Proverbs 3

¹My son, do not forget my teaching,[#: this word and several others in the section such as “teaching,” “commands,” “years of life,” and the custom of affixing written teaching to one’s body, occur also in Deuteronomy. This vocabulary suggests that Proverbs and Deuteronomy had a common origin in the scribal class of Jerusalem. This section (and vv. 21–34) subtly elaborates Dt 6:5–9, “You shall love the L ord with all your heart (v. 5)…Take to heart these words (v. 1)…Recite them when you are at home and when you are away (v. 23)…when you lie down (v. 24)…Bind them (v. 3) on your arm as a sign and let them be a pendant on your forehead” (v. 21).]

take to heart my commands;

²For many days, and years of life,[#Prv 4:10; 9:11; 10:27.]

and peace, will they bring you.

³Do not let love and fidelity forsake you;

bind them around your neck;

write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Then will you win favor and esteem

before God and human beings.

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

on your own intelligence do not rely;

⁶In all your ways be mindful of him,

and he will make straight your paths.

⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes,[#Rom 11:25; 12:16.]

fear the Lord and turn away from evil;

⁸This will mean health for your flesh

and vigor for your bones.

⁹Honor the Lord with your wealth,

with first fruits of all your produce;

¹⁰Then will your barns be filled with plenty,

with new wine your vats will overflow.

¹¹The discipline of the Lord , my son, do not spurn;[#Heb 12:5–6.]

do not disdain his reproof;

¹²For whom the Lord loves he reproves,[#One might be tempted to judge the quality of one’s relationship to God by one’s prosperity. It is an inadequate criterion, for God as a teacher might go counter to student expectations. The discipline of God can involve suffering.]

as a father, the son he favors.

¹³Happy the one who finds wisdom,

the one who gains understanding!

¹⁴Her profit is better than profit in silver,

and better than gold is her revenue;

¹⁵She is more precious than corals,

and no treasure of yours can compare with her.

¹⁶Long life is in her right hand,

in her left are riches and honor;

¹⁷Her ways are pleasant ways,

and all her paths are peace;

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who grasp her,[#: in the Old Testament this phrase occurs only in Proverbs (11:30; 13:12; 15:4) and Genesis (2:9; 3:22, 24). The origins of the concept are obscure; there is no explicit mention of it in ancient Near Eastern literature, though on ancient seals trees are sometimes identified as trees of life. When the man and the woman were expelled from the garden, the tree of life was put off limits to them, lest they “eat of it and live forever” (Gn 3:22). The quest for wisdom gives access to the previously sequestered tree of life. The tree of life is mentioned also in the apocryphal work 1 Enoch 25:4–5. Rev 2 and 22 mention the tree of life as a source of eternal life.]

and those who hold her fast are happy.

¹⁹The Lord by wisdom founded the earth,

established the heavens by understanding;

²⁰By his knowledge the depths are split,[#: for the Hebrews, the depths enclosed the great subterranean waters; the rain and dew descended from the waters above the firmament; cf. Gn 1:6–10; Jb 26:8, 12; Ps 18:15; 24:2. The cosmogony provides the reason why Wisdom offers such benefits to human beings: the world was created in wisdom so that all who live in accord with wisdom live in tune with the universe.]

and the clouds drop down dew.

²¹My son, do not let these slip from your sight:

hold to deliberation and planning;

²²So will they be life to your soul,[#: Heb. nephesh means “throat, esophagus; life; soul.” The meanings are connected. The throat area is the moist, breathing center of the body, which stands for life and for self. The figure of speech is called metonymy, in which one word is substituted for another on the basis of a causal relation, e.g., eye for sight, arm for power, or, as here, “throat area” for life. Proverbs sometimes plays on this concrete meaning of life (e.g., 21:23).]

and an adornment for your neck.

²³Then you may go your way securely;

your foot will never stumble;

²⁴When you lie down, you will not be afraid,

when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵Do not be afraid of sudden terror,

of the ruin of the wicked when it comes;

²⁶For the Lord will be your confidence,

and will keep your foot from the snare.

²⁷Do not withhold any goods from the owner

when it is in your power to act.

²⁸Say not to your neighbor, “Go, come back tomorrow,

and I will give it to you,” when all the while you have it.

²⁹Do not plot evil against your neighbors,

when they live at peace with you.

³⁰Do not contend with someone without cause,

with one who has done you no harm.

³¹Do not envy the violent

and choose none of their ways:

³²To the Lord the devious are an abomination,

but the upright are close to him.

³³The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked,

but the dwelling of the just he blesses;

³⁴Those who scoff, he scoffs at,[#Prv 1:26.]

but the lowly he favors.

³⁵The wise will possess glory,

but fools will bear shame.