The Meaning of Proverbs 4:23 Explained

Proverbs 4:23

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

YLT: Above every charge keep thy heart, For out of it are the outgoings of life.

Darby: Keep thy heart more than anything that is guarded; for out of it are the issues of life.

ASV: Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Proverbs 4:23 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 4:10-27 - Guide-Posts On The Way Of Life
One or two sentences stand out in this section, demanding special attention. The path of the just, etc., Proverbs 4:18. We may compare this beautiful similitude with 2 Samuel 23:4. In the East, where the heavens are for the most part free of cloud, the steadily increasing light of any day to perfect noontide glory is the ordinary experience. Let us so live that the path of our life may become ever more radiant and beneficent in its heat and light.
Keep thy heart, etc., Proverbs 4:23. "Above all keeping," margin. The gates of the heart need careful scrutiny. When we are careless, thoughts creep in with malign intent. We should imitate the good Nehemiah 13:19. Ask that pure and holy angels may stand sentry as at the gates of pearl, Revelation 21:12. If you think right, you will live right.
Ponder the path, etc., Proverbs 4:26. "Weigh carefully." Act in haste and repent at leisure! Ask God to keep you back from presumptuous sins; and bear in mind the wise exhortation of Ecclesiastes 5:2. [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 4

1  persuades to wisdom
14  and to show wickedness
20  He exhorts to sanctification

What do the individual words in Proverbs 4:23 mean?

With all diligence Keep your heart for out of it [spring] the issues of life
מִֽכָּל־ מִ֭שְׁמָר נְצֹ֣ר לִבֶּ֑ךָ כִּֽי־ מִ֝מֶּ֗נּוּ תּוֹצְא֥וֹת חַיִּֽים

מִֽכָּל־  With  all 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
מִ֭שְׁמָר  diligence 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִשְׁמָר 
Sense: place of confinement, prison, guard, jail, guard post, watch, observance.
נְצֹ֣ר  Keep 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: נְצוּרִים 
Sense: to guard, watch, watch over, keep.
לִבֶּ֑ךָ  your  heart 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.
מִ֝מֶּ֗נּוּ  out  of  it 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: מִן 
Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.
תּוֹצְא֥וֹת  [spring]  the  issues 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: תֹּוצָאֹות  
Sense: outgoing, border, a going out, extremity, end, source, escape.
חַיִּֽים  of  life 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.