Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then you shall walk in your way securely. Your foot won’t stumble.
- BSB Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble.
- NKJV Then you will walk safely in your way, And your foot will not stumble.
- NASB Then you will walk in your way securely, And your foot will not stumble.
- NLT They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble.
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
The one who keeps wisdom walks securely and will not stumble. A life ordered by wisdom is steadied against ruin.
Overview
Using the common Proverbs image of the path, the father promises that wisdom gives sure footing through life's dangers. This is general truth, not a guarantee against all hardship, but a confidence that the wise are kept from the self-inflicted falls of folly. Believers walk securely in Christ, who is the way (John 14:6) and who keeps his own from ultimate stumbling (Jude 24).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Prov 10:9He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.
- Prov 4:12When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
- Ps 121:3He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
- Ps 91:11–12For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
- Ps 121:8The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
- Ps 37:31The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
- Ps 37:23–24The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
- Zech 10:12And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.
- Prov 2:8He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 3:23 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.