Proverbs 3:30 (WEB)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

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.

Proverbs 3:32 For the perverse is an abomination to Yahweh, but his friendship is with the upright.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "strive", "without", "cause", "done", and "harm". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "strive" and "without", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 29's "Don t devise evil against your neighbor..." into verse 31's "Don t envy the man of violence...", so "strive" and "without" 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 "strive" and "without" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.