KJV King James Version
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, [and] look well to thy herds.
VERSE STUDY • KJV
Proverbs 27:23
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, [and] look well to thy herds.
Read it in 5 translations
BSB Berean Standard Bible
Be sure to know the state of your flocks, and pay close attention to your herds;
WEB World English Bible
Know well the state of your flocks, and pay attention to your herds:
ASV American Standard Version
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, And look well to thy herds:
YLT Young’s Literal Translation
Know well the face of thy flock, Set thy heart to the droves,
Surrounding context — Proverbs 27
20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21 [As] the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so [is] a man to his praise.
22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, [yet] will not his foolishness depart from him.
23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, [and] look well to thy herds.
24 For riches [are] not for ever: and doth the crown [endure] to every generation?
25 The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.
26 The lambs [are] for thy clothing, and the goats [are] the price of the field.
Topics connected to this verse
Original-language word links
These Hebrew/Greek tokens are linked by Strong's number. Click one for its lexicon definition and other occurrences.
Cross-references
1 Peter 5:2Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight [thereof], not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;John 21:15-17So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.2 Chronicles 26:10Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had much cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen [also], and vine dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry.Genesis 33:13And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children [are] tender, and the flocks and herds with young [are] with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.Proverbs 24:32Then I saw, [and] considered [it] well: I looked upon [it, and] received instruction.Ezekiel 34:31And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, [are] men, [and] I [am] your God, saith the Lord GOD.John 10:3To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.1 Chronicles 27:29-31And over the herds that fed in Sharon [was] Shitrai the Sharonite: and over the herds [that were] in the valleys [was] Shaphat the son of Adlai:Deuteronomy 32:46And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.Ezekiel 34:22-24Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.Genesis 31:38-40This twenty years [have] I [been] with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.1 Samuel 17:28And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.Exodus 7:23And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.
HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION
Compare classic commentaries on Proverbs 27:23
Put Matthew Henry, Adam Clarke, Calvin, Wesley, Barnes, Jamieson–Fausset–Brown, Aquinas’ Catena and other public-domain sources beside the passage.
Compare commentaries →