Proverbs 22:3 (LSB)

Passage

A prudent man sees evil and hides, But the simple pass on, and are punished.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 22:1 A good name is to be chosen over great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold.

Proverbs 22:2 The rich and the poor meet together in this— Yahweh is the Maker of them all.

Proverbs 22:3 A prudent man sees evil and hides, But the simple pass on, and are punished.

Proverbs 22:4 The reward of humility—the fear of Yahweh— Is riches, glory, and life.

Proverbs 22:5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; He who keeps his soul will be far from them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "prudent", "sees", "evil", "hides", "simple", "pass", and "punished". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "prudent" and "sees", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "The rich and the poor meet together..." into verse 4's "The reward of humility the fear of...", so "prudent" and "sees" 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 "prudent" and "sees" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.