Proverbs 4:19 (DBY)

Passage

The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 4:17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the righteous is as the shining light, going on and brightening until the day be fully come.

Proverbs 4:19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

Proverbs 4:20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

Proverbs 4:21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thy heart.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "darkness", "wicked", and "stumble". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "darkness" and "wicked", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "But the path of the righteous is..." into verse 20's "My son attend to my words incline...", so "darkness" and "wicked" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "darkness" and "wicked" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.