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Proverbs 3:3 - The Jewels of Lovingkindness and Truth.

Proverbs 3:3 (NKJV) Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart,

Proverbs 3:3 (NASB) Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Proverbs 3:3 (AMP) Let not mercy and kindness [shutting out all hatred and selfishness] and truth [shutting out all deliberate hypocrisy or falsehood] forsake you; bind them about your neck, write them upon the tablet of your heart.

Note: most modern translations translate TRUTH as FAITHFULNESS.

WORD STUDY

The virtues of mercy (the Hebrew word for lovingkindness and loyal love) and truth that come from God are to become part of us outwardly in our behavior for all to see as an adornment of spiritual beauty and inwardly as the subject of our meditation (Deut. 6:4-9). Such inward and outward mercy and truth is evidence of New Covenant salvation (Jer. 31:33, 34). [MacArthur Daily Bible 2003]

COMMENTARY PEARL

Master Engraver
   Godfrey Lundberg, a jeweler from Spokane, Washington, wasn't the first person to engrave the Lord's Prayer on a pinhead. In 1907, Paul Wentz accomplished the task on a brass pinhead with a diameter of 0.79 inches. Learning of the feat, Lundberg chose a gold pin whose head was 0.47 inches. In 1913, he prepared himself for the arduous task by refraining from tobacco, alcohol, and coffee. He worked in the evenings or early mornings when trains or other heavy vehicles wouldn't cause shaking. He destroyed 200 pins before creating a perfect engraving.
   Solomon, the wise king of Israel, reminded his son to "not forget" God's instruction (Proverbs 3:1). He urged in today's promise, "Let not mercy and truth forsake you" (v. 3), two qualities that describe God's character and are revealed in His Word, the Bible. Remembering God's law means more than memorizing words. To "bind them around your neck" and "write them on the tablet of your heart" means to obey them.
   In Scripture, the heart usually speaks of a person's attitudes, emotions, and intelligence. While we may have "a defiant and rebellious heart" (Jeremiah 5:23), God wants to give us "a new heart" (Ezekiel 18:31). "I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts," He says in Jeremiah 31:33. Our own efforts to obey are bound to fail, "but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).
   If you find that "mercy and truth forsake you," take God's Word to heart He is faithful. And when you seek to follow His ways, He will engrave His character into your life.
   Lord, help me to remember Your mercy and truth. Write Your law into my mind and heart. [The Most Amazing Bible Promises by Amazing Facts]

LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY

Ezekiel 11:19 - I Will Give Them a New Heart and a New Mind.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220830-0808.html

2 Corinthians 5:17 - New Life in Christ.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2025/20250115-1510.html

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

https://abible.com/links/