Bible Strands
Proverbs 16:3
Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The author addresses a general audience within the wisdom tradition, positioning the instruction immediately after a warning about human self-deception and before a declaration of God’s sovereign purpose (Proverbs 16:2–4).
The words — The imperative גֹּל (gol) literally means roll, directing the reader to transfer responsibility, while מַחְשְׁבֹת (machshevot) denotes plans or devices that are to be established by יִכּוֹנוּ (yikonu).
The thread — The motif of transferring human effort to God appears in Psalms 37:4, Proverbs 3:6, and Psalms 55:22, while the immediate context in Proverbs 16:2–4 frames it within divine weighing of motives and sovereign purpose.
Why it lands — The text commands a concrete transfer of agency from human planning to divine authority, stating that committed works result in established plans without guaranteeing human-defined outcomes.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Cross-references
- Psalms 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
- Proverbs 3:6 in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
- Psalms 55:22 Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.
- Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
- 1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
- Job 22:28 Your decisions will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways.
- Job 5:8 However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and lay my cause before Him—
- Luke 12:22 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.
- Matthew 6:25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
- Isaiah 7:5 For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted your ruin, saying: