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Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament

Proverbs 3

Proverbs 3: trust in the Lord, the Lord's chastening and the worth of wisdom

General context

The speaker addresses "My son" three times in this chapter. The first address tells the son to keep the speaker's law and commandments for long life and peace, to bind mercy and truth about his neck and write them on his heart, to trust in the Lord with all his heart and not lean on his own understanding, to acknowledge him in all his ways, not to be wise in his own eyes, and to honour the Lord with his substance and firstfruits so that his barns will be filled. The second address tells the son not to despise the chastening of the Lord, because the Lord corrects those he loves as a father corrects a son he delights in. A passage on wisdom follows: happy is the man who finds her, her merchandise is better than silver and gold, she is more precious than rubies, length of days is in her right hand and riches and honour in her left, and she is a tree of life to those who lay hold on her. The speaker says the Lord founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding. The third address tells the son to keep sound wisdom and discretion so that he may walk safely and sleep sweetly without fear, because the Lord will be his confidence. The chapter closes with instructions about neighbours: not to withhold good that is due, not to delay giving, not to devise evil against a neighbour, not to strive without cause, and not to envy the oppressor. Four contrasting sayings end the chapter: the Lord's secret with the righteous, his blessing on the just, grace to the lowly, and glory for the wise against shame for fools.

Cited passages: Proverbs 3:1, Proverbs 3:2, Proverbs 3:3, Proverbs 3:5, Proverbs 3:6, Proverbs 3:7, Proverbs 3:9, Proverbs 3:10, Proverbs 3:11, Proverbs 3:12, Proverbs 3:13, Proverbs 3:14, Proverbs 3:15, Proverbs 3:16, Proverbs 3:18, Proverbs 3:19, Proverbs 3:21, Proverbs 3:24, Proverbs 3:26, Proverbs 3:27, Proverbs 3:28, Proverbs 3:29, Proverbs 3:30, Proverbs 3:31, Proverbs 3:32, Proverbs 3:34, Proverbs 3:35

Proverbs 3 (KJV)

1My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:

2For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

3Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

4So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

5Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

7Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

8It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

9Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

10So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

11My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction:

12For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

13Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

14For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.

15She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

16Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.

17Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.

18She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.

19The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.

20By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

21My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:

22So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck.

23Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

24When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

25Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.

26For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

27Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

28Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

29Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.

30Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

31Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.

32For the froward is abomination to the Lord: but his secret is with the righteous.

33The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.

34Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.

35The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools.

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Historical context

The speaker is unnamed and speaks of "my law" and "my commandments"; the chapter does not say whether these are the parent's own rules or the Lord's commands passed on by a parent. The Lord is named directly and repeatedly here, more than in chapters 1 and 2: he is to be trusted, acknowledged, feared and honoured, he chastens, he founded the earth by wisdom, he is the son's confidence, and the closing sayings describe what he abominates, curses, blesses, scorns and gives. Verse 12 compares the Lord's correction to a father's, which is a comparison stated by the speaker, not a claim that the speaker is that father. The promises attached to obedience (long life, full barns, safe walking, sweet sleep) are stated as outcomes without qualification; the chapter does not discuss cases where they fail, though verse 31 itself assumes an oppressor whose ways might be envied. The "firstfruits" of verse 9 are named as a form of honouring the Lord, but no rite, place or priest is mentioned. Wisdom is spoken of as "she" and "her" in verses 15 to 18 without the introduction of chapter 1; the pronoun in verse 14, "the merchandise of it", shifts to "she" in the next verse.

Cited passages: Proverbs 3:1, Proverbs 3:5, Proverbs 3:12, Proverbs 3:9, Proverbs 3:19, Proverbs 3:31, Proverbs 3:33, Proverbs 3:14, Proverbs 3:15

Literary context

The repeated "My son" (verses 1, 11 and 21) divides the chapter into addressed units, each pairing a command with a promised result introduced by "For" or "So shalt thou". Within the first unit, commands come in pairs of positive and negative: "Trust in the Lord" against "lean not unto thine own understanding", "Be not wise in thine own eyes" against "fear the Lord". The body image runs through the chapter: neck, heart, navel, bones, right hand, left hand, foot. The praise of wisdom in verses 13 to 18 is framed by the word "happy" at its start and end, and it values wisdom by comparison with silver, gold and rubies, a valuation that will recur in chapter 8. Verses 19 and 20 move from the son's gain to the Lord's own use of wisdom in founding earth and heavens, so that the same word covers both practical living and creation. The ethical instructions at the end (verses 27 to 31) are a run of five prohibitions beginning "Withhold not", "Say not", "Devise not", "Strive not", "Envy thou not", followed by four two-line antitheses each hinged on "but". The chapter ends on the word "fools", the word 1:7 used for those who despise wisdom and instruction, tying the discourse back to the book's opening motto.

Cited passages: Proverbs 3:5, Proverbs 3:7, Proverbs 3:8, Proverbs 3:13, Proverbs 3:18, Proverbs 3:16, Proverbs 3:19, Proverbs 3:27, Proverbs 3:29, Proverbs 3:32, Proverbs 3:35

Key moments

  1. Bind mercy and truth (Proverbs 3:3). The son is told to bind mercy and truth about his neck and write them on his heart.
  2. Trust in the Lord (Proverbs 3:5). The speaker tells the son to trust the Lord with all his heart and not lean on his own understanding.
  3. Honour the Lord with firstfruits (Proverbs 3:9). Honouring the Lord with substance and firstfruits is linked to full barns and presses.
  4. The Lord's chastening (Proverbs 3:11). The son is told not to despise the Lord's correction, which is compared to a father's.
  5. More precious than rubies (Proverbs 3:15). Wisdom is said to be more precious than rubies, with nothing desirable to be compared to her.
  6. Earth founded by wisdom (Proverbs 3:19). The speaker says the Lord founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding.
  7. Do not withhold good (Proverbs 3:27). A run of prohibitions about neighbours begins with not withholding good that is due.

For reflection

The son is told to trust the Lord with all his heart and not lean on his own understanding, and a few verses later to get understanding because it is more precious than rubies. What distinguishes the understanding the son must not lean on from the understanding he must seek?