Keep my commandments and live! Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye.
Bind them on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Tell wisdom, “You are my sister.” Call understanding your relative,
Parallel Translations
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Keep my commandments and live! Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye.
Bind them on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Tell wisdom, “You are my sister.” Call understanding your relative,
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Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:
Show all 3 translations
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Keep my commandments and live, and my teaching as the apple of thine eye.
Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thy heart.
Say unto wisdom: 'Thou art my sister', and call understanding thy kinswoman;
Cross-references (27)
- Deuteronomy 11:18-20 (v3) Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul. You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall…
- Proverbs 3:3 (v3) Don’t let kindness and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart.
- Deuteronomy 6:8-9 (v3) You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the door posts of…
- Jeremiah 31:33 (v3) “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says Yahweh: “I will put my law in their inward…
- 2 Corinthians 3:3 (v3) being revealed that you are a letter of Christ, served by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets…
Show all 27 cross-references
- Isaiah 30:8 (v3) Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come forever and ever.
- Proverbs 6:21 (v3) Bind them continually on your heart. Tie them around your neck.
- Psalms 17:8 (v2) Keep me as the apple of your eye. Hide me under the shadow of your wings,
- Jeremiah 17:1 (v3) “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond. It is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the…
- Leviticus 18:5 (v2) You shall therefore keep my statutes and my ordinances, which if a man does, he shall live in them. I am Yahweh.
- Proverbs 4:4 (v2) He taught me, and said to me: “Let your heart retain my words. Keep my commandments, and live.
- 1 John 2:3-4 (v2) This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. One who says, “I know him,” and doesn’t keep his commandments, is a…
- John 14:21 (v2) One who has my commandments and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love…
- 1 John 5:1-3 (v2) Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. Whoever loves the Father also loves the child who is born of him. By this…
- Deuteronomy 32:10 (v2) He found him in a desert land, in the waste howling wilderness. He surrounded him. He cared for him. He kept him as the apple of his eye.
- Proverbs 2:2-4 (v4) so as to turn your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for discernment, and lift up your voice for…
- Proverbs 4:6-8 (v4) Don’t forsake her, and she will preserve you. Love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is supreme. Get wisdom. Yes, though it costs all your…
- Proverbs 4:13 (v2) Take firm hold of instruction. Don’t let her go. Keep her, for she is your life.
- Isaiah 55:3 (v2) Turn your ear, and come to me. Hear, and your soul will live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
- John 12:49-50 (v2) For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. I know that…
- John 15:14 (v2) You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you.
- Zechariah 2:8 (v2) For Yahweh of Armies says: ‘For honor he has sent me to the nations which plundered you; for he who touches you touches the apple of his…
- Job 17:14 (v4) if I have said to corruption, ‘You are my father;’ to the worm, ‘My mother,’ and ‘My sister,’
- Song of Solomon 8:1 (v4) Oh that you were like my brother, who nursed from the breasts of my mother! If I found you outside, I would kiss you; yes, and no one would…
- Revelation 22:14 (v2) Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city.
- Matthew 12:49-50 (v4) He stretched out his hand toward his disciples, and said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father who is…
- Luke 11:27-28 (v4) It came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice, and said to him, “Blessed is the womb…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v2 By this diversity of words, he meaneth that nothing…
By this diversity of words, he meaneth that nothing ought to be so dear unto us as the word of God, nor that we look on anything more nor mind anything so much.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Pro 7:2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my…
Pro 7:2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.
Ver. 2. Keep my commandments, and live.] "Live," i.e., live happily. I am the Lord that teacheth thee to profit, therefore keep my commandments; {Isa 48:17} as if God should say, It is for thy profit that I command thee, and not for mine own. "In doing thereof there is great reward," saith David, {Psa 19:11} and present reward, saith Solomon here, Do it and live. In the court of earthly princes there is αναβολη και μεταβολη delays and changes. Men are off and on in their promises; they are also slow and slack in their performances. But it is otherwise here: the very "entrance of thy word giveth light," {Psa 119:130} and the very onset of obedience giveth life. It is but "Hear, and your soul shall live," {Isa 55:3} "Behold I come quickly, and my reward is with me." {Rev 22:12}
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And my law as the apple of thine eye.] With all chariness and circumspection. The least mote offends the eye, and the least deviation violates the law. Sin is homogeneous, all of a kind, though not all of the same degree; as the least pebble is a stone, as well as the largest rock, and as the drop of a bucket is water, as well as the main ocean. Hence the least sins are in Scripture reproached by the names of the greatest. Malice is called man slaughter, lust adultery, &c.; concupiscence is condemned by the law, even the first motions of sin, though they never come to consent. {Rom 7:7} Inward bleeding may kill a man. De minutis non curat lex, saith the civilian; but the law of God is spiritual, though we be carnal. And as the sunshine shows us atoms and motes, that till then we discerned not, so doth the law discover and censure smallest failings. It must therefore be kept curiously, even "as the apple of the eye," as that little man {a} in the eye, that cannot be touched but he will be distempered. Careful we must be even in the minutula legis, the punctilios of duty. Men will not lightly lose the least ends of gold. {b}
{a} אישׁון ab אישׁ
{b} Neque enim auri tantum massas tollunt, sed et bracteolas.
