Proverbs 3:8

It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones - "it," namely, the obedient "fear of the Lord" just described (). Plasters and emollient ointments are often applied to the person for healing purposes. The navel is the channel of supplying nutriment to the infant in the womb. It also denotes the whole belly, with the intestines near it as the softer parts of the body. The bones, the harder part, follow. The two together represent the whole frame. The fear of the Lord nourishes alike the inner graces and powers of the spiritual life and its outer operations. "Marrow" - literally, moistening, in reference to the marrow, which is the vital moisture of the bones (, end; contrast ; , end).