Proverbs 3:21
in Proverbs 3My son, do not lose sight of this: Preserve sound judgment and discernment.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
My son, let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep sound wisdom and discretion:
KJV
My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:
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This verse in Proverbs 3
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
My son, do not lose sight of this
on Proverbs 3:21-26
“Then you will go on your way in safety” promises security in daily movement. “When you lie down, you will not be afraid” carries it into sleep. The ground of that security is the LORD's keeping: “the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from the snare”.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
My son, do not let these depart from your eyes. Beware lest, wearied by temporal discipline, you lose the grace of wisdom, which is so great.
Observe law and counsel. The law of wisdom is, as it says, If you wish to enter into life, you shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, and the rest (Mark 10). The counsel …
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The first counsel is regulated according to the dictate of divinely instituted laws. Whence in Proverbs: 'Keep the law and counsel, and you will have grace for your mouth and life for your soul.' What is this law? Surely the law written outwardly and the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It is wealth that is worth keeping. The argument to enforce this exhortation is taken from the unspeakable advantage which wisdom, thus kept, will be of to us. In respect of strength and satisfaction: "It will be life to thy soul (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
My son, let not them depart from thine eyes,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
We must do all the good we can, and no hurt, to our neighbours, because according as men are just or unjust, charitable or uncharitable, humble or haughty, accordingly they shall receive of God,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Let not them depart from thine eyes - Never forget that God, who is the author of nature, directs and governs it in all things; for it is no self-determining agent. Keep sound wisdom and discretion - תושיה ומזמה tushiyah umezimmah. We have met with both these words before. Tushiyah is the essence or substance of a thing; mezimmah is the resolution or purpose formed in reference to something good or excellent. To acknowledge God as the author of all good, is the tushiyah, the essence, of a godly man’s creed; to resolve to act according to the directions of his wisdom, is the mezimmah, the religious purpose, that will bring good to ourselves and glory to God. These bring life to the soul, and are ornamental to the man who acts in this way, Pro 3:22.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Let not them depart - i. e., The wisdom and discretion of the following clause. Keep thine eye on them, as one who watches over priceless treasures.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּ֭נִי | beni | O son my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| יָלֻ֣זוּ | yaluzu | they depart | H3868 → | 6 times |
| מֵעֵינֶ֑יךָ | meeineikha | from eyes your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| נְצֹ֥ר | netzor | keep | H5341 → | 63 times |
| תֻּ֝שִׁיָּ֗ה | tushiyah | sound wisdom | H8454 → | 12 times |
| וּמְזִמָּֽה׃ | umezimah | and discretion | H4209 → | 19 times |
בְּ֭נִיO son my
beniH1121 →4930 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
יָלֻ֣זוּthey depart
yaluzuH3868 →6 times
מֵעֵינֶ֑יךָfrom eyes your
meeineikhaH5869 →887 times
נְצֹ֥רkeep
netzorH5341 →63 times
תֻּ֝שִׁיָּ֗הsound wisdom
tushiyahH8454 →12 times
וּמְזִמָּֽה׃and discretion
umezimahH4209 →19 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Joshua 1:8This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper…
it leads to
- Psalms 119:15
I will meditate on Your precepts and regard Your ways.
- Psalms 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
- Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to…
- Proverbs 3:1
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments;
- Deuteronomy 29:9
So keep and follow the words of this covenant, that you may prosper in all you do.
- Psalms 119:15
Through
Proverbs 4:21Do not lose sight of them; keep them within your heart.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:3
Never let loving devotion or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
- Proverbs 7:1–2
My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you.
- Psalms 40:8
I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”
- Proverbs 3:3
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Bonaventure, Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.