So you may walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
Parallel Translations
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So you may walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
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That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
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That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to Proverbs 2:20 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Hebrews 6:12 that you won’t be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and perseverance inherited the promises.
- 3 John 1:11 Beloved, don’t imitate that which is evil, but that which is good. He who does good is of God. He who does evil hasn’t seen God.
- Psalms 119:63 I am a friend of all those who fear you, of those who observe your precepts.
- Psalms 119:115 Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God.
- Proverbs 13:20 One who walks with wise men grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
- Jeremiah 6:16 Yahweh says, “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, ‘Where is the good way?’ and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
- Song of Solomon 1:7-8 Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you graze your flock, where you rest them at noon; for why should I be as one who is veiled beside the flocks of your companions? If you don’t know, most beautiful among women, follow the tracks of the sheep. Graze your young goats beside the shepherds’ tents.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 2:20 That thou mayest walk in the way…
Pro 2:20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good [men], and keep the paths of the righteous.
Ver. 20. That thou mayest walk in the way.] This is another work of wisdom - as to keep us from bad company, so to put us into good, where much good may be learned. Dr Taylor, martyr, rejoiced that ever he came in prison, there to be acquainted with that angel of God, John Bradford (so he called him). {a} Latimer and Ridley, while they lived, kept up Cranmer by intercourse of letters, and otherwise, from entertaining counsels of revolt. {b} A child having been brought up with Plato, returned home to his father’s house, and, hearing his father to chide, and exclaim furiously in his anger, used these speeches to his father, "I have never seen the like with Plato." {c}
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{a} Acts and Mon.
{b} Ibid.
{c} Sen., De Ira, lib. iii. cap. 11.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain This depends upon Pro 2:11, and is mentioned as…
This depends upon Pro 2:11, and is mentioned as another happy fruit of wisdom, the former being declared from Pro 2:12 to this verse.
Walk in the way of good men; follow the counsels and examples of the godly; whereby he intimates that it is not sufficient to abstain from evil company and practices, but that we must choose the conversation of good men.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain That thou mayest walk in the way of good…
That thou mayest walk in the way of good men,.... Who are not so by nature, but made so by the grace of God; such as the saints, prophets, and patriarchs of old; and who walked in the way of righteousness, holiness, and truth; being directed therein by the Spirit and word of God: now the use and profit of wisdom's instructions, or of the Gospel of Christ, and the doctrines of it, and a spiritual understanding of them, are not only to deliver men from the wicked man and the naughty woman, but also to influence and engage them to follow the examples of good men, and to walk in the same good old paths as they have done, Heb 6:12;
and keep the paths of the righteous; not only observe them and walk in them, but continue therein, even in the paths of faith and holiness; for righteous men, such as are made righteous by the righteousness of Christ, and are anew created unto righteousness and true holiness, and in consequence thereof live righteously; these walk by faith on Christ, and as becomes his Gospel; and in all the ordinances of it, and in all the duties of religion; and the Gospel teaches all those that receive and profess it to do the same.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain That - This depends upon ver. 11, and is…
That - This depends upon ver. 11, and is mentioned as another happy fruit of wisdom.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 20. That thou mayest mark] Therefore thou shalt…
Verse 20. That thou mayest mark] Therefore thou shalt walk.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Pro 2:20-22. That thou mayest walk, &c. — This…
