Proverbs 3:31 (WEB)

Passage

Don’t envy the man of violence. Choose none of his ways.

Nearby Context

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.

Proverbs 3:33 Yahweh’s curse is in the house of the wicked, but he blesses the habitation of the righteous.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "envy", "violence", "choose", "none", and "ways". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "envy" and "violence", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 30's "Don t strive with a man without..." into verse 32's "For the perverse is an abomination to...", so "envy" and "violence" 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 "envy" and "violence" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.