Proverbs 3:6
in Proverbs 3in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he will direct thy paths.
KJV
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
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This verse in Proverbs 3
Commentary
9 notes on this verseStarred
Marcus BrownMany of us walk toward our goals in life, assuming God's will over our lives. We pleasure ourselves when we see fit to do so and take up the challenges and burdens that we determine will glorify ourselves if carried properly. Journeying with Christ offers us a far greater reward, to be in step with the Author of Life, the one who writes the greatest stories. When we walk, let us do so with certainty of His intended direction and let us go at his pace. We walk toward the city of God and are blessed to be able to enter its glorious gates, walking instep with the King Himself. How can two travel together if they are not in agreement? Walk in His ways and you will share in the desires of His heart.
This site's exposition
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
on Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart” is one of the book's most quoted and plainest lines, hard only in the doing. The words “lean not on your own understanding” name the opposite of trust, self-reliance. The danger is leaning, resting a decision's whole weight on one's own judgment.
This site's exposition
in all your ways acknowledge Him
Acknowledge translates the common verb to know, as one person knows another, and it reaches into all your ways. Such trust lifts a man out of the anxious plans of one who leans on his own understanding. The LORD makes the path straight, as at Isaiah 40:3.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): In all thy ways acknowledge God. We must not only in our judgment believe that there is an over-ruling hand of God ordering and disposing of us and all our affairs, but we must solemnly own it, and address ourselves to him accordingly. We must ask his leave, and not design any thing but what we are sure is lawful.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
In all thy ways acknowledge him,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
In all thy ways acknowledge him - Begin, continue, and end every work, purpose, and device, with God. Earnestly pray for his direction at the commencement; look for his continual support in the progress; and so begin and continue that all may terminate in his glory: and then it will certainly be to thy good; for we never honor God, without serving ourselves. This passage is well rendered in my old MS.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Not in acts of solemn worship or great crises only, but “in all thy ways;” and then God will make the “path” straight and even.
Modern Voices1 voice
A commentator
Dallas Willard1935–2013
Acknowledging God in All We Do (Westmont College chapel talk) (1998)
proposed
It means that we recognize he is God, and we acknowledge his authority in what we are doing.
1 more voice on this verse
Modern Voices1 voice
Your role in fulfilling God's call on your life is to follow Him with simple obedience and trust. His role is to do the leading—and He's pretty good at it.
The words behind it
6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| דְּרָכֶ֥יךָ | derakheikha | ways your | H1870 → | 707 times |
| דָעֵ֑הוּ | daehu | acknowledge him | H3045 → | 945 times |
| וְ֝ה֗וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יְיַשֵּׁ֥ר | yeyasher | he will make straight | H3474 → | 25 times |
| אֹֽרְחֹתֶֽיךָ׃ | ʾorechoteikha | paths your | H734 → | 58 times |
בְּכָל־in all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
דְּרָכֶ֥יךָways your
derakheikhaH1870 →707 times
דָעֵ֑הוּacknowledge him
daehuH3045 →945 times
וְ֝ה֗וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
יְיַשֵּׁ֥רhe will make straight
yeyasherH3474 →25 times
אֹֽרְחֹתֶֽיךָ׃paths your
ʾorechoteikhaH734 →58 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
Philippians 4:6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
it leads to
- Proverbs 3:5–6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 55:22
Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 6:25–33
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more…
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17–18
Pray without ceasing.
- Proverbs 3:5–6
Through
Proverbs 16:3Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved.
it leads to
- Psalms 37:4–5
Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
- Psalms 37:4–5
Through
Proverbs 16:9A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
it leads to
- Psalms 37:23
The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 16:1
The plans of the heart belong to man, but the reply of the tongue is from the LORD.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 37:23
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); Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Dallas Willard, Acknowledging God in All We Do (Westmont College chapel talk); John Bevere, When Your Plan Isn't God's Plan (blog article); 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, and on the writing of Marcus Brown.