Proverbs 4:15 (DRB)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

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.

Proverbs 4:17 They eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of iniquity.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Be not delighted in the paths of..." into verse 16's "For they sleep not except they have...", so "flee" and "pass" 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 "flee" and "pass" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.