Proverbs 22:5 (WEB)

Passage

Thorns and snares are in the path of the wicked: whoever guards his soul stays from them.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 22:3 A prudent man sees danger, and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and suffer for it.

Proverbs 22:4 The result of humility and the fear of Yahweh is wealth, honor, and life.

Proverbs 22:5 Thorns and snares are in the path of the wicked: whoever guards his soul stays from them.

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

Proverbs 22:7 The rich rule over the poor. The borrower is servant to the lender.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thorns", "snares", "path", "wicked", "whoever", "guards", "soul", and "stays". 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 result 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.