a passive event. It requires the reader to actively choose to receive instruction and knowledge before any correction or consequence follows.
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
Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 5:1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom; incline your ear to my insight,
- Proverbs 2:2 if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding,
- Proverbs 23:19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.
- James 1:21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.
- Ezekiel 33:31 So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.
- Proverbs 22:17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise—apply your mind to my knowledge—
- Matthew 13:52 Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”