“Trust in the Lord” and “fear the Lord” bring their welcome benefits of security and health. Just as in 3:1, 3 where the teaching is to be written on the heart, so here one is to “trust in the Lord with all your heart” (3:5). The parallel with “lean not on your own understanding” indicates that “trust” is trust in the goodness of God’s ways, communicated in covenantal teaching like that of Deuteronomy, but also here in wisdom teaching. Therefore, those who choose the way of wisdom as their own (3:6) trust that God knows how things ought to go and are willing to stake their lives on it.

Thus, 3:5 should not be used to support the notion that this confidence is a sort of blind trust that suspends critical judgment. Rather, the student of wisdom learns to have confidence that living for God is the most reasonable thing to do, and this will be proved as Yahweh makes straight the path (3:6). The Hebrew word for “straight” denotes travel made safe by clearing and leveling the road. Making a straight path is also a form of guidance, as, for example, when one creates a path for water (cf. niv text note). In short, 3:5–6 speak more about guidance in ethical behavior than particular choices such as career or mate. Leaning on one’s own understanding is more than failing to pray about decisions. It is more like being wise in one’s own eyes (3:7), that is, believing that one can determine what is right and wrong without guidance from God and his gift of wisdom.