Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
WEB
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.22.6 Train…: or, Catechise22.6 in…: Heb. in his way
KJV
What Proverbs 22:6 means
It says that a child guided early in the right way tends to keep to it when grown, describing how upbringing usually shapes a life rather than guaranteeing it.
This is a line from Proverbs, a book of short, memorable sayings collected in ancient Israel to pass practical wisdom from one generation to the next. Like the sayings around it, it speaks in general terms. It names the way things tend to go, the grain of ordinary life, and not a rule that holds in every case.
Its point is simple: how a child is guided early tends to stay with them. Start a young person on a good road, and the direction usually holds into adulthood. Read as a strict promise, the verse has been used to blame parents whose grown children chose otherwise, which is more weight than a proverb was meant to carry. Read as the wisdom saying it is, it honors how much early formation shapes a life without pretending anyone's future is sealed.