Verse Lens · Concise explanation

Proverbs 1:8 Explained in Context

Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.

Selected verse

Verse 8. My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions

Quick Meaning

This verse contributes the claim, image, or instruction “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother”.

Read It With

  • Proverbs 1:8–19

Read Proverbs 1:8 inside Proverbs 1:8–19: it contributes the claim, image, or instruction “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother”. The unit then locates that line within violence, predation, conflict, and protection, family teaching, responsibility, and mutual care, instruction, correction, and formation rather than treating it as a free-standing formula.

Why This Verse Appears Here

Proverbs 1:8 appears here because it contributes the claim, image, or instruction “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother”. Its contrast, image, or consequence tests the concerns gathered in Proverbs 1:8–19.

Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation

“My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the...”

In plain language: instruction, correction, and formation

This verse contributes the claim, image, or instruction “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother”.

Why it matters: This wording gives the verse its distinct role inside the cluster.

How certain? strong

What Remains True

Wise correction aims at learning, responsibility, and protection rather than domination or pain for its own sake. In Proverbs 1:8, that bounded truth is expressed through “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the...,” not through a promise detached from its literary form.

How It Can Shape Life

  • Use calm, age-appropriate, nonviolent guidance, clear boundaries, repair, and qualified support when ordinary correction is not enough. For Proverbs 1:8, preserve the sequence: verse role (contributes the claim, image, or instruction “My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother”) -> contextual meaning in Proverbs 1:8–19 -> proportionate truth -> this accountable response.

Continue in Context

The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.

Read Proverbs 1:8–19 — Do not join the violent ambush
Sources used for this Verse Lens

How certain is this explanation? strong

Where care is needed

The verse belongs to a larger speech, instruction, prayer, number saying, or poem; its voice and complete literary movement control how strongly an isolated line may be stated.

These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact displayed KJV words, canonical order, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and complete unit coverage.

Exact location: Proverbs 1:8–19, repository-pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Proverbs

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology used only for the exact unit's lexical, grammatical, parallel, superscription, number-saying, and acrostic questions.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Prov.xml, OSIS 1:8-1:19

Open source ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible: Proverbs with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, 2006

Supports: Verse-attached textual, lexical, grammatical, syntactic, parallelism, and older-English controls for the exact range.

Exact location: NET Bible Proverbs PDF, printed pp. 1074-1080, exact tc/tn/sn entries attached to 1:8–19

Open source ↗
Open the complete thought-unit research record
Open a verse without taking it out of context.

Try Proverbs 1:7, Prov 1:7, or Pr 1:7.

Choose book, chapter, and verse