16 People may make plans in their ·minds [hearts],
but ·only the Lord can make them come true [^Lfrom the Lord comes a responding tongue].

² ·You may believe you are doing right [^LAll paths of people are pure in their eyes],
but the Lord will ·judge your reasons [measure your motives; ^Lweigh the spirits].

⁴ The Lord makes everything ·go as he pleases [for a purpose].
He has even prepared a day of ·disaster [evil; harm; trouble] for evil people.

⁷ When ·people live so that they please the Lord [^Lpeople’s paths draw the Lord’s favor]
even their enemies will make peace with them.

⁹ ·People may make plans in their minds [^LHuman hearts plan their path],
but the Lord ·decides what they will do [^Lestablishes their step].

¹¹ The Lord wants honest balances and scales;
·all the weights are his work [^Lhe concerns himself with the weights in the pouch].