Pro 2:20-22. That thou mayest walk, &c. — This depends upon Pro 2:11, and is mentioned as another happy fruit of wisdom, the former being declared, from Pro 2:12-19. In the way of good men — Mayest follow the counsels and examples of the godly. By this he intimates that it is not sufficient to abstain from evil company and practices, but that we must choose the conversation of good men. For the upright shall dwell in the land — Shall have a peaceable and comfortable abode in the land of Canaan, which also is a type of their everlasting felicity. Their life on earth shall be quiet and peaceable, to which their uprightness will contribute, as it settles their minds, guides their counsels, gains them the good-will of their neighbours, and entitles them to God’s peculiar favour: and they shall dwell for ever in the heavenly Canaan. But the wicked — That choose the way of the evil man; shall be cut off — Not only from heaven hereafter, and all hopes of it, but from the earth now, on which they set their affections, and in which they lay up their treasure. They think to take root in it, but they and their families shall be rooted out of it — In judgment to them, but in mercy to the earth. And there is a day coming which shall leave them neither root nor branch, Mal 4:1. Let that wisdom then enter into our hearts, and be pleasant to our souls, which will keep us out of a way that will end thus.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The previous picture of shame and sin is brought…
The previous picture of shame and sin is brought before the disciple as an incentive to a better course.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain Here is the consummating blessing of engrafted wisdom. Not…
Here is the consummating blessing of engrafted wisdom. Not only does it deliver from evil men; but it guides us into the way of good men. Clad with this Divine armour, thou shalt have courage, like Joseph, to turn thy face from the enchantment of Sin (Gen 39:9-10 ), and keep the paths of the righteous, rugged indeed, yet the only paths of rest and security. (Song of Son 1:7-8 . Jer 6:16 .) Thus shalt thou dwell and remain in the land, as its original inheritor (Psa 37:9, Psa 37:11, Psa 37:22, Psa 37:29, Psa 37:34 . Mat 5:5 ); having the best portion in earth, and an infinitely better portion in heaven; while the wicked and transgressors, though they may "enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season," shall be ultimately cut off, rooted out, and "driven away" into everlasting ruin. (Pro 10:30 ; Pro 14:32 ; Pro 15:25 . Psa 52:5-7 ; Psa 92:7 . Mat 3:10 .)
And now, what serious reader of this chapter can fail to estimate above all price the privilege of being early enlisted under the banner of the cross; early taught in the ways, and disciplined in the school, of the Bible; and early led to hide that blessed book in the heart, as the rule of life, the principle of holiness, the guide to heaven!
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Parents, sponsors, teachers of youth; ponder your deep responsibility with unceasing prayer for special grace and wisdom. Beware of glossing over sins with amiable or palliating terms. Let young people be always led to look upon vicious habits with horror, as the most appalling evil. Discipline their vehemence of feeling, and all ill-regulated excitement. Keep out of sight, as far as may be, books calculated to inflame the imagination. To give an impulse to the glowing passion may stimulate the rising corruption to the most malignant fruitfulness. Oh! what wisdom is needed to guide, to repress, to bring forth, develope safely, and to improve fully, the mind, energies, and sensibilities of youth!
Young man! beware! Do not flatter thyself for a moment, that God will ever wink at your sinful passions; that he will allow for them, as slips and foibles of youth. They are the "Cords of your own sins," which, if the power of God’s grace break them not in time, will "hold" you for eternity. (Pro 5:22 .) Shun then the society of sin, as the infection of the plague. Keep thy distance from it, as from the pit of destruction. Store thy mind with the preservative of heavenly wisdom. Cultivate the taste for purer pleasures. Listen to the fatherly, pleading remonstrance, inviting thee to thy rest — "Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, ’My Father! Thou art the guide of my youth?’" (Jer 3:4 .)
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain That . . . way of good--that is, Such…
That . . . way of good--that is, Such is the object of these warnings.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 20. That — In order that — dependent on…
20. That — In order that — dependent on Pro_2:11 : all this I say, in order that thou mayest, etc. The sincere love of wisdom will so secure thee, that, escaping the snares of the voluptuary, thou wilt imitate the character of good men, and be preserved in the paths of virtue.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 20. that thou mayest &c.] The construction is still…
20. that thou mayest &c.] The construction is still dependent on Pro_2:10-11. The punctuation should be throughout as in R.V., with no full stops as in A.V.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 20-22. Conclusion of the discourse in which are…
Vers. 20-22. Conclusion of the discourse in which are antithetically stated the respective destinies of the good and the bad, the upright and the wicked.
