Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Parallel translations
- WEB Commit your deeds to Yahweh, and your plans shall succeed.
- BSB Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved.
- NKJV Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established.
- NASB Commit your works to the Lord, And your plans will be established.
- NLT Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Entrust your works to the Lord and your plans will be established. It matters because committing our efforts to God in dependence is the path to lasting success.
Overview
This proverb invites believers to roll their works onto Yahweh in trust, with the promise that their plans will be made firm. It is not a guarantee of every wish but an assurance that surrendered plans align with God's good purposes. It reflects the call to trust the Lord with all the heart (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 37:4–5Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
- Prov 3:6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
- Ps 55:22Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
- Phil 4:6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
- 1 Pet 5:7Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
- Job 22:28Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
- Job 5:8I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
- Luke 12:22And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
- Matt 6:25–34Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
- Isa 7:5–7Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 16:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.