Proverbs 6:21

Pro 6:21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, [and] tie them about thy neck.

Ver. 21. Bind them continually.] Observe them with as much care and conscience as thou art bound to do the law of God given by Moses. {Deu 6:8} {See Trapp on "Mat 23:5"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Read Prov. 3:3.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 21. Bind them continually upon thine heart] See on Pr 3:3. And see a similar command, to which this is an allusion, De 6:6-8.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(21) Bind them continually upon thine heart.—See above on Pro_3:3.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. heart … neck] See Pro_3:3, note. Perhaps there is also the idea of an amulet or charm tied round the neck. See next verse.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

When thou goest, it shall lead thee,.... The law of God taught by parents; this directs man in the path of duty and business of life; teaches him what way to shun, and which to walk in; it leads out of the paths of sin, and into the way in which he should go, which is most conducive to his good, and to the glory of God; it will lead him safely, so that he shall not stumble, Pro 3:3;

when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; from terrifying dreams, evil spirits, dangers by fire or thieves; one that observes it conscientiously may lie down and sleep, secure of the guardianship of divine Providence, and not fear any evil; or "shall watch over thee" (h) in the night season;

and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee; familiarly; and instruct what to do, and how to behave the day following; or "it shall go out with thee" (i), into the fields for a morning's walk, and assist in meditation. Jarchi interprets this of sleeping by death, and of awaking at the resurrection of the dead.

(h) "excubabit apud te", Cocceius; "excubias aget super te", Michaelis, Schultens. (i) "illa ipsa spatiabitur tecum", Schultens.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The thought of Pro 3:3 is carried step further. No outward charm, but the law of obedience, shall give safety to the traveler, when he sleeps or when he wakes.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Bind them continually upon thine heart; constantly remember and duly consider them.

Tie them about thy neck: see on Pro 1:9; 3:3.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

21. Bind them, etc. — Meaning, Treasure them in your affections; never be ashamed of them or the practice of them; they are your highest ornaments. In the East, where reverence for parents and ancestors is very great, it is a sufficient reason for any custom or practice that one’s fathers or ancestors enjoined it. If parental precepts in general are held sacred, how much more such as these, which are sacred in themselves? Comp. Jer_35:18, the Rechabites.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This verse recalls also Pro_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 Son_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. Pro_7:3 Exo_13:9 Deu_6:8 Deu_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.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Bind them - Constantly remember, and duly consider them.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

tie them Heb. ענדם, an expression of tying, as in (Job 31:36) “I will tie it (אענדנו) as crowns to me.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.