Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
The verse belongs to the first seven chapters of Proverbs, which warn against refusing instruction and call for choosing the path of wisdom. It stands in a section of Proverbs filled with practical counsel and faithful warnings. It calls children and the young to hear its instruction and not turn away from it. Heeding these warnings saves from destruction and ruin, for wisdom is the path of life.
The chapter is to fill the soul as warning and guidance against sexual temptation, which threatens both married and unmarried people and is fostered by influences such as excessive food and drink, immoral entertainment, suggestive fashions, lewd speech, and nude art. This practical instruction must take hold upon the hearts of both men and women to warn them against the sins condemned there. It must be read slowly and thought over for the deep philosophy in it. The latter part of the chapter is not fit to be read in a mixed assembly of men and women.
In this context the verse underscores the need to warn and teach the young about sexual dangers rather than leave them ignorant.
The verse belongs to the first seven chapters of Proverbs, which warn against refusing instruction and call for choosing the path of wisdom. It stands in a section of Proverbs filled with practical counsel and faithful warnings. It calls children and the young to hear its instruction and not turn away from it. Heeding these warnings saves from destruction and ruin, for wisdom is the path of life.
The chapter is to fill the soul as warning and guidance against sexual temptation, which threatens both married and unmarried people and is fostered by influences such as excessive food and drink, immoral entertainment, suggestive fashions, lewd speech, and nude art. This practical instruction must take hold upon the hearts of both men and women to warn them against the sins condemned there. It must be read slowly and thought over for the deep philosophy in it. The latter part of the chapter is not fit to be read in a mixed assembly of men and women.
In this context the verse underscores the need to warn and teach the young about sexual dangers rather than leave them ignorant.