Proverbs 3:5 (ASV)

Passage

Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart, And lean not upon thine own understanding:

Nearby Context

Proverbs 3:3 Let not kindness and truth forsake thee: Bind them about thy neck; Write them upon the tablet of thy heart:

Proverbs 3:4 So shalt thou find favor and good understanding In the sight of God and man.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart, And lean not upon thine own understanding:

Proverbs 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he will direct thy paths.

Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes; Fear Jehovah, and depart from evil:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "trust", "jehovah", "heart", "lean", "upon", "thine", and "understanding". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "trust" and "jehovah", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "So shalt thou find favor and good..." into verse 6's "In all thy ways acknowledge him And...", so "trust" and "jehovah" 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 "trust" and "jehovah" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.