Bible Strands
Proverbs 6:3
then do this, my son, to free yourself, for you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go, humble yourself, and press your plea with your neighbor.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The speaker addresses a son who has just bound himself by his own spoken words and become trapped in his neighbor's debt. He gives immediate instructions on how to escape the obligation before sleep or delay worsens the situation.
The words — The imperative עֲשֵׂה ('a.Seh) commands "do" the specified action, while the phrase בְּכַף (be.khaf) literally means "in the palm," describing the son's captured state in the neighbor's grasp.
The thread — The plea for deliverance from a captured state aligns with the motif of falling into another's hand in 2 Samuel 24:14, while the directive to humble oneself mirrors the instruction in James 4:10.
Why it lands — It requires immediate, unreserved action to resolve a self-inflicted financial or social entanglement. The reader must abandon pride and actively negotiate with the affected party without delay.
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
Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend.
Cross-references
- James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
- 2 Samuel 24:14 David answered Gad, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”
- Psalms 31:8 You have not delivered me to the enemy; You have set my feet in the open.
- Exodus 10:3 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.
- 2 Chronicles 12:5 Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You have forsaken Me; therefore, I have forsaken you into the hand of Shishak.’”
- 2 Chronicles 36:12 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke for the LORD.