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Christianity

Proverbs 22Train Up a Child

Summary

Proverbs 22 opens with a good name being better than great riches, and the observation that rich and poor share one Maker. It contains the famous counsel to train up a child in the way he should go, along with warnings about debt, oppressing the poor and befriending angry people. At 22:17 a new section begins, the words of the wise, which many scholars divide into thirty sayings, including commands not to rob the poor or move ancient boundary markers.

Key verse

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 22:6

Themes

  • Child-Rearing
  • Good Reputation
  • Justice for the Poor
  • Inherited Boundaries

Text

1

A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

2

The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.

3

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.

4

By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.

5

Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.

6

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

7

The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

8

He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.

9

He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.

10

Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.

11

He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.

12

The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.

13

The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.

14

The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.

15

Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

16

He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.

17

Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.

18

For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.

19

That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.

20

Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,

21

That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?

22

Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:

23

For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.

24

Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:

25

Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.

26

Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.

27

If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?

28

Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.

29

Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.

Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.

Across traditions

  • Christianity

    Ephesians 6: Nurture of the Lord

    Ephesians 6:1 to 4 calls children to honor their parents and fathers to raise children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, a New Testament counterpart to Proverbs 22:6.

  • Christianity

    Deuteronomy 19: The Neighbor's Landmark

    Deuteronomy 19:14 forbids moving a neighbor's boundary marker set by earlier generations, the law behind Proverbs 22:28 and 23:10.

Questions about Proverbs 22

Does Proverbs 22:6 guarantee that children will stay faithful?

Proverbs states general principles rather than promises. Many readers take the verse as describing how early training shapes a life, not as a guarantee, and some note the Hebrew can mean training a child according to his own way or nature.

Is Proverbs 22 related to Egyptian wisdom?

Many scholars note close resemblances between Proverbs 22:17 to 24:22 and the Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope, which has thirty chapters. Others argue for shared tradition rather than direct borrowing.