Bible Strands
Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — A father (or Solomon) instructs his son, positioned between the promise of favor (v. 4) and the command to acknowledge God in all ways (v. 6).
The words — בְּטַח (bĕṭaḥ), "trust," carries the sense of being firm, secure, unshakable — the opposite of wavering. It is set against בִּינָה (binah), "understanding" or discernment, the very capacity the reader is tempted to rely on instead.
The thread — The same contrast recurs: trust in Yahweh versus confidence in self (Psalm 37:5; Jeremiah 17:7; Proverbs 28:26).
Why it lands — It asks the reader to stop treating their own discernment as the final word and to rest their confidence on Yahweh instead. The command is not to abandon thought but to subordinate it.
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
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Cross-references
- Psalms 37:5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it.
- Jeremiah 17:7 But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him.
- Proverbs 28:26 He who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.
- Psalms 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
- Psalms 62:8 Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah
- Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
- Isaiah 12:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
- Psalms 37:7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.
- Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
- Jeremiah 10:23 I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.