Proverbs 3
Trust in the LORD with All Your Heart
¹ My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;
² for they will add length to your days, years and peace to your life.
³ Never let loving devotion 1 or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ Then you will find favor and high regard in the sight of God and man.
⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
⁷ Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
⁸ This will bring healing to your body 2 and refreshment 3 to your bones.
⁹ Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops;
¹⁰ then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
¹¹ My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, and do not loathe His rebuke;4
¹² for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights.5
The Blessings of Wisdom
¹³ Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who acquires understanding,
¹⁴ for she is more profitable than silver, and her gain is better than fine gold.
¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire compares with her.
¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.
¹⁷ All her ways are pleasant, and all her paths are peaceful.
¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who lay hold of her are blessed.
¹⁹ The LORD founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding.
²⁰ By His knowledge the watery depths were broken open, and the clouds dripped with dew.
²¹ My son, do not lose sight of this: Preserve sound judgment and discernment.
²² They will be life to your soul and adornment to your neck.
²³ Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble.
²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.
²⁵ Do not fear sudden danger or the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
²⁶ for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from the snare.
²⁷ Do not withhold good from the deserving 6 when it is within your power to act.
²⁸ Do not tell your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I will provide”— when you already have the means.
²⁹ Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he trustfully dwells beside you.
³⁰ Do not accuse a man without cause, when he has done you no harm.
³¹ Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways;
³² for the LORD detests the perverse, but He is a friend to the upright.
³³ The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the righteous.
³⁴ He mocks the mockers, but gives grace to the humble.7
³⁵ The wise will inherit honor, but fools are held up to shame.
3:3 Forms of the Hebrew chesed are translated here and in most cases throughout the Scriptures as loving devotion; the range of meaning includes love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and mercy, as well as loyalty to a covenant. ↩︎
3:8 Hebrew navel ↩︎
3:8 Or medicine ↩︎
3:11 LXX and do not lose heart when He rebukes; cited in Hebrews 12:5 ↩︎
3:12 LXX and He flogs every son He receives; cited in Hebrews 12:6 ↩︎
3:27 Or from its owners ↩︎
3:34 LXX The Lord opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble; cited in James 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:5 ↩︎