Bible Strands
Proverbs 22:3
The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — No speaker, audience, or occasion is named; it is a freestanding wisdom saying within the collection attributed to Solomon.
The words — עָרוּם ('arûm, "shrewd") is a deliberate choice distinct from the more common חָכָם ("wise"), and its foil פְּתָיִים (p̄ṭāyîm, "naive") is the standard Proverbs term for one who lacks discernment.
The thread — Proverbs 27:12 repeats the verse almost verbatim; Proverbs 14:16 and 29:1 develop the same contrast between foresight and recklessness.
Why it lands — It asks the reader to do what the prudent do: notice danger before it arrives and act, rather than walking on and paying the price.
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
A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 27:12 The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
- Proverbs 14:16 A wise man fears and turns from evil, but a fool is careless and reckless.
- Proverbs 29:1 A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
- Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
- Proverbs 7:7 I saw among the simple, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking judgment,
- Proverbs 7:22 He follows her on impulse, like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer bounding into a trap,
- Exodus 9:20 Those among Pharaoh’s officials who feared the word of the LORD hurried to bring their servants and livestock to shelter,
- Isaiah 26:20 Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed.
- Hebrews 6:18 Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.