Proverbs 4:12 (WEB)

Passage

When you go, your steps will not be hampered. When you run, you will not stumble.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 4:10 Listen, my son, and receive my sayings. The years of your life will be many.

Proverbs 4:11 I have taught you in the way of wisdom. I have led you in straight paths.

Proverbs 4:12 When you go, your steps will not be hampered. When you run, you will not stumble.

Proverbs 4:13 Take firm hold of instruction. Don’t let her go. Keep her, for she is your life.

Proverbs 4:14 Don’t enter into the path of the wicked. Don’t walk in the way of evil men.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "I have taught you in the way..." into verse 13's "Take firm hold of instruction Don t...", so "steps" and "hampered" 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 "steps" and "hampered" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.