Proverbs 4:3
1 Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.
2 For I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my directive.
When I was a son to my father, tender and the only child of my mother,
4 he taught me and said, “Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands and you will live.
5 Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn from them.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- When I was a son to my father, tender and the only child of my mother,
- KJV
- For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
- WEB
- For I was a son to my father, tender and an only child in the sight of my mother.
- ASV
- For I was a son unto my father, Tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
- DARBY
- For I was a son unto my father, tender and an only one in the sight of my mother.
- BLB
- For I was a son to my father, tender and the only one before the face of my mother,
- ÅB
- For da jeg var sønn hjemme hos min far, da jeg var liten og min mors eneste barn,
- OTB
- Da jeg var en sønn for min far, øm og kjær for min mor,
- B1930
- For da jeg var sønn hjemme hos min far, da jeg var liten og min mors eneste barn,
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
1 Chronicles 22:5
And David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent—famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore I must make preparations for it.” So David made lavish preparations before his death.
Read in contextRomans 12:16
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but enjoy the company of the lowly. Do not be conceited.
Read in context1 Chronicles 29:1
Then King David said to the whole assembly, “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great because this palace is not for man, but for the LORD God.
Read in contextZechariah 12:10
Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
Read in context1 Chronicles 3:5
and these sons were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. These four were born to him by Bathsheba daughter of Ammiel.
Read in contextJeremiah 10:23
I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.
Read in context2 Samuel 12:24–25
Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. So she gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved the child
Read in context1 Kings 1:13–17
Go at once to King David and say, ‘My lord the king, did you not swear to your maidservant, “Surely your son Solomon will reign after me, and he will sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’
Read in context