Daily reading
Proverbs · IV · 20–27
Proverbs 4:20–27 · NLT
XVI · X · MMXXVI
Key verses · Proverbs 4:20–27 · NLT
20y child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. (NLT)
23Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. (NLT)
26Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. (NLT)
Proverbs 4:20–27 · New Living Translation
20y child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words.
21Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart,
22for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.
23Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
24Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.
25Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
26Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.
27Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil. (NLT)
A note on Scripture quoting
We’ve hit this translation’s public quoting limit for now, so this is a good time to pick up your own Bible and read the rest of the passage.
In short
The father turns from the two roads to the place that steers them: the heart. Wisdom isn’t only something you hear once. You keep it in view, let it sink in deep, and it brings life and healing. Then comes the hard line: guard your heart above everything else, because that is what sets the course of your life.
The rest is how that guard looks in practice. Watch your mouth. Keep your eyes forward. Mark a straight path and stay on it. Don’t get pulled off to the side.
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. (NLT)
Proverbs 4:23
Try today
Before the first screen or conversation of the morning, name one thing you will not let into your heart today (a rant, a comparison, a shortcut). When it shows up, look straight ahead and keep moving on the path you already marked.