Proverbs 4:25 (DRB)

Passage

Let thy eyes look straight on, and let thy eyelids go before thy steps.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 4:23 With all watchfulness keep thy heart, because life issueth out from it.

Proverbs 4:24 Remove from thee a froward mouth, and let detracting lips be far from thee.

Proverbs 4:25 Let thy eyes look straight on, and let thy eyelids go before thy steps.

Proverbs 4:26 Make straight the path for thy feet, and all thy ways shall be established.

Proverbs 4:27 Decline not to the right hand, nor to the left: turn away thy foot from evil. For the Lord knoweth the ways that are on the right hand: but those are perverse which are on the left hand. But he will make thy courses straight, he will bring forward thy ways in peace.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "eyes", "look", "straight", "eyelids", "before", and "steps". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "eyes" and "look", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 24's "Remove from thee a froward mouth and..." into verse 26's "Make straight the path for thy feet...", so "eyes" and "look" 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 "eyes" and "look" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.