Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
What does Proverbs 22:6 mean?
Train children, not in the way they would go, that of their corrupt hearts, but in the way they should go; in which, if you love them, you would have them go.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Proverbs 22:5-6 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:6
Train - Initiate, and so, educate. The way he should go - Or, according to the tenor of his way, i. e., the path especially belonging to, especially fitted for, the individual's character. The proverb enjoins the closest possible study of each child's temperament and the adaptation of "his way of life" to that.
Key words
- Train
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Train up a child in the way he should go,.
- child
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Train up a child in the way he should go,.
Context in Proverbs 22
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Proverbs 22 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as sayings of the wise. Proverbs offers compact instruction on speech, work, wealth, friendship, sex, discipline, justice, and wisdom as a way of life before God. Read this chapter with the wider themes of wisdom, fear of the Lord, and speech in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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