Bible Strands
Proverbs 3:6
in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — A father (traditionally Solomon) addresses his son in a sustained series of imperatives (3:5–7) on how to live before God. This verse sits between the command to trust fully and the warning against self-reliance.
The words — דָעֵהוּ (da'ehu), "acknowledge him," is the command that drives the verse; the root דעה (H1848) carries the sense of knowing or recognizing. The text uses two different nouns for the object of God's straightening: דְּרָכֶיךָ (derakhaykha, "your ways") and אֹרְחֹתֶיךָ (orhotaykha, "your paths"), the former being the general road and the latter the specific track.
The thread — Proverbs 16:3 pairs commitment of works with the achievement of plans; Psalms 32:8 promises instruction and counsel along the way; Philippians 4:6 extends the "in everything" principle to prayer.
Why it lands — The verse asks for a continuous posture of recognition toward God across all domains of life, not a one-time act of faith. The promised result is directional clarity—straightened paths—not the removal of difficulty.
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
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved.
- Psalms 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.
- Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
- Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
- Jeremiah 10:23 I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.
- James 1:5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- Isaiah 30:21 And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”
- Isaiah 48:17 Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you for your benefit, who directs you in the way you should go.
- Psalms 25:8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He shows sinners the way.
- Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, as for the Lord and not for men,