Proverbs 4:14 (DRB)

Passage

Be not delighted in the paths of the wicked, neither let the way of evil men please thee.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 4:12 Which when thou shalt have entered, thy steps shall not be straitened, and when thou runnest, thou shalt not meet a stumblingblock.

Proverbs 4:13 Take hold on instruction, leave it not: keep it, because it is thy life.

Proverbs 4:14 Be not delighted in the paths of the wicked, neither let the way of evil men please thee.

Proverbs 4:15 Flee from it, pass not by it: go aside, and forsake it.

Proverbs 4:16 For they sleep not, except they have done evil: and their sleep is taken away unless they have made some to fall.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "delighted", "paths", "wicked", "neither", "evil", "please", and "thee". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "delighted", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Take hold on instruction leave it not..." into verse 15's "Flee from it pass not by it...", so "light" and "delighted" 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 "light" and "delighted" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.