What Does Proverbs 10:17 Mean in the King James?
He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The Hebrew behind “erreth” can mean “leads astray,” so the one who leaves correction may become a cause of lost direction.
THE MEANING
You are on life’s way as you keep instruction in view. When correction is abandoned, you do more than lose your footing: the Hebrew can describe you as one who leads others astray.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie is that ignoring correction protects your direction. This verse links abandoning reproof with leading astray.
THE ROOT
מַתְעֶה
matʿeh
GROWS FROM
תעה
t-ʿ-h
To wander from the way; in the causative form, to lead astray.
“erreth” in this verse is matʿeh. The Hebrew form reaches beyond losing the way to causing someone to wander. The verse connects leaving reproof with becoming a source of lost direction.
ALSO GROWS
tāʿāh: Wandered, went astray
תָּעָה
This form names the act of losing the way that lies beneath the verse’s warning.
tōʿeh: One who wanders or goes astray
תֹּעֶה
The same root can name a person by their movement away from the path.
עֹזֵב
ʿōzēv
GROWS FROM
עזב
ʿ-z-b
To leave, abandon, or forsake.
“refuseth” in this verse is ʿōzēv. The response to reproof is pictured as leaving it behind. Beside the one who guards instruction, the verse sets someone moving away from correction.
ALSO GROWS
ʿāzaḇ: To leave, abandon, forsake
עָזַב
This verb makes the choice active: reproof is left behind rather than merely unheard.
ʿāzûḇ: Abandoned, forsaken
עָזוּב
This related form names what has been left behind, echoing the state of correction once it is abandoned.
שֹׁמֵר
šōmēr
GROWS FROM
שמר
š-m-r
To guard, watch over, keep.
“keepeth” in this verse is šōmēr. Keeping instruction carries the image of guarding it, not merely possessing it. The verse pictures the path of life as sustained attention to what guides it.
ALSO GROWS
šāmar: To guard, watch, keep
שָׁמַר
This verb shows the active watchfulness held in the word “keepeth.”
mišmeret: A charge, watch, or guard duty
מִשְׁמֶרֶת
The same consonants name a watch or charge, deepening the image of keeping instruction in view.
THE PATTERN
Receiving instruction and correction preserves the path, while abandoning them leads into error and misdirection.
For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.THE THREAD
I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.Proverbs uses the same Hebrew root for wandering in a form that can mean “leading astray”; the psalm uses it for “I have gone astray.” Together, they show lost direction both spreading outward and being spoken plainly as a personal condition.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us