Proverbs 22:5 (ASV)

Passage

Thorns [and] snares are in the way of the perverse: He that keepeth his soul shall be far from them.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 22:3 A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself; But the simple pass on, and suffer for it.

Proverbs 22:4 The reward of humility [and] the fear of Jehovah [Is] riches, and honor, and life.

Proverbs 22:5 Thorns [and] snares are in the way of the perverse: He that keepeth his soul shall be far from them.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:7 The rich ruleth over the poor; And the borrower is servant to the lender.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thorns", "snares", "perverse", "keepeth", "soul", and "shall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thorns" and "snares", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "The reward of humility and the fear..." into verse 6's "Train up a child in the way...", so "thorns" and "snares" belong inside that flow. In Proverbs context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "thorns" and "snares" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.