Proverbs 3

Chapters 1–9 of Proverbs are a collection of extended instructions that open with "My son," and chapter 3 is one of them. Following the call to seek wisdom in Proverbs 2, chapter 3 teaches in concrete terms how a person who possesses wisdom should live before God and neighbor.

Outline

• Verses 1–4 The son is told not to forget his father's law and commandments. He is urged to bind mercy (steadfast love) and truth about his neck and to write them upon the table of his heart.
• Verses 5–8 He is told to trust in the LORD with all his heart and not to lean on his own understanding (discernment). He is urged to fear the LORD and depart from evil.
• Verses 9–10 Honoring the LORD with one's substance and with the firstfruits of one's increase will cause barns and presses to overflow.
• Verses 11–12 He is told not to despise the chastening of the LORD, for as a father corrects his son, so the LORD corrects those He loves.
• Verses 13–18 Wisdom is more precious than silver, fine gold, and rubies, and she is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her.
• Verses 19–20 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth and established the heavens.
• Verses 21–26 Those who keep sound wisdom and discretion will walk safely in their way, and their sleep will be sweet.
• Verses 27–35 He is told not to withhold good when it is due and not to devise harm against his neighbor. The chapter closes by contrasting the froward, the wicked, and the scorner with the upright, the just, and the lowly.

Key Verses

• Proverbs 3:5–6 "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart … In all thy ways acknowledge him": one of the most widely memorized passages in the entire book of Proverbs.
• Proverbs 3:11–12 "Despise not the chastening of the LORD": Hebrews 12 quotes this passage to explain suffering as God's discipline of His children.
• Proverbs 3:34 "Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly": James 4 and 1 Peter 5 quote this verse in the form found in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament).

Figures and Places

• The father (teacher) and the son: the speaker and the hearer of the instruction. Interpreters differ on whether this reflects an actual father–son relationship or is a way of describing the relationship between teacher and disciple.
• The LORD: presented as the one to be trusted and feared, and as the Creator who made the world by wisdom.
• Wisdom: portrayed as a figure holding length of days, riches, and honor in her hands. This personification becomes more pronounced in Proverbs 8.

Points for Reflection

• Promises of long life and prosperity (vv. 2, 10, 16): Proponents of prosperity theology read these promises as grounds for material rewards that follow faith. Many commentators and denominations see it differently. They explain that Proverbs, as wisdom literature, describes the general tendencies of life, and that Job and Ecclesiastes together show the limits of such statements.
• Firstfruits (v. 9): This verse is connected with the law's regulations concerning firstfruits. In Korean churches it is also used as a basis for encouraging tithing and thanksgiving offerings, though views differ on how it should be applied today (see tithing debate).
• Write them upon the table of thine heart (v. 3): This is often compared with the command in Deuteronomy 6:6–9 to keep God's words in one's heart.
• Tree of life (v. 18): The expression is read as evoking the tree of life in the Garden of Eden and the tree of life in Revelation.
• Wisdom and creation (v. 19): Some in the Christian tradition associate the wisdom that took part in creation with Christ (compare 1 Corinthians 1:24). Others read it purely as poetic language.

In the Korean Church

Proverbs 3:5–6 is frequently used as a motto for churches and Christian schools, on New Year's Scripture cards, and as a passage for Scripture memorization. Verses 9–10 are often cited in offering sermons for Maekchu Thanksgiving (the Feast of Harvest) and Thanksgiving.