For the LORD shall be your confidence, and shall keep your foot from being taken.
lord
Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
Psalm 91:3,9,10 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence…
Habakkuk 3:17,18 Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: …
shall keep
1 Samuel 2:9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.
and will keep your foot from the snare
The imagery of a "snare" suggests hidden dangers and traps, often used by hunters to catch prey. In the ancient Near Eastern context, snares were common and represented unforeseen perils. Biblically, snares often symbolize temptations or schemes of the enemy, as seen in Psalm 91:3, where God delivers from the "fowler's snare." The promise of God keeping one's foot from the snare implies divine guidance and protection from such hidden dangers. This assurance is echoed in the New Testament, where believers are encouraged to be vigilant against the devil's schemes (Ephesians 6:11) and to trust in God's deliverance. The phrase also points to the protective role of Jesus Christ, who, as the Good Shepherd, guides and guards His flock from spiritual harm (John 10:11-15). This protection is not just physical but also spiritual, ensuring that believers are kept safe from the snares of sin and deception.
– “for the LORD” points to the covenant-keeping God who revealed Himself to Israel and, through Christ, to the church (Exodus 3:14–15; Hebrews 13:8).
– He is personal and present, not distant. Psalm 46:1 affirms, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
– Depending on Him is an act of trust, echoing the call of Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
– Because He is faithful (Lamentations 3:22–23), the promise that follows can be embraced without reservation.
– The phrase stresses that security is found in God Himself, not in circumstances, resources, or personal abilities (Psalm 118:8–9).
– Confidence here speaks of settled assurance, the same assurance seen in Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.”
– Practical outworking:
• Courage to obey when obedience is costly (Daniel 3:16–18).
• Peace that steadies the heart when the future is unclear (Matthew 6:31–33).
• Stability that resists the sway of human opinion (Galatians 1:10).
– A “snare” evokes hidden traps set by enemies or unforeseen dangers (Psalm 91:3).
– God’s protective care covers both physical and spiritual hazards:
• Physical: He guards the path of His faithful ones (Psalm 121:3).
• Spiritual: He delivers from temptation and moral pitfalls (1 Corinthians 10:13).
– Walking in wisdom (Proverbs 3:21-23) keeps us alert, yet ultimate safety is credited to the Lord, as echoed in Psalm 18:36, “You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.”
– His keeping power reassures believers that no trap is stronger than His providence (2 Thessalonians 3:3).
Proverbs 3:26 assures believers that the Lord Himself is both the source of unwavering confidence and the mighty guardian who shields from hidden dangers. Trusting His faithful character produces courage and peace, while His vigilant protection frees us to walk in wisdom without fear of stumbling.
Verse 26. - Thy confidence (v'kis'leka); literally, as thy confidence. Kesel, primarily "loin" or "flank," as in Leviticus 3:14; Leviticus 10:15; Job 15:27, is apparently used here in its secondary meaning of "confidence," "hope," as in Job 8:14; Job 31:24; Psalm 78:7. The בְ (v') prefixed is what is usually termed the בְ essentiae, or בְ pleonasticum (equivalent to the Latin tanquam, "as"), and serves to emphasize the connection between the predicate "thy confidence" and the subject "Jehovah" (cf. Exodus 18:4; see Ewaht, 'Lehrb.,' 217, f.; and Gesenius, 'Gram.,' § 154). Jehovah shall be in the highest sense your ground and object of confidence. Delitzsch describes kesel as confidence in the presence of evil: Jehovah in the presence of the "sudden fear," and of "the desolation of the wicked," the evils and calamities which overwhelm the wicked, shall be thy confidence. The sense of his all-encircling protection will render you undismayed. The meaning given to kesel as "foolhardiness" (Psalm 49:14) and "folly" (Ecclesiastes 7:25). and the connection of kesel with k'silim in Proverbs 1:22, comes from the root idea kasal, "to be fleshly, or fat," the signification of which branches out on the one side into strength and boldness, and on the other into languor and inertness, and so folly or confidence in self (Schultens, i.e.). The Talmudic rendering of the Rabbi Salomon approximates to this meaning, "and the things in which you seemed to be foolish (desipere videbaris) he will be at once present with you." Others, as Ziegler, Muentinghe, gave kesel its primary meaning, and translate, "Jehovah shall be as thy loins," the loins being regarded as the emblem of strength. Jehovah shall be your strength. But kesel does not appear to have this local application here. Wherever it is used in this sense, as in Job and Leviticus cited above, there is something in the context to point it out as a part of the body. Compare, however, the Vulgate. in latere suo, "in thy side or flank." The LXX. renders, ἐπὶ πασῶν ὁδῶν σου, "over all thy ways." From being taken (millaked); Vulgate, ne capiaris, "lest thou be taken." The meaning is, Jehovah will be your protection against all the snares and traps which the impious lay for you. Leked, "a being taken," is from lakad, "to take or catch animals" in a net or in snares. It only occurs here in the Proverbs. Its unusual appearance, together with other reasons, not tenable, however, has led Hitzig to reject vers. 22-26 as an interpolation. The LXX. reads, πτόησιν, pavorem. Πτόησις, in Plato, Aristotle, and Plutarch, is used subjectively, and means "any vehement emotion." The word only occurs once in the New Testament in 1 Peter 3:6, μὴ φοβούμενη μηδεμίαν πτόησιν, where it is evidently quoted from the passage before us, in an objective sense, and designates some external cause of terror (cf. Authorized Version, "and be not afraid with any amazement;" see also Book of Common Prayer: 'Solemnization of Matrimony,' ad fin).