Proverbs 4:14

Study note

Setting — The author addresses a son in a direct instructional context, placing this command between the exhortation to hold to instruction and the warning to avoid the evil way. The moment occurs within a structured parental teaching sequence focused on moral preservation.

The words — The text uses אַל־ תָּבֹא ('al- ta.Vo') for "may not you go" and תְּאַשֵּׁר (te.'a.Sher) for "you advance," paired with בְּאֹרַח (be./'O.rach) "path" and בְּדֶרֶךְ (be./De.rekh) "way." These terms literally command the physical avoidance of the path of the wicked (רְשָׁעִים) and the way of evil people (רָעִים).

The thread — This warning runs in Psalms 1:1, which blesses those who do not walk in the counsel of the wicked or set foot on the path of sinners, and appears in Proverbs 1:10 as a command not to yield when sinners entice. It also aligns with the principle that bad company corrupts good character as noted in 1 Corinthians 15:33.

Why it lands — The text demands immediate physical and moral separation from corrupt routes before any association occurs. It requires the reader to actively turn away from evil influences rather than merely resisting them after engagement.

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.