Bible Strands
Proverbs 27:23
Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds;
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The wisdom teacher addresses a student in a collection of practical maxims, placing this instruction between a warning about the unchangeable nature of folly and a statement on the temporary nature of wealth.
The words — The imperative תֵּדַע (Te.da') commands "you will know," while שִׁית (shit) means "set," directing the reader to fix attention on the condition of livestock.
The thread — This call to active oversight appears in Genesis 33:13 regarding Jacob’s frail livestock, John 21:15 where Jesus commissions Peter to care for his flock, and 1 Peter 5:2 which exhorts elders to watch over God’s flock willingly.
Why it lands — The text demands diligent, ongoing inspection of one’s resources rather than passive ownership, grounding the command in the reality that material wealth and status are fleeting.
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
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
Cross-references
- 1 Peter 5:2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;
- John 21:15 When they had finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus replied, “Feed My lambs.”
- Genesis 33:13 But Jacob replied, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and I must care for sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard for even a day, all the animals will die.
- 2 Chronicles 26:10 Since he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain, he built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns. And since he was a lover of the soil, he had farmers and vinedressers in the hill country and in the fertile fields.
- Proverbs 24:32 I observed and took it to heart; I looked and received instruction:
- Ezekiel 34:31 ‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
- Ezekiel 34:22 I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.
- John 10:3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen for his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
- Deuteronomy 32:46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to carefully follow all the words of this law.
- 1 Chronicles 27:29 Shitrai the Sharonite was in charge of the herds grazing in Sharon. Shaphat son of Adlai was in charge of the herds in the valleys.