Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t be wise in your own eyes. Fear Yahweh, and depart from evil.
- KJV Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
- BSB Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.
- NKJV Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
- NLT Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
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
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear Yahweh and turn from evil. It matters because humble reverence for God, not self-confidence, is true wisdom.
Overview
This verse warns against the pride of self-sufficient wisdom, the opposite of the fear of the Lord. Genuine wisdom is humble and turns from evil. Such humility before God is foundational to the whole book (1:7) and is modeled perfectly by Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Job 28:28To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.’”
- Rom 12:16Be of the same mind one toward another. Don’t set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Don’t be wise in your own conceits.
- Prov 26:12Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
- Prov 16:6By mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for. By the fear of Yahweh men depart from evil.
- Job 1:1There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God, and turned away from evil.
- Isa 5:21Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
- Ps 34:11–14Come, you children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.
- Eccl 12:13This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.
- Prov 14:27The fear of Yahweh is a fountain of life, turning people from the snares of death.
- Rom 11:25For I don’t desire you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you won’t be wise in your own conceits, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in,
- Neh 5:15But the former governors who were before me were supported by the people, and took bread and wine from them, plus forty shekels of silver; yes, even their servants ruled over the people; but I didn’t do so, because of the fear of God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 3:7 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.