UNROLL
Clear morning on a stony hillside: a walker’s path runs on past a bend into haze, one small traveler with a staff seen from behind, under a pale empty sky.

The father’s talks

Proverbs 3

You can’t see the whole road from here. So who are you going to lean on?

35 verses≈ 4 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

Tap any post to go deeper

Where we are

  1. 1–7The father's talksWhy the book exists, then a father to his sonChapter 3
  2. 8–9Wisdom callsHer house and Folly's
  3. 10–22:16Solomon's sayingsTwo lines at a time
  4. 22:17–24The sayings of the wiseThirty sayings, and a few more
  5. 25–29Hezekiah's collectionMore of Solomon, copied out later
  6. 30AgurNumbered sayings from a weary man
  7. 31LemuelA mother's words, and the noble wife

Trust in the LORD with All Your Heart

My son, do not forget my teaching,

but let your heart keep my commandments;

for they will add length to your days,

years and peace to your life.

Tap to go deeper: meaning, history and related Scripture

Close on a young man’s chest in a wool tunic: a plain stone stamp seal on a dark cord, his fingers just touching it.

Never let loving devotion or faithfulness leave you;

bind them around your neck,

write them on the tablet of your heart.

Then you will find favor and high regard

in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5–6

Be not wise in your own eyes;

fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

This will bring healing to your body

and refreshment to your bones.

Reflect

Hand it over

Where are you leaning on your own understanding today? Name it, and hand it over.

Honor the LORD with your wealth

and with the firstfruits of all your crops;

then your barns will be filled with plenty,

and your vats will overflow with new wine.

My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD,

and do not loathe His rebuke;

for the LORD disciplines the one He loves,

as does a father the son in whom he delights.

The Blessings of Wisdom

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,

the man who acquires understanding,

for she is more profitable than silver,

and her gain is better than fine gold.

She is more precious than rubies;

nothing you desire compares with her.

Long life is in her right hand;

in her left hand are riches and honor.

All her ways are pleasant,

and all her paths are peaceful.

A very old olive tree with a huge hollowed trunk, thick with green fruit, in clean noon light on a stony hill, deep shade beneath it.

She is a tree of life to those who embrace her,

and those who lay hold of her are blessed.

Question

Quick question

The New Testament picks up this father’s words.

Who quotes verses 11–12 in the New Testament?

First gray light over a rocky gorge: a spring bursts from a split in the cliff into a deep dark pool, dew on every leaf, low cloud on the rim.

The LORD founded the earth by wisdom

and established the heavens by understanding.

By His knowledge the watery depths were broken open,

and the clouds dripped with dew.

0:11

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

My son, do not lose sight of this:

Preserve sound judgment and discernment.

They will be life to your soul

and adornment to your neck.

Then you will go on your way in safety,

and your foot will not stumble.

When you lie down, you will not be afraid;

when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.

Close on a spring snare of cord and bent wood set beside a rock in the dust, empty.

Do not fear sudden danger

or the ruin that overtakes the wicked,

for the LORD will be your confidence

and will keep your foot from the snare.

Sayings

Your neighbor

  1. Friends

    Good you can do

    Do not withhold good from the deserving

    when it is within your power to act.

  2. Not tomorrow

    Do not tell your neighbor,

    “Come back tomorrow and I will provide”—

    when you already have the means.

  3. No plots next door

    Do not devise evil against your neighbor,

    for he trustfully dwells beside you.

  4. Justice

    No false charges

    Do not accuse a man without cause,

    when he has done you no harm.

Do not envy a violent man

or choose any of his ways;

for the LORD detests the perverse,

but He is a friend to the upright.

The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked,

but He blesses the home of the righteous.

He mocks the mockers, but gives grace to the humble.

The wise will inherit honor,

but fools are held up to shame.

Pray

Past what you can see

Ask for trust that goes past what you can see. Name a neighbor you could help today, and ask for the will to do it before tomorrow. Ask for grace to be humble, and to stay that way.

You’ve experienced

Proverbs 3

0 of 31 chapters read

A verse to carry with you

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5–6

or swipe left