Psalms 32:9

7 Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.

10 Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.

11 Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.

Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
Do not be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding; they must be controlled with bit and bridle to make them come to you.
KJV
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
WEB
Don’t be like the horse, or like the mule, which have no understanding, who are controlled by bit and bridle, or else they will not come near to you.
ASV
Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding; Whose trappings must be bit and bridle to hold them in, [Else] they will not come near unto thee.
DARBY
Be ye not as a horse, as a mule, which have no understanding: whose trappings must be bit and bridle, for restraint, or they will not come unto thee.
BLB
You⁺ should not be like a horse, like a mule without understanding, with bit and bridle to curb its ornaments, [that] there is no coming near to you.
ÅB
Vær ikke som hest og muldyr, som ikke har forstand!
Deres smykke er tømme og bissel til å tvinge dem med;
ellers kommer de ikke nær deg.»
OTB
Vær ikke som hest eller muldyr, som mangler forstand,
Hvis prydelse er tømme og bissel for å holde dem i tømme,
Ellers kommer de ikke nær til deg.
B1930
Vær ikke som hest og muldyr, som ikke har forstand! Deres smykke er tømme og bissel til å tvinge dem med; de vil ikke komme nær til dig.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Proverbs 26:3

    A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.

    Read in context
  • Jeremiah 4:22

    For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

    Read in context
  • Job 35:11

    Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?

    Read in context
  • Jeremiah 8:6–7

    I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.

    Read in context
  • James 4:7–10

    Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

    Read in context
  • James 3:3

    Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.

    Read in context
  • Jeremiah 31:18

    I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.

    Read in context