Proverbs 16:3 (DBY)

Passage

Commit thy works unto Jehovah, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 16:1 The purposes of the heart are of man, but the answer of the tongue is from Jehovah.

Proverbs 16:2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but Jehovah weigheth the spirits.

Proverbs 16:3 Commit thy works unto Jehovah, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Proverbs 16:4 Jehovah hath wrought everything on his own account, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Proverbs 16:5 Every proud heart is an abomination to Jehovah: hand for hand, he shall not be held innocent.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "commit", "works", "jehovah", "thoughts", "shall", and "established". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "commit" and "works", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "All the ways of a man are..." into verse 4's "Jehovah hath wrought everything on his own...", so "commit" and "works" 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 "commit" and "works" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.