Proverbs 3:29 (WEB)

Passage

Don’t devise evil against your neighbor, since he dwells securely by you.

Nearby Context

Proverbs 3:27 Don’t withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do it.

Proverbs 3:28 Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again; tomorrow I will give it to you,” when you have it by you.

Proverbs 3:29 Don’t devise evil against your neighbor, since he dwells securely by you.

Proverbs 3:30 Don’t strive with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm.

Proverbs 3:31 Don’t envy the man of violence. Choose none of his ways.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "devise", "evil", "against", "neighbor", "since", "dwells", and "securely". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "devise" and "evil", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 28's "Don t say to your neighbor Go..." into verse 30's "Don t strive with a man without...", so "devise" and "evil" 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 "devise" and "evil" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.