Proverbs 6:21 - Warnings Against Adultery

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Context

Warnings Against Adultery
20My son, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. 21Bind them always upon your heart; tie them around your neck. 22When you walk, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.…

Cross References

Deuteronomy 6:6-9
These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. / And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. / Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ...Deuteronomy 11:18-20
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. / Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. / Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates,Proverbs 3:3
Never let loving devotion or faithfulness leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.Proverbs 7:1-3
My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you. / Keep my commandments and live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. / Tie them to your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.Exodus 13:9
It shall be a sign for you on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the Law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For with a mighty hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.Exodus 13:16
So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead, for with a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.”Psalm 119:11
I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.Jeremiah 31:33
“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.Hebrews 8:10
For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.2 Corinthians 3:3
It is clear that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ / This is the first and greatest commandment. / And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ...John 14:21
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”John 15:7
If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.James 1:21-25
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls. / Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. / For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, ...

Proverbs 3:3
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:

Proverbs 4:6,21
Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee…

Proverbs 7:3,4
Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart…

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Proverbs 6

Bind them always upon your heart;
The phrase "Bind them always upon your heart" emphasizes the importance of internalizing wisdom and commandments. In biblical context, the heart is often seen as the center of one's being, encompassing emotions, will, and intellect. This instruction suggests that wisdom should not merely be an external adherence but should be deeply ingrained within one's character and decision-making processes. The use of "bind" implies a permanent and secure attachment, indicating that these teachings should be an integral part of one's life. This concept is echoed in Deuteronomy 6:6, where the Israelites are instructed to keep God's commandments in their hearts, highlighting the continuity of this principle throughout Scripture.

tie them around your neck.
"Tie them around your neck" suggests a visible and constant reminder of wisdom and commandments. In ancient Near Eastern culture, wearing items around the neck was a common practice for signifying importance or status, much like a necklace or amulet. This imagery conveys the idea that wisdom should be as evident and accessible as something worn around the neck, serving as a guide in daily interactions and decisions. The neck, being a vital and visible part of the body, symbolizes the outward expression of inward beliefs. This is reminiscent of Proverbs 3:3, where mercy and truth are to be bound around the neck, reinforcing the theme of living out one's faith visibly and consistently.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Solomon
Traditionally considered the author of Proverbs, Solomon was the son of King David and known for his wisdom. He wrote Proverbs to impart wisdom and understanding.

2. Israel
The nation to whom Solomon originally addressed his writings, emphasizing the importance of wisdom and obedience to God's commandments.

3. Father and Mother
In the context of Proverbs 6, the parental figures represent the source of wisdom and instruction, urging their children to adhere to their teachings.

Teaching Points

Internalization of Wisdom
The verse emphasizes the importance of internalizing God's wisdom. Just as one would bind something precious to their heart, believers are called to keep God's teachings close and central to their lives.

Visible Commitment
Tying wisdom around the neck suggests a visible commitment to God's commandments. It serves as a reminder to live out one's faith in daily actions.

Continuous Remembrance
The use of "always" indicates that adherence to God's wisdom is not a one-time event but a continuous, lifelong commitment.

Heart and Action
The heart represents the inner life, while the neck symbolizes outward actions. This dual imagery calls believers to align their inner convictions with their external behaviors.

(21) Bind them continually upon thine heart.--See above on Proverbs 3:3.

Verse 21. - This verse recalls also Proverbs 3:3, and reminds us of the use of the phylacteries, or tefellim, common among the Jews of our Lord's time, and the practice of binding which upon various parts of the person may have had its origin in this and such like passages. The "tying about" the neck may suggest the use of amulets, an Oriental custom, to ward off evil, but it is more likely that it refers to the wearing of ornaments. Them; i.e. the commandment and law of father and mother respectively, expressed in the Hebrew by the suffix -em, in the verb kosh'rem, equivalent to liga ea, and again in ondem, equivalent to vinci ea. (For the personal use of this figure, see Song of Solomon 8:6.) Tie them; Hebrew, ondem. The verb anad, "to tie," only occurs twice as a verb - here and in Job 31:36. Lee prefers "to bind;" Delitzsch, however, states that it is equivalent to the Latin circumplicare, "to wind about." The meaning of this and similar passages (cf. Proverbs 7:3; Exodus 13:9; Deuteronomy 6:8; Deuteronomy 11:13) is that the commandment, precept, law, or whatever is intended, should be always present to the mind. The heart suggests that they are to be linked to the affections, and the neck that they will be an ornament decking the moral character. Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

Bind them
קָשְׁרֵ֣ם (qā·šə·rêm)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 7194: To tie, gird, confine, compact, in love, league

always
תָמִ֑יד (ṯā·mîḏ)
Adverb
Strong's 8548: Continuance, constant, ellipt, the regular, sacrifice

upon
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

your heart;
לִבְּךָ֣ (lib·bə·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 3820: The heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect, centre

tie
עָ֝נְדֵ֗ם (‘ā·nə·ḏêm)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 6029: To bind (around or upon)

them around
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

your neck.
גַּרְגְּרֹתֶֽךָ׃ (gar·gə·rō·ṯe·ḵā)
Noun - feminine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 1621: The throat

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Proverbs 6:21 Catholic BibleOT Poetry: Proverbs 6:21 Bind them continually on your heart (Prov. Pro Pr)