Proverbs 27:23 (WEB)

Passage

Know well the state of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds:

Nearby Context

Proverbs 27:21 The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise.

Proverbs 27:22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with grain, yet his foolishness will not be removed from him.

Proverbs 27:23 Know well the state of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds:

Proverbs 27:24 for riches are not forever, nor does the crown endure to all generations.

Proverbs 27:25 The hay is removed, and the new growth appears, the grasses of the hills are gathered in.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "Though you grind a fool in a..." into verse 24's "for riches are not forever nor does...", so "well" and "state" 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 "well" and "state" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.