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Proverbs 22:6

箴言 22:6

The Passage

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

In the other language

教养孩童，使他走当行的道，就是到老他也不偏离。

Theme

Train up a child

Bring a question to this passage

Many readers arrive here from a real question. These are reflections for how this passage speaks to the questions people bring most often — not an answer about what will happen, but an invitation to sit with it slowly.

How do I face this season of pressure at work?

The concern here is a child's formation, not a season of workplace pressure. Still, the proverb gives weight to the ways a person is taught to walk over time. Its confidence about lasting formation is not a promise that your efforts will secure a particular outcome. For you, it can invite attention to the habits being practiced in an ordinary working day: truthfulness, patience, asking for help, or treating exhaustion as something to ignore. Pressure may narrow your attention to getting through today, yet how you move through today also matters. This proverb concerns a child's formation rather than workplace pressure. When in your working day could you pause to notice the habits you are practicing?

Carry thisThe way you practice today deserves your attention.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 40:31 · 2 Corinthians 10:2-6

I want to learn to love better in this relationship.

A child's formation is the concern of this proverb, so it does not directly describe every kind of relationship. It does offer a picture of care that pays attention to the way a person is learning to live. If you are loving a child, that care includes patient guidance and the example of your own choices. In another relationship, the connection is more limited: love can still be attentive and consistent without becoming parental or controlling. The proverb's long view is not a guarantee of another person's choices. It invites you to consider the habits your care embodies. This proverb speaks specifically of raising a child. Where in this relationship could your care become more patient and consistent without trying to control the other person's choices?

Carry thisThe habits of care matter alongside the words of love.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 40:31 · 2 Corinthians 10:2-6

What do I need to let go of in the coming weeks?

The attention here is on a child's formation: the patient work of teaching a way of life. This proverb does not identify what you should let go of, but it offers a distinction between faithful care and control. Its confidence in early guidance is not a guarantee you can secure by doing everything perfectly. If you are caring for a child, you can take that responsibility seriously without claiming ownership of every choice they make. If you are not, the passage still gives you room to notice the lasting weight of daily habits. Where could you offer patient guidance while loosening your hold on how another person's life unfolds?

Carry thisFaithful care matters, even when outcomes are not yours to control.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 40:31 · 2 Corinthians 10:2-6

How can I find stillness in a busy life?

Stillness may begin as something you practice, not something you finally have time for. This proverb concerns raising a child, not finding quiet in a busy life. Yet its attention to formation invites you to consider what your repeated habits are nurturing. You do not have to turn quiet into another achievement. A brief pause before opening your messages or beginning a task can make room to attend to God. Such pauses need not promise a calmer future to be worth keeping today. The concern for what takes root over time—what small practice could help you make room for stillness within the life you already have?

Carry thisA quiet pause can belong to an ordinary day.

Other passages for this questionGenesis 1:26-28 · Isaiah 40:31 · 2 Corinthians 10:2-6

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Proverbs 22 — in context

1A good name is more desirable than great riches, and loving favor is better than silver and gold.

2The rich and the poor have this in common: the LORD is the maker of them all.

3A prudent man sees danger, and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.

4The result of humility and the fear of the LORD is wealth, honor, and life.

5Thorns and snares are in the path of the wicked: whoever guards his soul stays from them.

6Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

7The rich rule over the poor. The borrower is servant to the lender.

8He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

9He who has a generous eye will be blessed; for he shares his food with the poor.

10Drive out the mocker, and strife will go out; yes, quarrels and insults will stop.

11He who loves purity of heart and speaks gracefully is the king’s friend.

12The eyes of the LORD watch over knowledge; but he frustrates the words of the unfaithful.

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