Proverbs 4:15 (WEB)

Passage

Avoid it, and don’t pass by it. Turn from it, and pass on.

Nearby Context

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.

Proverbs 4:15 Avoid it, and don’t pass by it. Turn from it, and pass on.

Proverbs 4:16 For they don’t sleep, unless they do evil. Their sleep is taken away, unless they make someone fall.

Proverbs 4:17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Don t enter into the path of..." into verse 16's "For they don t sleep unless they...", so "avoid" 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 "avoid" and "pass" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.