What does Proverbs 4:6 mean?

In this verse David's counsel to Solomon (Proverbs 4:3) takes the form of a figure of speech. He personifies wisdom as a woman (Proverbs 1:20–21; 3:15; 8:1–3) and instructs Solomon to stay by her side. He promises wisdom will protect him. He also promises "she" will guard Solomon if he loves "her." Those who live by godly principles are far less likely to suffer the consequences faced by those who participate in sin and depravity.

Christians should stay true to the wisdom God imparts in His Word. Although false teachers may appear as angels of light (2 Corinthians 11:13–14), their teachings are poisonous. The apostle Paul told the Corinthian believers that he was jealous for them and had betrothed them as a pure virgin to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2). However, he feared that their thoughts would be "led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:3). He described the seducers as "false prophets, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:13).

Just as David instructed Solomon to keep and love wisdom, even so Paul instructed Timothy to "guard the deposit" entrusted to him and "avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called 'knowledge'" (1 Timothy 6:20).