KJV ORIGINAL
Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE
Listen carefully and pay attention to the words of wise people, and focus your heart on learning what I'm teaching you.
⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE
The writer is urging us to actively listen to wisdom and take it seriously in our hearts, not just hear it with our ears.
📚 Historical Context
This verse begins a new section in Proverbs called 'The Words of the Wise,' which contains teachings that may have been adapted from ancient Egyptian wisdom literature. In ancient Israel, wisdom was highly valued and often passed down through careful listening and memorization, as most people couldn't read or write.
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