Section 4:20–27

Seventh Lesson: Concentrate on following a righteous lifestyle

This section begins with the typical introduction (4:20–22). The father/teacher then exhorts his son/student to follow a righteous life. He mentions different parts of the body (ear, heart, mouth, eyes, feet) to emphasize that doing what is right involves the whole person (4:23–27).

Another possible heading for this section is:

Always doing what is right

Paragraph 4:20–27

4:20

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning:

20a My son, pay attention to my words ;

20b
incline your ear to my sayings.

4:20a

pay attention: This verb also occurs in 4:1b. See the note on 4:1a–b.

4:20b

incline your ear: This expression describes a person leaning toward a speaker so that he will be able to hear more clearly. If there is a natural expression in your language that uses the word “ear,” you are encouraged to use it, provided it has the correct meaning.

See the General Comment on 6:12–14 at the end of 6:14b about the significance of the parts of the body in the Hebrew language. Some languages do not have natural expressions that use these parts of the body with the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to add a footnote that explains the writer’s purpose in using these body parts in Hebrew.

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