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Proverbs 3

Proverbs 3 joins wholehearted trust in YHWH to the pursuit of wisdom and just conduct toward neighbors.

A teacher addresses a son, urging him to keep instruction in his heart and trust YHWH with his whole life. The counsel moves through wealth, correction, and the worth of wisdom, which YHWH used to establish the earth. Wisdom also shapes conduct toward neighbors: giving help without delay and refusing violence. The chapter closes by contrasting YHWH’s blessing on the righteous with his judgment on those who choose crooked ways.

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1My son, don’t forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,
2for they will add to you length of days, years of life, and peace.
3Don’t let kindness and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4So you will find favor, and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
5Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding.
6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
7Don’t be wise in your own eyes. Fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
8It will be health to your body, and nourishment to your bones.
9Honor the LORD with your substance, with the first fruits of all your increase;
10so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
11My son, don’t despise the LORD’s discipline, neither be weary of his correction;
12for whom the LORD loves, he corrects, even as a father reproves the son in whom he delights.
13Happy is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gets understanding.
14For her good profit is better than getting silver, and her return is better than fine gold.
15She is more precious than rubies. None of the things you can desire are to be compared to her.
16Length of days is in her right hand. In her left hand are riches and honor.
17Her ways are ways of pleasantness. All her paths are peace.
18She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her. Happy is everyone who retains her.
19By wisdom the LORD founded the earth. By understanding, he established the heavens.
20By his knowledge, the depths were broken up, and the skies drop down the dew.
21My son, let them not depart from your eyes. Keep sound wisdom and discretion,
22so they will be life to your soul, and grace for your neck.
23Then you shall walk in your way securely. Your foot won’t stumble.
24When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.
25Don’t be afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it comes;
26for the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being taken.
27Don’t withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do it.
28Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again; tomorrow I will give it to you,” when you have it by you.
29Don’t devise evil against your neighbor, since he dwells securely by you.
30Don’t strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm.
31Don’t envy the man of violence. Choose none of his ways.
32For the perverse is an abomination to the LORD, but his friendship is with the upright.
33The LORD’s curse is in the house of the wicked, but he blesses the habitation of the righteous.
34Surely he mocks the mockers, but he gives grace to the humble.
35The wise will inherit glory, but shame will be the promotion of fools.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Proverbs 3:5This command anchors the chapter’s counsel in trust in YHWH and challenges confidence in one’s own judgment.
Proverbs 3:9Honoring YHWH with the first fruits makes trust concrete in the use of wealth.
Proverbs 3:1The opening charge makes the heart central: the son must keep the teaching as well as remember it.
Where this chapter reaches

Psalm and Job share this chapter’s themes of trust in God and wisdom’s worth, while Job also speaks of receiving God’s correction. Deuteronomy shares its concern for keeping commands in the heart and honoring God with the first fruits of the land.

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After reading the whole chapter

How does the chapter’s praise of wisdom challenge what you count as wealth?

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What connection do you see between trusting YHWH and helping a neighbor without delay?

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Questions people ask about Proverbs 3

What does Proverbs 3:5–6 mean?

These verses call for wholehearted trust in YHWH and acknowledgment of him in every part of life. The surrounding counsel connects that trust with keeping commands, rejecting evil, and receiving correction. The promise of straight paths concerns God’s guidance; the passage supplies no method for predicting each next step.

Does Proverbs 3 promise health and wealth to everyone who obeys God?

The chapter links wisdom and honoring God with long life, health, and abundant harvests. These are wisdom sayings describing the good order God establishes and the fruit of wise conduct. They should not be treated as a contract guaranteeing prosperity in every case. The chapter itself also makes room for correction.

What is YHWH’s discipline in Proverbs 3:11–12?

YHWH’s discipline is his correction of those he loves, compared here with a father correcting a son in whom he delights. The verses urge the son neither to despise correction nor grow weary of it. They do not identify a particular hardship or claim that every illness or loss proves wrongdoing.

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What the Bible says about money →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).