Proverbs for Life
The book of the Proverbs is written from the perspective of a father who is giving godly counsel to his son – a son who is entering his early adult life. Even so, the following counsels are just those that a young man (or young woman) needs in order to engage in adulthood with righteous success. Yea, the following counsels are just those that a godly father (and mother) should seek to instill in their children as they approach adulthood.
The book of the Proverbs is written from the perspective of a father who is giving godly counsel to his son – a son who is entering his early adult life. Even so, the following counsels are just those that a young man (or young woman) needs in order to engage in adulthood with righteous success. Yea, the following counsels are just those that a godly father (and mother) should seek to instill in their children as they approach adulthood.
1. My son, respect the guidance of your parents.
Proverbs 1:8-9 – “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother. For they
shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.”
Proverbs 6:20-23 – “My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: bind
them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when
thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a
lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.”
2. My son, reject the enticement of sinners.
Proverbs 1:10 – “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.”
3. My son, refrain from friendship with sinners.
Proverbs 1:15-16 – “My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path. For their feet
run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.”
4. My son, receive attentively the wisdom of God’s Word.
Proverbs 2:1-5, 9 – “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that
thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after
knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as
for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God . . . .
Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.”
Proverbs 4:1-2, 5-13 – “Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. For I
give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law . . . . Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither
decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall
keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She
shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. Hear, O my son,
and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I
have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest,
thou shalt not stumble. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.”
5. My son, respond obediently to the wisdom of God’s Word.
Proverbs 3:1-10 – “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: for length of days,
and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy
neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: so shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight
of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy
ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and
depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honour the LORD with thy sub-
stance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses
shall burst out with new wine.”
Proverbs 7:1-3 – “My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my command-
ments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table
of thine heart.”
6. My son, resist not the chastening of our loving Lord.
Proverbs 3:11-12 – “My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: for
whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”
7. My son, remain faithful to the wisdom of God’s Word.
Proverbs 3:21-26 – “My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: so shall
they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not
stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be
sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD
shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.”
Proverbs 4:20-22 – “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from
thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all
their flesh.”
8. My son, regard the discretion of God’s wisdom.
Proverbs 5:1-6 – “My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: that thou mayest
regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honey-
comb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways
are moveable, that thou canst not know them.”
9. My son, run away from the adulterous woman.
Proverbs 5:9-10, 20-23 – “Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my
mouth. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house . . . . And why wilt thou, my
son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? For the ways of man are
before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. His own iniquities shall take the wicked him-
self, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness
of his folly he shall go astray.”
Proverbs 7:24-27 – “Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded:
yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of
death.”
10. My son, reconcile with a friend against whom you have sinned.
Proverbs 6:1-5 – “My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, thou
art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. Do this now, my son, and
deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the
hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.”
Proverbs 1:8-9 – “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother. For they
shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.”
Proverbs 6:20-23 – “My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: bind
them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when
thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a
lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.”
2. My son, reject the enticement of sinners.
Proverbs 1:10 – “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.”
3. My son, refrain from friendship with sinners.
Proverbs 1:15-16 – “My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path. For their feet
run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.”
4. My son, receive attentively the wisdom of God’s Word.
Proverbs 2:1-5, 9 – “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that
thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after
knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as
for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God . . . .
Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.”
Proverbs 4:1-2, 5-13 – “Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. For I
give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law . . . . Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither
decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall
keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She
shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. Hear, O my son,
and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I
have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest,
thou shalt not stumble. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.”
5. My son, respond obediently to the wisdom of God’s Word.
Proverbs 3:1-10 – “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: for length of days,
and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy
neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: so shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight
of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy
ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and
depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honour the LORD with thy sub-
stance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses
shall burst out with new wine.”
Proverbs 7:1-3 – “My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my command-
ments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table
of thine heart.”
6. My son, resist not the chastening of our loving Lord.
Proverbs 3:11-12 – “My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: for
whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”
7. My son, remain faithful to the wisdom of God’s Word.
Proverbs 3:21-26 – “My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: so shall
they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not
stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be
sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD
shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.”
Proverbs 4:20-22 – “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from
thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all
their flesh.”
8. My son, regard the discretion of God’s wisdom.
Proverbs 5:1-6 – “My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: that thou mayest
regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honey-
comb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways
are moveable, that thou canst not know them.”
9. My son, run away from the adulterous woman.
Proverbs 5:9-10, 20-23 – “Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my
mouth. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house . . . . And why wilt thou, my
son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? For the ways of man are
before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. His own iniquities shall take the wicked him-
self, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness
of his folly he shall go astray.”
Proverbs 7:24-27 – “Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.
Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded:
yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of
death.”
10. My son, reconcile with a friend against whom you have sinned.
Proverbs 6:1-5 – “My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, thou
art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. Do this now, my son, and
deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the
hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.”
Posted in Proverbs for Life, For the Sake of the Home, Godly Companionship, Word of God, Walk in Righteousness, Separation
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