The Meaning of Proverbs 4:10 Explained

Proverbs 4:10

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

YLT: Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And years of life are multiplied to thee.

Darby: Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of thy life shall be multiplied.

ASV: Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; And the years of thy life shall be many.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Proverbs 4:10 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 4:10 mean?

Hear my son and receive my sayings and will be many Your the years of life
שְׁמַ֣ע בְּ֭נִי וְקַ֣ח אֲמָרָ֑י וְיִרְבּ֥וּ לְ֝ךָ֗ שְׁנ֣וֹת חַיִּֽים

שְׁמַ֣ע  Hear 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
בְּ֭נִי  my  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
וְקַ֣ח  and  receive 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
אֲמָרָ֑י  my  sayings 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: אֵמֶר 
Sense: utterance, speech, word, saying, promise, command.
וְיִרְבּ֥וּ  and  will  be  many 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: הַרְבָּה 
Sense: be or become great, be or become many, be or become much, be or become numerous.
לְ֝ךָ֗  Your 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
שְׁנ֣וֹת  the  years 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
חַיִּֽים  of  life 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.