Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Proverbs 3:1 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 1. 1My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse uses contrastive parallelism to place “My son, forget not my law” against “let thine heart keep my commandments”.
Read It With
- Proverbs 3:1–4
Within Purpose, parental discourses, and the rival invitations of Wisdom and Folly, Proverbs 3:1 uses contrastive parallelism to place “My son, forget not my law” against “let thine heart keep my commandments”. The immediate unit supplies proportion, affected people, and the transition from meaning to application.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Proverbs 3:1 appears here because it uses contrastive parallelism to place “My son, forget not my law” against “let thine heart keep my commandments”. Its contrast, image, or consequence tests the concerns gathered in Proverbs 3:1–4.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my...”
In plain language: family teaching, responsibility, and mutual care
This verse uses contrastive parallelism to place “My son, forget not my law” against “let thine heart keep my commandments”.
Why it matters: This wording gives the verse its distinct role inside the cluster.
How certain? strongWhat Remains True
Family relationships can transmit wisdom and responsibility, but their authority remains accountable to truth, safety, and justice. In Proverbs 3:1, that bounded truth is expressed through “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my...,” not through a promise detached from its literary form.
How It Can Shape Life
- Practice mutual listening, clear expectations, dependable care, and boundaries that protect every member's dignity and safety. For Proverbs 3:1, preserve the sequence: verse role (uses contrastive parallelism to place “My son, forget not my law” against “let thine heart keep my commandments”) -> contextual meaning in Proverbs 3:1–4 -> proportionate truth -> this accountable response.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Proverbs 3:1–4 — Do not forget loyal teachingSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
Where care is needed
The verse belongs to a larger speech, instruction, prayer, number saying, or poem; its voice and complete literary movement control how strongly an isolated line may be stated.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV words, canonical order, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and complete unit coverage.
Exact location: Proverbs 3:1–4, repository-pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Proverbs
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology used only for the exact unit's lexical, grammatical, parallel, superscription, number-saying, and acrostic questions.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Prov.xml, OSIS 3:1-3:4
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Proverbs with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-attached textual, lexical, grammatical, syntactic, parallelism, and older-English controls for the exact range.
Exact location: NET Bible Proverbs PDF, printed pp. 1084-1088, exact tc/tn/sn entries attached to 3:1–4
Open source ↗