Chapter
Verse

Proverbs 3:1

ESV My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,
NIV My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,
NASB My son, do not forget my teaching, But have your heart comply with my commandments;
CSB My son, don’t forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commands;
NLT My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart.
KJV My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
NKJV My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands;

What does Proverbs 3:1 mean?

Solomon addresses the reader as his "son." This was a term often used by a teacher to refer to a student. It seems Solomon or others taught students in Solomon's royal court. Or perhaps "my son" refers to a literal son in the home. Either way, the term and setting honor the tradition established in Deuteronomy 6, where the Lord commanded the fathers in Israel to teach His commandments diligently to their children (Deuteronomy 6:6–7).

Solomon commands his pupil to remember his teaching and keep his commandments. This obedience must stem from the heart, which implies a love for the commandments. Unless a person loves God's Word, mere intellectual knowledge of it will not produce obedience. The Pharisees certainly had a head full of Scripture, but their hearts were far from God. On the outside they resembled whitewashed tombs but inwardly they were full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27–28).
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