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Proverbs 4:23

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

Proverbs 4:23, King James Version (KJV)

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it is the wellspring of life.”

World English Bible (WEB)

Read Proverbs 4:23 in the NIV, ESV and 13 more Bibles, with study notes and the original Hebrew, in the Path & Light app.

Proverbs 4 (KJV)

  1. 1Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
  2. 2For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.
  3. 3For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
  4. 4He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
  5. 5Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
  6. 6Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
  7. 7Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
  8. 8Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
  9. 9She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
  10. 10Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.
  11. 11I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.
  12. 12When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
  13. 13Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.
  14. 14Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
  15. 15Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
  16. 16For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
  17. 17For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
  18. 18But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
  19. 19The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
  20. 20My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
  21. 21Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
  22. 22For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
  23. 23Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
  24. 24Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
  25. 25Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
  26. 26Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
  27. 27Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.

Related verses

Passages that readers often connect with Proverbs 4:23, in the King James Version.

  • Luke 6:45

    A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

  • Matthew 12:34–35

    O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. …

  • Mark 7:21–23

    For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, …

  • Psalm 139:23–24

    Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: …

  • Proverbs 13:3

    He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.

  • Jeremiah 17:9

    The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

More verses about heart

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1769 standardized text (eBible.org eng-kjv). Public domain outside the United Kingdom. Text courtesy of the Crosswire Bible Society and eBible.org. World English Bible Protestant Edition (eBible engwebp, 2026-09-15 snapshot). Public domain. World English Bible is a trademark of eBible.org. Text unmodified; footnotes and formatting omitted. Related verses: OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0), from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.