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 contextJeremiah 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 contextJob 35:11
Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven?
Read in contextJeremiah 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 contextJames 4:7–10
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Read in contextJames 3:3
Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
Read in contextJeremiah 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