Proverbs 4:10
New International Version
Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many.

New Living Translation
My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life.

English Standard Version
Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many.

Berean Standard Bible
Listen, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life will be many.

King James Bible
Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

New King James Version
Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many.

New American Standard Bible
Listen, my son, and accept my sayings, And the years of your life will be many.

NASB 1995
Hear, my son, and accept my sayings And the years of your life will be many.

NASB 1977
Hear, my son, and accept my sayings, And the years of your life will be many.

Legacy Standard Bible
Hear, my son, and receive my sayings And the years of your life will be many.

Amplified Bible
Hear, my son, and accept my sayings, And the years of your life will be many.

Christian Standard Bible
Listen, my son. Accept my words, and you will live many years.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Listen, my son. Accept my words, and you will live many years.

American Standard Version
Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; And the years of thy life shall be many.

Contemporary English Version
My child, if you listen and obey my teachings, you will live a long time.

English Revised Version
Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
My son, listen and accept my words, and they will multiply the years of your life.

Good News Translation
Listen to me, my child. Take seriously what I am telling you, and you will live a long life.

International Standard Version
Listen, my son: accept my words, and you'll live a long, long time.

Majority Standard Bible
Listen, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life will be many.

NET Bible
Listen, my child, and accept my words, so that the years of your life will be many.

New Heart English Bible
Listen, my son, and receive my sayings. The years of your life will be many.

Webster's Bible Translation
Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many.

World English Bible
Listen, my son, and receive my sayings. The years of your life will be many.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, "" And years of life [are] multiplied to you.

Young's Literal Translation
Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And years of life are multiplied to thee.

Smith's Literal Translation
Hear, my son, and receive my words, and the years of life shall be multiplied to thee.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Hear, O my son, and receive my words, that years of life may be multiplied to thee.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Listen, my son, and accept my words, so that years of life may be multiplied for you.

New American Bible
Hear, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life shall be many.

New Revised Standard Version
Hear, my child, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of your life shall be many.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Hear, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life will be many.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; And the years of thy life shall be many.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Hear, my son, and receive my words; and the years of thy life shall be increased, that the resources of thy life may be many.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
A Father's Instruction
9She will set a garland of grace on your head; she will present you with a crown of beauty.” 10Listen, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life will be many. 11I will guide you in the way of wisdom; I will lead you on straight paths.…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 5:33
You must walk in all the ways that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20
I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live, / and that you may love the LORD your God, obey Him, and hold fast to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Proverbs 3:1-2
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; / for they will add length to your days, years and peace to your life.

Proverbs 9:11
For through wisdom your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.

Proverbs 10:27
The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be cut short.

Proverbs 22:17-19
Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise—apply your mind to my knowledge— / for it is pleasing when you keep them within you and they are constantly on your lips. / So that your trust may be in the LORD, I instruct you today—yes, you.

Psalm 34:11-14
Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. / Who is the man who delights in life, who desires to see good days? / Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech. ...

Psalm 119:101-105
I have kept my feet from every evil path, that I may keep Your word. / I have not departed from Your ordinances, for You Yourself have taught me. / How sweet are Your words to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth! ...

Isaiah 55:3
Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.

Jeremiah 7:23
but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you.

Matthew 7:24-25
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. / The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.

Matthew 19:17
“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

Luke 11:28
But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

John 5:24
Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.

John 8:51
Truly, truly, I tell you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.”


Treasury of Scripture

Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of your life shall be many.

my

Proverbs 8:10
Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.

Proverbs 19:20
Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.

Job 22:22
Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

the

Proverbs 3:2,16
For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee…

Deuteronomy 5:16
Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Deuteronomy 6:2
That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

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Proverbs 4
1. persuades to wisdom
14. and to show wickedness
20. He exhorts to sanctification














Listen, my son, and receive my words, and the years of your life will be many
Listen, my son
The Hebrew word for "listen" is "שְׁמַע" (shema), which implies not just hearing but an active, attentive listening that leads to obedience. This is a call to pay close attention, a theme that resonates throughout the book of Proverbs. The phrase "my son" indicates a personal and intimate relationship, suggesting that the wisdom being imparted is not just for anyone, but for those who are in a close, familial relationship with the speaker, often understood as Solomon addressing his children or, more broadly, God addressing His people.

and receive my words
The term "receive" in Hebrew is "קַח" (laqach), which means to take hold of or accept. This implies an active engagement with the wisdom being offered, not just passive hearing. The "words" here are not mere suggestions but are seen as divine wisdom, instructions that are meant to guide one's life. In the biblical context, words are powerful and carry the weight of authority and truth, especially when they are from a father figure or God.

and the years of your life will be many
This phrase promises longevity as a reward for heeding wisdom. The concept of a long life is often associated with obedience and righteousness in the Old Testament. The Hebrew understanding of "many" (רַבִּים, rabbim) years is not just about quantity but quality of life, filled with peace and prosperity. This reflects the covenantal blessings found in Deuteronomy, where obedience to God's commandments is linked to life and prosperity in the land. The promise of many years is both a literal and metaphorical assurance of a life well-lived under God's guidance.

Verse 10. - Many commentators, e.g. Jerome, Bede, Ewald, Bertheau, and Hitzig, suppose that the father's instruction closes in the preceding verse, but it seems more appropriate to consider the father as here passing to another branch of his instruction, which is to point out the way of wisdom, and so to prepare for his warnings which follow from ver. 14 to ver. 19. Receive; kakh, from lakah, "to receive" (on the force of this verb, see ch. 1:3). He who shows a delighter willingness in admitting the words of Wisdom - for such a character the father claims for his teaching, as we see from, the next verse - shall receive a blessing. It is a sign of grace when any even show themselves open to listen to instruction; but it is a greater sign when this instruction is received with readiness and pleasure (Muffet). The years of thy life (sh'noth khayyim); literally, years of thy lives. The plural "lives" expresses the idea of life in the abstract. There is no absolute statement of a future life here, though by the Christian this idea may be indulged in on the ground of a fuller revelation. The promise is one that not only implies the prolongation of life, but also a life of prosperity and enjoyment. Shall be many; literally, shall be multiplied.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Listen,
שְׁמַ֣ע (šə·ma‘)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 8085: To hear intelligently

my son,
בְּ֭נִי (bə·nî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1121: A son

and receive
וְקַ֣ח (wə·qaḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

my words,
אֲמָרָ֑י (’ă·mā·rāy)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 561: Something said

and the years
שְׁנ֣וֹת (šə·nō·wṯ)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 8141: A year

of your life
חַיִּֽים׃ (ḥay·yîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2416: Alive, raw, fresh, strong, life

will be many.
וְיִרְבּ֥וּ (wə·yir·bū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7235: To be or become much, many or great


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 4:10 Listen my son and receive my sayings (Prov. Pro Pr)
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