Passage

Proverbs 4.3

Book: Proverbs · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Hear, my sons, the instruction of a father, And attend to know understanding: 2. For I give you good doctrine; Forsake ye not my law."

"3. For I was a son unto my father, Tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother."

"4. And he taught me, and said unto me: Let thy heart retain my words; Keep my commandments, and live; 5. Get wisdom, get understanding; Forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth;" (Proverbs 4:1-5, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Listen, sons, to a father’s instruction. Pay attention and know understanding; 2. for I give you sound learning. Don’t forsake my law."

"3. For I was a son to my father, tender and an only child in the sight of my mother."

"4. He taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words. Keep my commandments, and live. 5. Get wisdom. Get understanding. Don’t forget, neither swerve from the words of my mouth." (Proverbs 4:1-5, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. 2. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law."

"3. For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother."

"4. He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. 5. Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth." (Proverbs 4:1-5, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. Hear, ye sons, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding. 2. For good learning I have given to you, My law forsake not."

"3. For, a son I have been to my father, tender, And an only one before my mother."

"4. And he directeth me, and he saith to me: 'Let thy heart retain my words, Keep my commands, and live. 5. Get wisdom, get understanding, Do not forget, nor turn away From the sayings of my mouth." (Proverbs 4:1-5, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

Quoted in

H3173 - yachid

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.