That (Hebrew, ml l"maan); in order that (Vulgate, ut), carries us back properly to ver. 11. The protecting power of wisdom is developed in a positive direction. Negatively, it delivers from the evil man and from the strange woman, but it does more shall keep thee in order that thou mayest walk in a good way," etc. The Hebrew ml (l"maan) is coordinate with "to deliver thee," but it serves to bring the discourse to a conclusion. Umbreit renders it "therefore," thus making what follows an inference from the preceding discourse. So the Syriac, ambula igitur, "therefore walk." In the way of good men ( b"derek tovim); i.e. in the way of the good, in an ethical sense, i.e. the upright, as in Isa_5:20. The Vulgate renders, in via bona, "in the good way." "The way of good men" is the way of God"s commandments, the way of obedience. Keep . The Hebrew verb rmv (shamar) is here used in the sense of "to observe," "to attend to," but in a different sense from Psa_17:4, "I have observed the ways of the violent man," i.e. that I might avoid them. To keep the paths of the righteous is to carefully attend to the life of obedience which they follow. The LXX closely connects this verse with the preceding, and renders, "For if they had walked in good ways, they would have found the paths of righteousness light.
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Vers. 20-22. The principle of moral stability.
This may be regarded as the epilogue or summary of the whole chapter. The object of all Wisdom"s exhortations and warnings is the direction of youth to the good way, and that they may hold on the path of the just. For
I THE RIGHTEOUS HAVE A FUTURE BEFORE THEM. A "dwelling in the land the homeland; sound dear to an Israelitish ear. The form in which the happy future shall be realized may be first material, but only to pass into the spiritual. For ages Israel saw the promise under the image of material prosperity; afterwards, in the purification and enlightenment of her conscience by the gospel, she looked for a "better country, that is, a heavenly." Both senses may be included. The enlightened spirit knows how to idealize every material content, and will leave much undefined in the prospect. Enough to say of all the seekers of God"s kingdom and righteousness, "They have a future before them." The soul itself suffices to itself for the scene el bliss, and converts the rich land of Canaan into the type of its inward joys and harvests of good.
II THE WICKED HAVE NO FUTURE BEFORE THEM. That is, in the sense par excellence. Their doom is to be rooted out and cast forth from the land. What lies behind the material figure, who can say? To conceive it transcends the bounds of human thought. There is no travelling out of the analogies of experience possible. We reach at last a negative conception in the case both of future bliss and future woe. The Buddhists aim as their highest goal at the Nirvana, which is the negation of finite existence with its defects and evils. What must be the Nirvana of the wicked? The negation of the Infinite must mean confinement in self, and this is death indeed. They who have persistently said "No" to God and the good in their life will be confronted by an everlasting "No!" And thus again the wheel comes full circle, and they reap as they sow. J. (comp. Mat_7:24-27)
Vers. 20-22. Recompense and retribution.
It ought to be enough for us that wisdom is the supremely excellent thing; that the service of God is the one right thing. We should hasten to do that which commends itself to our conscience as that which is obligatory. But God knows that, in our weakness and frailty, we have need of other inducements than a sense of duty; he has, therefore, given us others. He has made wisdom and righteousness to be immeasurably remunerative; he has made folly and sin to be utterly destructive to us. We look at
I THE REWARD OF WISDOM. (Vers. 20, 21)
1. The man who pursues wisdom, who seeks conformity to the will of the Wise One, will have holy companionship for the path of life. He will walk in the way in which good and righteous men walk. Instead of being "the companion of fools," he will be "the friend of the wise." Those whose hearts are pure, whose minds are stored with heavenly treasure, and whose lives are admirable, will be about him, making his whole path fragrant with the flowers of virtue, rich with the fruits of goodness.