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 On vv2–4 And live, i.e. thou shalt live. A promise in…
And live, i.e. thou shalt live. A promise in the form of a command, as Pro 3:25.
As the apple of thine eye; with all possible care and diligence, as men guard that part from all dangers, yea, even from the least mote. The eye is a most noble and necessary, and therefore highly esteemed and beloved, part of the body, and the apple thereof is the most honourable, and beautiful, and useful part of that part, and it is a most tender part, easily hurt, or destroyed, and therefore needs to be diligently watched.
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 On vv2–4 Keep my commandments and live,.... Not the commandments of…
Keep my commandments and live,.... Not the commandments of the law only, but the commandments of Christ; and even the doctrines of Christ are so called, as faith in him, and love to the saints, Jo1 3:23; which is the way to live comfortably, peaceably, pleasantly, and honourably;
and my law as the apple of thine eye; the doctrine of Christ, the law of the Lord, that goes out of Zion; which should be as dear to men as the apple of their eye, and as carefully preserved, that the least injury is not done to it; it should be kept inviolate.
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 On vv2–4 Live - Thou shalt live. Eye - With all…
Live - Thou shalt live. Eye - With all possible care and diligence.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Verse 2. As the apple of thine eye.] As…
Verse 2. As the apple of thine eye.] As the pupil of the eye, which is of such essential necessity to sight, and so easily injured.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v2 Pro 7:2-4. Keep my commandments, and live — That…
Pro 7:2-4. Keep my commandments, and live — That is, thou shalt live. It is a promise in the form of a command, as Pro 3:25. And my law as the apple of thine eye — With all possible care and diligence, as men guard that most noble and necessary, and therefore highly-esteemed and beloved part of the body from all danger, yea, even from the least mote. Bind them upon thy fingers — As a ring which is put upon them, and is continually in a man’s eye. Constantly remember and meditate upon them. Write them, &c. — Fix them in thy mind and affection: see on Pro 3:3. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister — The name of sister is a name of friendship, often used between the husband and wife, and denotes the chaste love which he should have to wisdom. Call understanding thy kinswoman — The LXX. render it, την δε φρονησιν γνωριμον περιποιησαι σεαυτω, Acquire to thyself prudence for an acquaintance; while other foolish young men seek wanton mistresses, whom they frequently call sisters, or kinswomen, let wisdom be thy mistress; acquaint and delight thyself with her. Say to her, Thou art my sister, my spouse, my beloved: let her have the command of thy heart, and the conduct of thy life.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–3 apple . . . eye--pupil of eye, a custody…
apple . . . eye--pupil of eye, a custody (Pro 4:23) of special value.
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 On vv2–4 2. Apple of thine eye — אישׁון עיניךְ, (ishon…
2. Apple of thine eye — אישׁון עיניךְ, (ishon enecha,) the little man of the eye, referring to the reflected image in the eye. The Greeks called it κορη, or κορασιον, the damsel, or little damsel: the Latins pupa, or pupilla, of the same meaning; from whence came our word pupil (of the eye.) The sense is, Guard or keep my instructions, as you do the sight of your eyes. Comp. Pro_4:4; Deu_32:10; Psa_17:8; Lam_2:18; Zec_2:12.
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 On vv2–4 2. the apple] i.e. the pupil: “an emblem of…
2. the apple] i.e. the pupil: “an emblem of that which is tenderest and dearest, and therefore guarded with the most jealous care,” Psa_17:8, note in this Series. Comp. Deu_32:10; Zec_2:8.
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v3 (m). Thirteenth Discourse:—Also Against Adultery (Proverbs 7).
VII.
(m). Thirteenth Discourse:—Also Against Adultery (Proverbs 7).
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(3) Bind them upon thy fingers.—See above on Pro_3:3. The thong of the phylactery or fillet for the left arm was wound seven times round it, and as many times round the middle finger.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Keep my commandments, and live. (see on Pro_4:4) As…
Keep my commandments, and live. (see on Pro_4:4) As the apple of thine eye; literally, the little man (ishon, diminutive of ish) of the eye; so called from the miniature reflection of objects seen in the pupil, specially of the person who looks into another"s eye. It is a proverbial expression for anything particularly precious and liable to be injured unless guarded with scrupulous care. (comp. Psa_17:8,zec Psa_2:8) Similarly the Greeks called this organ korh , "damsel" or "puppet," and the Latin, pupilla.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v4 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister
Say to wisdom, "You are my sister
Here wisdom is spoken of as if it were a person. AT: "Value wisdom as you would love your sister" (See: Personification)
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call understanding your kinsman
Here the quality of understanding is spoken of as if it were a kinsman or relative. AT: "treat understanding as you would treat your kinsman" (See: Personification)
kinsman
"relative" or "family member"
the adulterous woman
This refers to any woman to whom a man is not married. AT: "the woman whom you should have nothing to do with"
the immoral woman
This refers to any woman who is not known to a man.
with her smooth words
Words intended to deceive are spoken of as if they were smooth objects. AT: "who says pleasant things, but wants to deceive you"
translationWords
wise
word
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 On vv2–4 7:2 as you guard your own eyes: That is,…
7:2 as you guard your own eyes: That is, with great care.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.