Proverbs 3

My son, don’t forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,

for they will add to you length of days, years of life, and peace.

Don’t let kindness and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart.

So you will find favor, and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Don’t be wise in your own eyes. Fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

It will be health to your body, and nourishment to your bones.

Honor the LORD with your substance, with the first fruits of all your increase;

so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.

My son, don’t despise the LORD’s discipline, neither be weary of his correction;

for whom the LORD loves, he corrects, even as a father reproves the son in whom he delights.

Happy is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gets understanding.

For her good profit is better than getting silver, and her return is better than fine gold.

She is more precious than rubies. None of the things you can desire are to be compared to her.

Length of days is in her right hand. In her left hand are riches and honor.

Her ways are ways of pleasantness. All her paths are peace.

She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her. Happy is everyone who retains her.

By wisdom the LORD founded the earth. By understanding, he established the heavens.

By his knowledge, the depths were broken up, and the skies drop down the dew.

My son, let them not depart from your eyes. Keep sound wisdom and discretion,

so they will be life to your soul, and grace for your neck.

Then you shall walk in your way securely. Your foot won’t stumble.

When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet.

Don’t be afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it comes;

for the LORD will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being taken.

Don’t withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do it.

Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again; tomorrow I will give it to you,” when you have it by you.

Don’t devise evil against your neighbor, since he dwells securely by you.

Don’t strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm.

Don’t envy the man of violence. Choose none of his ways.

For the perverse is an abomination to the LORD, but his friendship is with the upright.

The LORD’s curse is in the house of the wicked, but he blesses the habitation of the righteous.

Surely he mocks the mockers, but he gives grace to the humble.

The wise will inherit glory, but shame will be the promotion of fools.

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter presents a father’s exhortation to his son to embrace wisdom, trust in the Lord, and live with integrity. It weaves together calls to internalize divine instruction, trust God’s guidance, pursue peace, practice generosity, and avoid envy and violence, culminating in the contrast between the blessing of the upright and the ruin of the wicked.

Flow.

Begins with an appeal to remember and keep wisdom, promising long life, peace, and favor before God and people.
Shifts to total reliance on God rather than self, urging reverence, avoidance of evil, and proper use of wealth.
Warns against rejecting divine discipline, then exalts wisdom as the source of life, blessing, and creation-order.
Concludes with practical commands for ethical conduct, neighborly love, and humility, reinforcing the moral and spiritual consequences of one’s ways.

Connections.
Following chapter 2, which describes the pursuit of wisdom as a path to moral discernment and divine protection, this chapter deepens the call to internalize that wisdom through trust, obedience, and daily practice. It expands on the promise of security and favor for the wise, setting the foundation for chapter 4, which continues the sustained appeal to acquire and hold fast to wisdom as the guiding principle of life.

What it teaches.
True wisdom begins with trusting God completely rather than relying on human understanding (Prov. 3:5–6), and it involves reverent submission to His correction, as a son to a father (WCF 5.5; cf. Heb. 12:6). The moral life is marked by steadfast love and faithfulness (Prov. 3:3), generosity (Prov. 3:9–10, 27–28), and refusal to repay evil (Prov. 3:29–30). Wisdom, personified and rooted in God’s creation work (Prov. 3:19–20), is not merely knowledge but a way of life that brings peace, health, and divine favor (Prov. 3:13–18; cf. HC LD 22). The chapter affirms that God’s friendship belongs to the upright (Prov. 3:32), while the proud and perverse face His resistance (Prov. 3:34; cf. ), reflecting the order of creation and divine justice upheld in the moral fabric of the world (WLC 68–69).

Apply.
Act justly toward your neighbor today, giving what is due without delay.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.