2. He will be upheld in personal integrity. Walking in the way of the good, and keeping the paths of the righteous, he himself will be preserved in his integrity, and be set before God"s face forever. (see Psa_41:12) His feet will not slip; he will not wander into forbidden ways; he will keep "the King"s highway of holiness;" his face will be ever set toward the heavenly Jerusalem.
3. He will dwell in the land of plenty (ver. 21). To "dwell in the land," to "remain" in the land of promise, was to abide in that country where all things in rich abundance waited for the possession and enjoyment of the people of God. (Exo_3:8) Those who are the children of wisdom now dwell in a region which is full of blessing. If outward prosperity be not always their portion, yet is there provided by God
a. everything needful for temporal well being;
b. fulness of spiritual privilege;
c. the abiding presence and favour of the eternal Father, the unfailing Friend, the Divine Comforter.
II THE FATE OF FOLLY. (Ver. 22) Those who were the children of folly in the wilderness period were shut out of the land of promise; they did not enter into rest. The threat of the Holy One to those who had inherited the land was deportation and distance from their inheritance being "cut off" and "rooted out." The evils which foolish and stubborn souls have now to dread, as the just penalty of their folly and their frowardness, are
(1) exclusion from the "kingdom of God" on earth, and
(2) exile from the kingdom of God in heaven.
Such impenitent and unbelieving ones, by their own folly, cut themselves off from that "eternal life" which begins in a blessed and holy union with the Lord of glory here, and which is consummated and perpetuated in the nearer fellowship and more perfect bliss of heaven. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Walk in the way of good men.
Pro_2:20
Walk in the way of good men.
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The true way of walking
Here is the general application of the counsels of the chapter for the good that will come to those that avoid the society of evil men and women.
I. Men cannot walk in good ways unless they leave the bad ones. Because good and evil being contraries, the one will keep out the other: as cold keeps out heat, and heat cold. Evil thoughts keep out all thoughts of good.
II. It is not enough to avoid evil, we must actually do good. Because forsaking evil is but a foundation for a greater building, and no man can dwell on a foundation.
III. One chief and principal end of wisdom is well-doing. No blessing attends on mere knowing. A curse follows upon knowledge without practice.
IV. It is safer to imitate good men than bad. Because the way of good men is better, and their end is better. V good example sometimes prevails to draw others to piety. Because shame is taken away by good examples going before. And fear also is taken away. We should follow the choicest examples Of goodness. Why shouldest thou not rather follow the example of Abraham, Job, Joseph, David, than of Ishmael, Esau, and other profane persons? Sheep will not follow wolves, but they will follow one another. So do thou follow good men to heaven, rather than bad men to hell. (Francis Taylor.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 The writer tells the result of getting understanding and…
So
The writer tells the result of getting understanding and discretion.
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you will walk in the way ... follow the paths
A person's conduct is spoken of as if it were walking on a path. AT: "you will live in the way ... follow the example" (See: Metaphor)
the wicked will be cut off from the land
The writer speaks of Yahweh removing people from the land as if he were cutting the people off, like a person might cut a branch from a tree. This can be stated in active form. AT: "Yahweh will remove the wicked from the land" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)
the wicked ... the faithless
These are nominal adjectives that can be stated as adjectives. AT: "those who are wicked ... those who are faithless" or "wicked people ... faithless people" (See: Nominal Adjectives)
the faithless will be cut off from it
The writer speaks of Yahweh removing people from the land as if he were cutting the people off, like a person might cut a branch from a tree. This can be stated in active form. AT: "he will remove the faithless from it" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)
translationWords
walk
good
integrity
evil
cut off
faithless
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2:20-22 Those who make wise choices will live in…
2:20-22 Those who make wise choices will live in the land; those who do not will be evicted. God gave the land of Israel to his people, but they could only stay in it if they followed God’s commands (Deut 28:9-11, 64-68). Because they broke his law, they were expelled (in 586 BC; see 2 Kgs 25:1-30; 2 Chr 36:15-21).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.